My dad always tells the story of going to a car dealership where there was this incredibly ugly green car and he asked the salesman, "Who buys this?!" The salesman responded, "There's an ass for every seat." As I'm sure you can guess, my father finds this quite quotable, especially during the college application process.
Just like there's an ass for every seat, there's a college for every person.
Some food for thought:
When you're a disabled or health challenged student there is so much more to consider than just the school itself. It has to be near quality medical care, and if you have a rare disease that limits your choices even more because a "good" hospital might not be a "good" hospital for you. The weather has to be suitable for your health conditions. Just because a campus is "accessible" doesn't actually mean it is accessible. Do you have to walk 20 minutes across campus with hills to get to class with no option of a shuttle? Not 100% accessible. Disabled students have to consider the strength of the Disability Services Office. Chronically Ill students have to search for schools that offer pro-rated tuition because it can longer to graduate, which adds expenses (check post #FeministAmbassador for opportunity to get involved in creating a Sick Chicks Scholarship Fund). Students who were unable to take standardized testing due to health challenges are even more limited by testing policy.
This is only talking about disabled and chronically ill students, not even getting into all of the other various situations complicating college decisions.
The whole application process is anxiety inducing enough without fearing what people's reactions to potential colleges will be.
For any sick chicks who are going through the application process or are currently in college, I invite you to submit to the Spotlight program to share your experience and any tips.
Xoxo,
Sick Chick