Choosing a college

Sitemeter tells me that someone wandered here with the Google phrase "I'm a disabled teen looking for the right college" despite the fact that I've never said anything that would be specifically helpful in that regard. But since I did find the right college for myself back in 1987 when I was a disabled teen, I'll give it a shot and invite anyone else with suggestions to add them as well.

My entire reason for being compelled to check out Arizona State University as a school to attend came from when I was a shy freshman high school girl and overheard the only other wheelchair user at my school (a senior guy) mention ASU while we were riding the short bus to school one morning. Or maybe he was talking about UofA, but I got it in my head that Arizona would be hospitable in ways that Illinois was not.

I had the grades to get in most places, but never considered anything Ivy League-ish because the ADA didn't exist then and I was well-aware that the older the building, and the more historical the building, the less it would be useful to me. I don't recall how many schools I visited my senior year-- not so many since I was fixated on ASU -- but, inexplicably, I visited Wisconsin's Whitewater campus too. No contest because of one issue -- snow.

My Dad, my twin sister and I scouted out ASU on Halloween day of my senior year in high school. I recall this because Bert and Ernie were the first two individuals I met on campus and this no doubt effected my decision. Giant costumes of Sesame Street characters somehow epitomized the joys of college for me, I guess.

We met with Disabled Student Services and they arranged a tour of campus (hosted by a disabled man) and an accessible dorm room. I stared at palm trees, which I had never been in the presence of before. I ate actual Mexican food made by people who are not bland Scandinavians afraid of cooking with spice. It was really an obvious choice, though made with lots of naivete. And it was the right one for me. Any doubts my Mom and Dad had about me zipping off to live halfway across the country when I did not even have a motorized chair until the week before college began, they mostly kept to themselves and waited to see how far my youthful enthusiasm would carry me.

Presumably wiser now, this is what I'd look for in choosing a college for a disabled teen:

• Accessibility, both architectural and attitudinal. You don't want to spend too much time fighting to get in the building or to be able to take the test, so institutional commitment to access is not enough -- it should already be substantially in place.


• Actual disabled students visible on campus going about their lives like everyone else. This includes temporarily disabled students successfully getting around because the school has a means to help them. Golf carts with student chauffeurs were part of disability transportation services at ASU. A university capable of dealing with sudden impairments of its students is more likely to be flexible enough in its accessibility services to accommodate a wider variety of needs. As a scooter user, the repair department was absolutely crucial to me.


• Diversity programs that include disability as a category of diversity along with race, sexual orientation, etc. Better yet, classes or programs in disability studies would show that someone at the school has a clue.


• Bathrooms in several places around campus that are not only accessible, but comfortably accessible. Don't enroll somewhere you'll be miserable peeing at for the next four years, it just isn't worth the stress.


• Ditto for general living accommodations. And the grocery store that you'll need to buy ramen noodles at needs to be handy too.


• Public transportation that is relatively reliable.

That's my list, for now. Anything else I didn't think of?