Going to college with a disability — what changes, and how to ask for what you need.

What changes between high school and college (US)

Two federal laws apply to almost every college: Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, enforced for education by the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR). Private colleges are also places of public accommodation under Title III of the ADA— the Justice Department's rules list “undergraduate, or postgraduate private school” among them.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights — Students with Disabilities Preparing for Postsecondary Education, read November 13, 2026.

Also: 28 CFR 36.104 (eCFR), definition of “place of public accommodation”.

Requesting accommodations at college

1. Tell the college you have a disability and need an adjustment.Most colleges have a disability services office; its procedures are usually in the catalog, the student handbook or on the website. Ask admissions or a counsellor if you can't find them.
2. Ask early. You can ask at any time, but some adjustments take longer to arrange than others.
3. Expect to provide documentation. Colleges may set reasonable standards — often a report from a doctor, psychologist or other qualified professional giving a current diagnosis, how it affects a major life activity and how it affects your studies. An IEP or 504 plan helps show what has worked for you but is generally not enough on its own. If your documents fall short, the college should tell you promptly what else it needs.
4. A new evaluation may be on you.Neither your high school nor the college has to pay for one. Your state vocational rehabilitation agency may provide one at no cost if you're eligible for its services.
5. Work it out together.The college reviews your request against the program's essential requirements and may offer what you asked for or an effective alternative. It doesn't have to lower essential requirements, make changes that would fundamentally alter a program or cause an undue burden, or provide personal services such as personal attendants, tutoring or typing.
6. Speak up quickly if something isn't working — waiting until the course has ended may be too late.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights — Students with Disabilities Preparing for Postsecondary Education, read November 13, 2026.

More guidance: OCR, Academic Adjustments for Postsecondary Students.

Accommodations on admissions tests

Test accommodations are separate from your school's and your college's: each testing organisation must approve them before you test, and each has its own deadlines. Start months ahead.

For the rest of the US application calendar, see the year-by-year application timeline.

Federal student aid

To estimate federal aid in general, try the Student Aid Index estimator and compare your aid offers.

United Kingdom: Disabled Students' Allowance (England)

• Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA) helps with study costs caused by a disability, a long-term illness or a mental health condition. It depends on your needs, not your household income, and you don't pay it back.
• Undergraduates and postgraduates can get up to £27,783 a year, mostly paid straight to suppliers.
• It can pay for specialist equipment (you pay the first £200 of a new computer), non-medical helpers such as BSL interpreters or specialist note takers, taxi travel when your disability stops you using public transport, and other disability-related study costs.
• After you're found eligible, an informal needs assessmentdecides what you get. Don't buy equipment before it — you won't be reimbursed.
• The gov.uk page covers students who live in England and qualify for full support from Student Finance England (a Tuition Fee Loan and a Maintenance Loan), on a UK course that normally lasts at least a year.

Source: GOV.UK — Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA), read November 13, 2026.

Eligibility details: GOV.UK — DSA eligibility.

Accessibility at college: questions to ask

Our own checklist — useful for any college, in any country.

• ?Where is the disability services office, and how do I register with it? Can I start before I arrive?
• ?What documentation do you ask for, and how recent must it be? Will my IEP or 504 plan help?
• ?How long does it take to arrange an accommodation once I've applied?
• ?How are testing accommodations (extra time, a separate room, assistive software) arranged for exams?
• ?Are course materials available in accessible formats, and how quickly?
• ?How do accessible housing, dining and transport on campus work, and is there an extra charge? (There shouldn't be: a college may not charge you for an academic adjustment.)
• ?What happens if an accommodation isn't working during a course?
• ?Who is the Section 504 or ADA coordinator, and how does the grievance process work?
• ?Are there student groups, mentoring or advising for students with disabilities?
• ?For study abroad or placements: how are accommodations arranged away from campus?

Each US college's page on CollegeMatcher shows the share of its undergraduates registered with its disability services office, as it reported it to the Department of Education. That counts students who registered, not every student with a disability, and it says nothing about the quality of the support — so we don't rank colleges by it.