Did College Work For You?

[bkweavers]

My daughter is a senior in high school and is looking into local colleges and living at home. Her POTS is way better than a few years ago but winter seems to always be the worst with her either getting sick and then Potsy symptoms with it or just dizziness and fatigue for no reason. Then of course, she misses school and it's difficult to make up all the work. My husband and I are concerned if she'll be able to handle college full-time. First of all, what did you do to make the college aware of your illness? What accommodations were you able to get? Any info you can give us, would be so appreciated! I would also love to hear any success stories of college. It sure would give us hope.

Thanks,

Brenda

[galatea]

When I was at university I managed to spread the course over more years and go part time (I had to give up eventually though but only because I got drastically worse, no reason this should happen).

I would recommend as soon as possible to register with the disability office, see one of the staff and explain the condition properly. Also, make sure all the tutors are fully aware and understand exactly what it is.

I was given all sorts of equipment, mostly unnecessary, including a voice recorder to record lectures, just to make things easier. (They even offered to hire someone to take notes for me if I was too tired to go). You could maybe ask for recordings of the lectures to be sent to you.

Most importantly, ask for a person to fetch books and make photocopies so you don’t have to exhaust yourself book-hunting in libraries. I pretty sure they would offer this anywhere as they have to cater for students with all kinds of disabilities.

[trice125]

I went to a really small private college where all of the professors knew me and knew about my illness. They worked with me and I also lived at home after unsuccessfully trying to live in the dorms. I took the minimum amount of classes that I could to be full time because I could not stay on my mom's health insurance if I wasn't a full time student. My symptoms have gotten worse with time so I ended up having a harder time as I went through college until I was begging my mom to let me quit/drop out when I was student teaching. At that time she didn't let me drop out since I was so close to graduating but now I have all of these student loans and can't use my degree. After graduating I only taught at a preschool full time for less than a year before having to stop working completely because my symptoms have gotten too severe. Feel free to ask me any questions you may have either by posting on this topic or sending me a message.

[Faintinggoat]

I am in university right now. And its certainly been a struggle. As soon as she has been accepted into a university, she should talk to the disability office, even if classes have not started yet. Because that will give her time to gather everything she needs prior to the start of classes. Generally all they need is documentation of the disorder by the doctors. I had a couple of accommodations (right now none of my courses are on campus, so I don't have them at the moment). First, I had a recorder for all of my courses as I sometimes spaced out and what not. Additionally, you can generally get a note taker for the course. I also had a pass to use a shuttle that goes around campus for people with disabilities. I also had permission to miss classes, and exams without any repercussions (as long as I made things up. Another thing, that I didn't have but many disabilities offices will do, is that sometimes they will allow students to take exams at the office or other location in hopes that it will reduce some of the stress.

Hope that was helpful.

[IceLizard]

Hello. In addition to what others are saying, see if you can get an exemption to full time student requirements. I was able to get a medical exemption so that I did not lose financial aid whenever I had to drop below full time (I still lost health insurance, maybe there is an exemption for that, too, or maybe Obamacare fixed that, I don't know. I met someone with cancer who had to stay full time to keep insurance. Go figure.)

I did finish my undergraduate degree, but it did take me longer. My transcript is nothing but A's, B's, and W's. A W is what you get when you withdraw from a class before the withdraw date. If you try that after the date you may get an F unless you can get a retroactive withdrawal. I had a lot of these medical withdrawals, but they did not negatively impact GPA. In this way I was able to keep up my GPA and graduate.

I recently had to quit graduate school, however. If I was to get financial aid other than loans, they required that I work in addition to taking classes, and I have found that I can't do both. I am afraid to take out any more loans because I am not sure I can ever pay them back.

I am currently considering my options as to employment. I have never been able to hold a normal full time job for very long. I am thinking about doing freelance tutoring, as I have experience and I can seen as many or as few clients as I like. (Also, it's easier to reschedule a tutoring session than to cancel an entire class).

Hope this helps!

[pink1975]

I am in college online exclusively. My bachelors was full time, online, but I took only the bare minimum classes to be considered full time to qualify for financial aid. It took me an extra year to graduate but that was fine with me. I once accidentally had one more class scheduled than I could handle and thought I might die before that semester was up, lol. I am working on my masters right now and am taking the classes as scheduled, but I certainly am noticing that the extra stress is giving me an increase in my POTs symptoms. I have 5 months to go and can't wait until I can rest, lol. I kept all A's and one B in my bachelor's program ( I am a perfectionist and that B freaked me out, lol). I am trying to allow myself a little more slack in my grad classes but that it hard and I still struggle to keep A's even though I know that the stress makes me feel worse.

[bkweavers]

Thank you for all the great suggestions/help so far! I don't know if she'll be able to do criminal justice completely online but we'll see. I'm not sure if being a police officer will even be doable unless she gets better in the next few years anyway.

Anyone else out there have more stories or helpful suggestions on doing college?

[griffism]

I am currently a full-time pre-medical student, and I can say that it is a struggle. However, for me, school is the best part of my day. It is the part that allows me to be even remotely normal. So, if your daughter can manage going to school on-site, I would definitely recommend it! I filed for disability with my school, so nine hours is full-time for me. I am currently taking 11 hours, so I am over full-time for a student on disability. Also, even though I am on disability, I get to keep my scholarships that I received before I became ill. Also, I can get extensions on exams and assignments when I am not up to taking and or completing them. Hope this helps

[imre]

I'm pre-med with POTS too. My advice would be to make sure you stay on top of course work. It might seem obvious, but it is better to do a little work on days you are sick than to cram, which may cause stress and worsen symptoms. Also, I think there is definitely an adjustment period in which you must get used to the new environment and stress of school. I think eventually you get fairly adjusted and become more comfortable sitting through classes, dealing with the stress of exams and balancing a social life. Good luck.

[MomWithPots]

I got my associates online, but am now attending a private college full time for my bachelors. I personally informed my professor's of my condition, just in case I had a spell or needed to be quickly excused. Some took it as anxiety, but others understood and actually wanted to learn more about Pots...we definitely need more people informed right? My biggest challenge is stairs! They are everywhere at college; mine has elevators, but they make me extremely off balance so I refuse. I just arrive early and pace myself. I also took an art class last semester and it was a great grounding activity for me; whenever I was feeling bad, I would just dive into my art projects. I ran into my old art professor and expressed this to him and he invited me back...now I get a free art class!

At the end of the day, you just have to listen to your body and know your limit. Communicate with the professor's. Also make sure to keep water, snacks, and a phone handy...just in case!

I wish your daughter the best!

[MomWithPots]

One more tip, keep jackets handy! I also carry a light blanket to my classes that are always freezing! My symptoms are way worse in the cold as well and I've always had trouble. maintaining my body temp.