RPer here also. Just received my second guide dog. Worked my first guide for 8 years. Never left the house without her. All those things you feel with a cane the dog walks you around. The dog slows at up curbs, stops at down curbs, stairs, and curbs. You can feel the dog’s movement through the harness handle. You can feel them turn their head. You learn to trust your dog and it’s truly an amazing partnership.

I don’t think I’ll ever go back to a cane.

That being said, a dog is more work to care for than a cane. Feeding, grooming, toileting, training etc. I still wouldn’t trade it for the world.

Guide Dogs for the Blind out of San Rafael, CA or Boring, OR is the organization to go with. Great training and dog support. Can be a long application process so start now. There is nothing better for college as it is a great tool for navigation, comfort/security, and social connection. I never met a single person on campus who wasn’t helpful, happy, and accepting when my dog and I were out and about. And nothing gets bigger cheers than a guide dog team crossing the stage in matching cap and gowns on graduation.

You have to have really good orientation for using a guide dog. You give the commands where they take you.

But first and foremost: you must want a DOG.
That guide dog has to be taken on normal walks daily, there will be places where you can't take it (e.g. very loud places) and your whole day is going to change. Plan on waking up an hour earlier to meet your dog's needs for being a normal dog. Plan on getting lots of attention you don't want. Plan on having to skip going out with your friends because your dog is sick or has had a long day.

I'm not a handler, but I'd like to interject some counterpoints to the general guide life vibe.

A guide should be used just about every day for at least two half hour trips, if not more. If you rarely go out, or only go short distances, a guide isn't great for you. Being in school though, if you use public transit you'll absolutely be keeping your dog trained.

There are different trains of thought in teaching at various schools. Evidence shows that positive reinforcement should be the primary, so keep that in mind with your choice of school. You don't need the closest school, or the one that trains the breed you like best, if you want the best chance at having a guide that doesn't need retraining.

Even the best dog can get bad habits, and you absolutely need to keep up your cane skills in case your dog gets sick, traumatized, or just out of sorts. If your guide isn't guiding properly, you want a backup.

Some schools pay for things after you graduate, so definitely keep that in mind as you pick a school.

Good schools will offer a Juno walk, where an instructor gives you a handle to hold and you can use the walk to see how it feels to use a guide. This is extremely important, as some people understand better with a cane, and some understand better with a dog.

The biggest thing is, people will absolutely fall all over each other trying to get at your dog. If you cannot be assertive, you're gonna have a bad time.

That said, it's absolutely a partnership that can be rewarding. It's faster, for many people, as well as giving more pertinent information instead of all the information, like a cane.

I also highly recommend doing the longest length of training possible, so you can be firmly acquainted with your dog and see if they're gonna be good as a guide, as well as good for you.

Hi there! I’m 22F, totally blind and have been a handler for five years now. I spent my transitional summer between high school and college at a guide dog school, and launched into my freshman year with her by my side. Working with a guide is simultaneously rewarding, liberating, occasionally frustrating and a lot of work. It is the complete opposite from working with a cane; instead of finding each obstacle, your guide does it’s absolute best to avoid them and often times you navigate so easily that you don’t even realize all the things around you that the dog is avoiding. You have to be very confident in O&M skills for the most part in terms of being able to read traffic safely, navigate stairs and curbs, etc.

In regards to college, do you plan to live on campus or commute? I lived on campus and this gave me the familiarity and space to take her on long walks around campus, explore new areas and generally increase my independence. Dogs are a lot of responsibility though, and you have to be able to manage the little every day tasks along with your schoolwork. These are things that will become habitual to you if you do get one, such as building in relieving times, finding the best feeding schedule for the both of you, and of course, going to the vet at least once a ear for annual checkups. (I’d like to add here that for the most part you are 100% financially responsible for the dog e.g. food and vet visits. However, there are some schools that will assist with vet costs) With a dog, there is a noticeable increase in the amount of attention you will receive, in my opinion. People often stop me to ask about my guide, to ask if they can pet her, to comment on how they also have a dog, etc etc and honestly it gets tiring after a while but I do my best to ignore it. I find the benefits of having my girl out ways this inconvenience by a million. During classes, she slept right under or beside my desk and caused no problems, and the professors loved her or didn’t make any fuss about having her in class. Living in a dorm went well too, as I was lucky enough to have a suite where I had my own room and space for her to roam around if she liked.

Sorry for the essay! I hope this was helpful in some way and I’d be happy to answer any other questions if you have any. :)

I want to know too. 23 and legally blind with RP, macular lesion quickening up the disease's progression.

Kind of off topic but I would encourage you to get great all around blindness skills before going to college at a residential training center.