<p>So I have cerebral palsy. Wondering if having a disability would make a person a minority, therefore opening up more aid and scholarships and possibly affirmative action???</p>
<p>sorry and I don’t believe so</p>
<p>NO, unfortunately. </p>
<p>Minority and diversity are the code words that apply mainly to race.</p>
<p>haha ok thanks for clarifying… but to be honest thats seriously stupid because we’ve only had rights for 40 years (rehab act '73), just saying :)</p>
<p>Um…actually YES, a disability IS minority status. See also the Americans with Disabilities Act.</p>
<p>Now whether or not it will open you up to merit aid depends entirely on the source. Affirmative action was created specifically to aid underrepresented ethnic/racial minorities and women, but depending on the school they may have an interest in increasing the entire diversity of their student body and so may give you preference or take an extra look at your application.</p>
<p>And I’m sure there are some scholarships for students with disabilities. I would also read carefully the eligibility criteria for any scholarships for minority students or “students from underrepresented groups,” as students with disabilities ARE underrepresented on college campuses and often the wording of these scholarships either explicitly includes students with disabilities or can be construed in that way. I recently applied to a graduate fellowship for minority students that explicitly included students with disabilities, for example.</p>
<p>There will certainly be scholarships targeted at students with disability. Many will likely be 3rd-party scholarships not provided by the schools themselves, so you will have to do some research to find them and some work to apply for them. Also, don’t focus only on scholarships for the disabled; pursue other general scholarships that simply play to your strengths as a student and a person. You are more than just your disability.</p>
<p>You will certainly find some benefit from your disability in admissions, because it has given you a unique life experience that will contribute to the overall diversity of a student body. Which, contrary to popular belief, is what a lot of schools are aiming for: not just racial diversity or economic diversity, but comprehensive diversity on a variety of different axes of personal experience. Note that this means you will get the most benefit from your disability by communicating to admissions not only that you have it, but how it has impacted your life and formed you as a person. Don’t treat it as an automatic “10% better chance of admission” ticket, rather treat it as a theme to weave into your application that will help you show your many strengths to the admissions committee. </p>
<p>As for need-based financial aid, the disability is unlikely to have a significant effect. If you need special equipment or services to be able to attend college, those might be included in your cost of attendance. And if mom & dad have medical expenses related to your care that might reduce their EFC. But being disabled doesn’t inherently make you more financially needy than someone else.</p>
<p>Finally, a minor point of clarification. The Rehab Act was the first major legal milestone for the disabled, and it was a long-overdue victory. However, in saying “we’ve only had rights for 40 years” you are overlooking the many rights the disabled already had as citizens of the United States. It was certainly a necessary affirmation and protection of the rights the disabled were already entitled to (and of their equal access to them), but was not as if someone flicked the “Can haz Bill of Rights?” switch from No to Yes. ;-)</p>
<p>This is an interesting discussion topic … as my daughter has a rare medical condition, has taken many medications her entire life, over 20 hospitalizations, etc. etc. We know that she who she is today (organized, empathetic, etc.) is largely due to the life of a chronically ill child… but she has fought her whole life to be seen as “normal” that she does NOT want colleges to know about her medical history… her guidance counselor is, of course, still including information. Our D also felt that a college might look at the medical stuff and NOT want to admit her, feeling that she may be a burden…</p>
<p>It’s an interesting topic – to “admit” or “not admit” based on medical or psychological issues – I would guess that might also apply to kids who are ADD/ADHD, for example – if such a child has earned straight As and high test scores, it shows how far the child has come in light of their disability, and yet admitting to the disability could mean a college might not want a student with ADD/ADHD…</p>
<p>Thoughts?</p>
<p>Personally, I think ADHD vs. a rare medical condition are two separate issues. I don’t think any college would balk at having a child with ADHD; it’s too common and people succeed all the time with ADHD as long as its well-controlled.</p>
