<p>When should a disability be disclosed? I've heard many different views.</p>
<p>I subscribed to the belief that if a child has worked to overcome some notable obstacle on the way, that should be disclosed at the time of application, by reference, personal statement, or essay. However, recently when I spoke with the admissions director of a college known to have an excellent support program both for diabled students and for all students, he told me that if reference to the disability were made in the application packet, that reference would be excised from the file, and that the admissions committee would not take that into account. Does that sound right? How should we handle disclosure??</p>
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if reference to the disability were made in the application packet, that reference would be excised from the file, and that the admissions committee would not take that into account.
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<p>I could understand the school taking this position because people (even adcoms) have biases and it school probably does not want to put it self in the position that the student could possibly be discriminated against because of the disability and face a possible lawsuit as it would be a violation of the Rehabilitation act of 1973.</p>
<p>Hmmmm.... When I applied to different colleges this past fall, my doctor wrote a separate letter to go with my applications that explained my disability (and how I've overcome it). We believed that it needed to be disclosed because it's a pretty serious problem that I need to deal with in my everyday life and not just something that's temporary or easily fixed. I personally didn't really mention it at all in my essays or anywhere else (though I think I did use it once as part of a short answer to help explain my views on a certain topic). I tried to focus on other aspects of myself in my actual applications.</p>
<p>I agree with reeses414 - if it affects everyday life or affects testing, it should be disclosed. Some conditions that affect only testing can wait until after admission, depending on how serious they are. If a disability represents a major challenge that was overcome on the wy to stellar achievement, it becomes a strength and could be an asset on the app.</p>
<p>My major disability is physical and visible, so everyone knows about it when they see me. (Although I don't use one regularly, I feel compelled to quote a friend: "It's hard to conceal the giant wheelchair attached to your a**.") Because I'm interviewing at each school I'm applying to, I guess I don't have much problem in this area.</p>
<p>In my case, I /need/ to disclose in person because I need to explain my absence away from school, why I decided to homeschool for high school, and why I started at a CC. I'm also going to need to explain why I had to drop a class (insufficient accommodations meant I couldn't complete the work). If the disability has seriously impacted the student's record in some way, I tend to think you almost have no choice.</p>
<p>I have never heard of colleges excising the information from the record. I know you're concealing the school's name for a reason, but would you mind sharing? I'm worried about this now. I want the admissions committees to know why my record is the way it is.</p>