High School To College Transition

It is graduation time already!?

Throwback to my high school graduation class of 2016

Many schools already had their graduation commencements back in May or during this month. As for me, I graduated from high school 6 years ago and now I will be graduating with my bachelor's degree in October of this year. I recall my transition from high school to college went smoothly.

In my last year of high school, my child study team case manager expressed to me that I can attend Brookdale Community College by taking at least two years of Spanish. It was good that I took Spanish classes in high school because it helped me in attending college. Also, I learned that I did not need to take the ACT/SAT because it was not required for this college. Afterwards, my parents and I went through the application process for Brookdale Community College during my last year of high school. I was so happy to know I got accepted to Brookdale!

Towards the end of winter and early spring, I recall taking a couple of exams, so my courses could be placed for me as soon as I began attending Brookdale. These exams were college placement exams, which assessed my math and reading skills. The results I learned were that I needed to take one prerequisite course for reading and a couple of prerequisite courses for math before taking courses in my associate's degree program. This was because I did not do so well on the college placement exams. This made me feel glad I did not have to take the SAT/ACT, haha!

During open house in the spring of my senior year, my parents and I went on a tour at Brookdale. I was so grateful one of my good friends from high school gave the tour. Her name is Ashley A., and she was already attending Brookdale before I did. My parents and I asked questions about Brookdale in general while on the tour. Ashley did a great job answering my parents’ questions about the college. The tour she provided helped me feel better about navigating around the college. Parents, make sure to request a tour of the college for your child because it helps them navigate around the college.

Furthermore, my parents and I scheduled an appointment for the disability services. I expressed to the case manager of the disability services at Brookdale about the accommodations and modifications I needed to do well in college. I learned from the meeting that the disability services were different in college than during my K-12 education years. It was preparing me to self-advocate more for myself as soon as I attended Brookdale.

How would you support people with disabilities for them to have a smooth transition from high school to college? Share your thoughts in the comments section!