Can a disability (epilepsy) be an advantage?

clmiller3
Fri, 08 Dec 2017 22:54:02 +0000

Hi and thanks for the response; I’m guessing my question didn’t provide the correct context.

I teach English to juniors and seniors and am familiar with the do’s and don’t of personal statement strategies. I work at a Title I high school in Chicago, and it’s not a well-kept secret that my students’ backgrounds are often an advantage, per se, in college admissions and financial aid. In other words, it clearly sucks to grow up poor. It’s also challenging to be the first kid in one’s family to attend college. Nevertheless, only a moron would advise my students to turn down admission from a university looking to diversify their student body. It would also be an insult to suggest that the university is doing them a “favor” by offering admission or extra financial aid.

I’ve taught many CT classes where the students with IEPs are ashamed of having one. It takes a lot of maturity for teens to be open about disability, and to understand how to effectively work around their weaknesses. The only teens I’ve known who “identify” with their limitations are those whose limitations are more perceived than actual.

So a re-phrasing of the question would be, “Do any mid-sized selective colleges include disability in the assessment of the diversity of their student body?”