<p>But a rare and serious medical condition, or a stigmatized disease like major depressive disorder? Those are different. It really depends on the school. Some schools (especially rich ones with the resources) may treat a student no differently or welcome a student onto the campus with that disease, for diversity and also to give the student a chance. Other schools may be worried about the potential liability such a student could bring. And with MDD, a lot of schools are really worried about being the next big university in the news with a suicidal student or a student death. (That sounds terrible, but it’s true.)</p>
<p>So I think it’s just going to vary from school to school and parents and students sort of have to make ad hoc judgments.</p>
<p>People are posting who have no idea.</p>
<p>Being disabled is a protected category just as being a minority is. There are many specific sources of funding for disabled students of all levels, and even funding set aside for disabled workers in STEM fields for example.</p>
<p>Why is there not a specific “Specialty College Admissions” topic for Disabled students? There are many issues specific to those who are disabled, even if the disabilities are different (like different sports for athletes).</p>
<p>^Please note, there is a Community & Forum Issues forum to bring things to the attention of CC Admin. Also note, not every possible group is represented under the Speciality subforum (eg. AI/AN, first gen).</p>
<p>A month ago, the OP was asking about additional FinAid possibilities and if disabled status conferred any advantaged evaluation for college admissions.</p>
<p>Yes to the first and NO, I’ve never heard of any class- specific advantage given to disabled status in terms of college admission.</p>
<p>Momof2back2back,
If your D doesn’t want GC to disclose info about hear health, I believe she can invoke HIPPA to prevent the disclosure. Am not sure that’s the best strategy, since knowing that the student overcome significant medical obstacles to achieve can be seen in a very positive light, as long as Us are convinced that the student will be able to continue to achieve highly without needing a lot of medical resources and accommodations from the U that it may not be prepared to offer.</p>
<p>Our kids both had chronic health issues (none which required surgery), and they both mentioned it in passing in their essays (I believe–wasn’t allowed to read). The GC also mentioned in his letter supporting S’s app about his overcoming medical obstacles. We feel it may have been helpful in their admissions, but have no way of knowing FOR SURE.</p>
<p>Thanks HImom. The route we decided to take was that the GC mentioned how much my D has overcome (I am told, haven’t seen the letter); and my D included some reference to her experiences in her Common App essay. However, we are NOT contacting any school’s disability offices or asking questions with regards to accommodating her health needs until she is accepted at any of those schools. (She did visit all schools and did some basic research to confirm her comfort level that she can receive adequate care at that school or in its larger geographic community.) This way, she minimizes the chances of a school feeling like she might be a burden, etc. The fact is that our D’s issues are handled entirely on her own with her specialists, although rare hospitalizations are needed (but that can happen to any college student). There isn’t anything she can not do at college. Thank you for writing!</p>
<p>I contacted all the Us that accepted S which he was interested in and asked each of them how they would handle prolonged absences due to a medically documented chronic condition to see how each would handle the situation. I also did NOT contact any of the Us prior to his admission and merit awards. </p>
<p>Nearly all the Us indicated that they would work with the student BUT the profs had quite a bit of discretion as to their required attendance policies and what they would or wouldn’t allow to be made up. Several also indicated that they had worked with other students who had chronic conditions and those students were able to thrive at their Us. One U did indicate that if S missed 2 weeks total in any quarter, he would likely be asked to permanently withdraw from the U, leaving the dorm and all his merit awards. That was the one U we decided to discard out of hand, because of their punitive policy and told that U that we were discarding their acceptance and generous merit award because of this punitive policy.</p>
<p>Both my kids were accepted by a U who had them register with the disabilities office. The disabilities office did their best to work with the kids whenever they needed any assistance and both kids did successfully obtain their degrees and have positive college experiences. The U did recommend that both kids arrive at campus BEFORE the academic year began and have appointments (bringing our medical records) with family practice docs at the medical school, in case either student needed more medical attention than the infirmary on campus could provide. We thought that was a great idea and highly recommend it (or something similar).</p>