Thank you to everyone who responded, I appreciate it greatly. I intend on pursuing a biology or neuropsychology major. I've been using an electronic magnifier pretty much all throughout high school and it's definitely something I'll be using throughout college. I've just recently received a transformer camera to connect to my laptop, which will be a new experience since I've used a monocular most of my school career. I've been working with the disability support services at my school as well. I completely understand trying to do everything how everyone else does it, and I'll definitely try and keep the class load to a minimum. This is something that I've struggled with for as long as I can remember. I've always tried to work the same as others, especially the same speed, but that has changed over the past few years. There's WAY to many clubs and groups at my school (such as beyonc appreciation club) so hopefully I'll find something that strikes my fancy. Thanks again for all the support guys.

I'm legally blind and just graduated in May. I'm also 28 - my lateness in graduating is due to the same fears that you currently have. But I did that shit, and if I can, you definitely can. Protips:

1. Get with the disability department of your university. Even if they can't offer solutions to all of your problems, it's on record that you qualify for disability assistance within the college, and therefore your professors have an understanding of what you might come up against.

2. Get a private tutor. Most universities have free tutoring, and that's great if it works for you. For me though, I couldn't bear having to tell someone that I'm legally blind, that I can't see what problem they're referring to in the textbook, that I can't read their tiny handwriting, every single time I needed a tutor. As amusing as it is to watch someone get continuously more flustered at the situation, I chose to spare a lot of people the discomfort and got a private tutor. That way they knew, expected it, and started to adapt quickly.

3. Vocational Rehabilitation. If you're not already working with the VR in your area, make an appointment like, right now. They'll do everything they can to help you graduate at no cost to you. They got me some tech that was essential to my success - ipad, huge laptop, even bigger moniter, impaired friendly keyboard, Zoomtext software, and a Pebble for reading.

4. Accept that you'll need help. Go to your professor's office hours as soon as you're able to discuss your concerns. Most of them will want to help - but be prepared for the few that are dicks too, there are a few in every bunch.

Keep a positive attitude. It's hard, and it can be alienating. But it'll feel pretty fuckin awesome when you graduate. PM me if you'd like - otherwise, good luck!

That's awesome that you are pushing forwards. I can't offer much advice, but I was just going to ask: what are you studying?

I unfortunately can't give too much with regards to college itself. I'm in the process of finalizing my Common Application and individual applications for the few schools I'm applying to that don't take the Common App. I definitely feel the whole anxiety about school thing though. Especially in the US right now college is largely linked to your success in life, most jobs that pay well will require some kind of higher education. College has been a goal of mine for as long as I can remember and I've worked really hard to put myself into a position where that goal is attainable, but there is still that fear that things won't work out, the school I want to attend won't accept me, etc. I think those worries are universal among everyone in the process of applying to college regardless of disability/ qualifications so no surprises there.

If you haven't looked into different pieces of technology that can make your life easier I would start there. I don't know what I'd do at this point without my CCTV, portable video magnifier, and the training I've received for O&M. Those kinds of assets are priceless for confidence, and if you haven't looked into them I'd do that, you'd be amazed what they will do for your self esteem. It has also made me more successful in school. I received all of this technology and training through local organizations so my family wasn't bankrupted by it. Making sure you are well equipped to succeed will probably be a nice psychological boost aside from the obvious benefit of having it help you be a more prepared student.

Other than that I don't have a whole lot I can give from the college level because I'm not there yet. If you need to talk to someone who feels the stress/ pressure though I'm here, feel free to PM me. Best of luck.

I'm fairly well off, but I still need my USB camera. It just helps so much, and enables me to focus on learning rather than on trying to see.

The biggest hurdle is the emotional one, digging it out of my bag and setting it up in front of everyone for each class.

It's always worth it, though. So I keep on.

Still doing my higher preparatory, so I can't say anything about college yet - except that my camera will be my constant companion there as well.

Reading your post definitely brought back a lot of feelings for me as im nervous about all of these things as i begin applying to grad school. the most important thing that you need to know is that it is definitely possible for you to be successful in college and thrive there! I was born legally blind due to ROP, but graduated in May with a BA in psychology. What are you thinking of majoring in?

All of the worries you have are totally natural and i think they really only start to go away as you learn to overcome those challenges. that said there are a lot of things you can do to help you succeed in college.

The first is getting in touch with the disability services department of your college if you haven't done so already. This can be especially important for finding out what services they offer for help both in and out of class these can include, finding a fellow classmate to be your note taker, arranging extra time for exams, helping you make sure your professors accommodate your needs or walking you around campus for a few days until your comfortable with your surroundings (or in my case a few weeks).

The second thing is pace yourself and take time to understand your limits.it is really easy to get caught up in wanting to do tings like everyone else and i am super guilty of this, but in college the trick to being successful is finding the path that works best for you. if you start the semester and find that you feel overwhelmed by the work load or if you feel that way now, consider taking a reduced course load by taking 2 or 3 classesa semester instead of 4. this is something that helped me greatly. i found that i did my best when i took less classes because it meant fewer readings each week and fewer papers and assignments to focus. Also don't be afraid to find different ways to learn the class material. If you're taking an English classes where you have to read lots of books try using Audible.com or Libravox.org to listen to the books instead of reading them! This is something that disability services can also help with.

Lastly as for staying motivated, try to take classes that you're genuniley interested in, use sites like Ratemyprofessor.com/ or ask around to find great professors and get involved with things outside of the classroom like clubs or volunteering, it's just as important to have fun in college as it is to do well! setting small goals for yourself and giving yourself time to enjoy life will help to relieve stress and keep you motivated.

Sorry for the never ending post but if you every need to talk or have any more questions feel free to PM me! I hope i helped some :)

I am completely blind and I've had two very different experiences in university. First I tried to read a degree and didn't manage, and afterwards I went somewhere else and completed another degree with fairly good results. As you can imagine I've been thought a lot about this stuff, and what the differences were, so although it may not all be applicable to other people I'll just point them out.

First, school always came fairly easily to me, but at university the workload can be much larger. Also, because I already knew some of the stuff we were studying, at the beginning of the course I would get the thought that this is really easy and I don't need to pay a lot of attention and work hard. By the middle of the course or so without realising we were doing stuff I'd never seen before and I lost the thread. In some subjects if you don't have a good foundation it will be very hard to go on, like maths-related things. Even if you think you know something it's good to firm it up and to follow with the course because eventually they will teach something new.

Another thing is lectures. They are really useful. You just have to be there and pay attention. If the lecturers don't use a ridiculous amount of visual aids they can be the most convenient way to learn a topic, since reading is not as interactive. If they use a lot of visual aids or handouts make sure you can get them in advance. One of my mathematics professors insisted in doing her proofs on the blackboard without showing them in handouts to the students because she said it was essential for them to learn, and that caused a lot of problems for me.

Another thing is there will be resources at the university or whatever organisations there are for disability provision. Use them. They are there for a reason. When you need help you need to let people know. A university is a very large environment (at least mine were) and can't keep track of every student. They will assume if you need something you'll let them know.

Other than that, you can do very well if you put in the work. Almost everyone finds university challenging in one way or another: academically, socially... This is true for pretty much all students, not just disabled ones. So best of luck, but as one of my professors said: don't wish people luck, that's what bad dstudents need; to good students you wish justice.