Top 10 Things to Keep in Mind When Choosing a College

Disclaimer: I am not a medical or a legal professional, please consult them if you need them. I am just going to clarify that I am a teacher so I am speaking from both a teaching perspective and a student perspective who has gone through this.

1. Size of Campus

This is one of the main factors you should consider when picking a college. If the campus is spread across a city and you don’t feel well how can you make it to your classes? Most Freshmen cannot have cars on campus but some bigger campuses offer public transit on campus. That being said they will run on different schedules which could mean you’re stranded somewhere not feeling well.

2. Hills and Elevation of Campus

If you need to walk up a hill everyday to one class, cross to another hill for the next, and a third for your third class you might struggle. Keep this and how many stairs there are in mind when picking a college.

3. Proximity to Doctors

If you have an established doctor or team of doctors that are working for you it can be hard to switch. If you plan to move away make sure to schedule all of your follow up appointments during breaks.

4. Climate

Don’t forget that POTS is affected by temperature and even barometric pressure. Most colleges start in August, does your dorm have AC? Do the classrooms? What about lecture halls? Are you in a rainy area? Snowy? You should take all of these factors into consideration.

5. Social Life

How hard will it be to get to social activities? How far is the dining call or other places you might congregate with friends or even to make friends. If you’ve been homeschooled it might be worth it to look into clubs or social activities the school puts on.

6. Lecture or Small Classes

Large classes and lectures allow you to blend into the crowd, if you’re absent the professor won’t notice or take points away. You’ll still need to get notes from others in the class but you won’t need to explain frequent absences. In a small class your professor will notice every head and every missing assignment. This can help you keep on track if you need help and you might not be vying for attention and competing with 200+ other students.

7. Accommodations

Speak to student services to find out if they will take your IEP or 504 and if they do will they honor the entire thing? What parts will they allow? How many absences can you have? What extra support is offered in school? Can you record lectures? Ask as many questions as you can think of.

8. Dorms

Can you get a single room? Will you need to go up several flights of stairs with no elevator? Is the dorm at the top of a hill? How far are the bathrooms? Downstairs from your room? How far is your dorm from the dining hall? Or classes? Make sure to take all of these into account.

9. Access to Pharmacies and Groceries

If you are on medication that needs to be refilled monthly you’ll need access to a pharmacy. How far is one from campus? Do you need a car to get there? Can you even have a car on campus? Is there public transportation to get you there? What about food? If your stomach is always upset you might not always be able to eat the cafeteria food.

10. Food

How far is the dining hall from any point on campus? Is there only one? Can you eat all of the food at the dining hall? Does the menu change? Can you have a mini fridge? Can you have a microwave? Think about what you need on a daily basis and how to get that at school.