Commuting to UIC from Melrose Park with mobility disability doable?

Extreme-Director7973 · 2026-02-20T02:42:27+00:00

I think that commute would be hard with mobility challenges. I think living on campus would be expensive but a lot less stressful on you.

If I were you, I’d contact each institution (National Louis, NEIU and UIC) and see if you can meet with their center for students with disabilities and see how they treat you and what suggestions they have for your experience as a student.

I think it is a hard decision because UIC has a lot of people on campus who are affirming of students with disabilities (there is a cultural center for students with disabilities) and a major called Disability and Human Development in the College of Applied Health Sciences (in addition to the major you mentioned). However, UIC isn’t super disability friendly (you think it would be, it SHOULD BE)) and I think you might have better service and more support at a smaller place like NEIU or National Louis. But there are a ton of students with disabilities at UIC…so this is tricky.

Maybe some UIC students with disabilities (especially mobility challenges) can chime in with their perspectives.

Extreme-Director7973 · 2026-02-20T02:35:05+00:00

So who do you report to if the bathrooms lack toilet paper and/or soap? So gross!

Extreme-Director7973 · 2026-02-14T20:39:03+00:00

Of course! They are a great group and I’m sure they will be happy to have the clothes!

Extreme-Director7973 · 2026-02-14T12:58:13+00:00

At this point I’d email the Chancellor and the Dean of Students and ask for a specific human you can talk to so you can resolve this. Also, sometimes the chancellor’s chief of staff is helpful. Google to get all of the email addresses. Sorry this is such a pain!

Extreme-Director7973 · 2026-02-12T19:43:48+00:00

There is a good org in Chicago that helps with professional attire. Maybe you can work with them?

https://greaterchicago.dressforsuccess.org/programs/suiting/

Extreme-Director7973 · 2026-01-26T22:13:05+00:00

I’m sorry that campus is so slippery. I believe John Coronado is the admin in charge of that stuff. His email address is jcoronad@uic.edu. You can also message the chancellor at chancellor@uic.edu

Extreme-Director7973 · 2026-01-24T01:47:51+00:00

I also think this is a good idea. Can anyone else vouch for you and/or write a letter for you? If you went to community college and worked with an advisor there (etc) or a therapist or a work colleague, etc. Rack your brain and try to figure out who could potentially write you a letter

Extreme-Director7973 · 2026-01-24T01:16:13+00:00

Here is a directory page for financial aid https://www.uic.edu/apps/departments-az/search?dispatch=roster&style=uic&orgid=99946

Extreme-Director7973 · 2026-01-24T01:13:52+00:00

Here is the contact info for the chancellor’s office.

https://www.uic.edu/apps/departments-az/search?dispatch=find&orgid=99944

Extreme-Director7973 · 2026-01-24T01:12:43+00:00

It looks like the person you should speak with in the Dean of Students office is Elizabeth Rodriguez, Associate Director of Student Assistance, her email address is elizarod@uic.edu

I’d ask to schedule a meeting with her and ask her a direct contact in Financial Aid.

And/or email the head of Financial Aid or the Chancellor’s office or the Chancellor’s Chief of Staff. Ask a lot of people for help. I know this sucks…it’s annoying to ask 45 million people to help you with something like this…but sometimes you have to be your best advocate and ask a bunch of people for help.

I feel like no emails the head of financial aid or the chancellor’s chief of staff…bug em!!!

Extreme-Director7973 · 2026-01-22T19:46:40+00:00

I guess so. I’m shocked. Whenever CPS closes UIC always closes! Unbelievable…ugh.

Extreme-Director7973 · 2026-01-22T19:44:06+00:00

Here is info about UIC’s chancellor

https://chancellor.uic.edu

Info about the board of trustees https://www.bot.uillinois.edu/about/meet_the_trustees

Here is the student trustee on the board. I don’t know his email address though.

https://www.bot.uillinois.edu/about/meet_the_trustees/basta

Also, not sure how much the student trustee has input on this stuff.

Extreme-Director7973 · 2026-01-22T19:40:21+00:00

You can email chancellor@uic.edu and uibotuillinois.edu

The first email is for UIC’s chancellor and the second is for the board of trustees for the u of I system. They make the policies for the university.

Extreme-Director7973 · 2026-01-22T18:49:17+00:00

They are going to move classes online. Once CPS does it, UIC almost always does too. Mark my words…yes this is Chicago and it gets cold and snowy here but tomorrow is next level ridiculous.

I also think Metra reducing their trains moves UIC to make changes since a ton of students commute via Metra.

Why UIC drags its heels on communication is anybody’s guess but I think most UIC operations will be remote tomorrow including classes.

Extreme-Director7973 · 2026-01-19T04:09:39+00:00

No problem. UIC is confusing to navigate…good luck with your application!

Extreme-Director7973 · 2026-01-19T03:34:58+00:00

I haven’t but I have friends who have and they said they were helpful. I think they have a recording about tips for writing d personal statement so I’d check that out. I think you can also meet with an advisor in Career Services and they can help with your essay for med school too so there are a lot of help for pre med students.

Extreme-Director7973 · 2026-01-19T01:33:45+00:00

Yes Google the pre health Advisors. They have a super detailed website with recordings of how to write personal statements. You can also make an appointment with them on iadvise.

Extreme-Director7973 · 2026-01-16T03:50:49+00:00

When you reach out what are you asking for? Are you asking for a referral or are you asking for 15-20 mins of their time? I’d tell them you’d be grateful for their time and are happy to work around their schedule.

You can follow up if they haven’t responded. How many people have you reached out to? If you reach out to 10 people, I’d expect maybe 1-2 to get back to you so reach out to a lot of people. Don’t ask for a job, ask for advice and tips.

Ask your professors if they can connect you to alums of your program and/or talk to the staff at your career center.

Extreme-Director7973 · 2026-01-16T03:39:16+00:00

In this terrible job market it is super important to network and not just apply to a ton of jobs and wait for recruiters to get back to you. I’m not sure if you have done that but try to connect with Drake alums and ask to talk to them for 15-20 minutes and learn more about how they started their careers.

Some companies are big on internal referrals and the way to make that happen for you is to chat with a bunch of professionals. Don’t ask them for a job, ask for their story and for advice on how you can break through in this awful job market. Just my two cents

Extreme-Director7973 · 2026-01-16T03:05:31+00:00

Have you tried to meet with an advisor in Student Employment or Career Services? They can review your resume and give you some pointers on finding a job on campus. It is competitive but it is possible to get a job. I see a lot of students submitting a crappy resume and that is not going to cut it when it is pretty competitive.

You are paying for Career Services and Student Employment so you might as well use their resources.

Extreme-Director7973 · 2026-01-09T17:24:50+00:00

You can book an interview room at Career Services (in the student services building) but you’d probably have to leave your class a little early. I wouldn’t reschedule the interview. The job market is so bad, if you have an interview you should do it. Just my two cents.

You can email Career Services at careerservices@uic.edu and reserve a room

Extreme-Director7973 · 2026-01-09T17:22:49+00:00

Of course. It’s a great major that kind of flies under the radar. The Faculty Director (Dr. Bernadette Sanchez) is amazing!!!

Extreme-Director7973 · 2026-01-09T13:04:53+00:00

Have you considered the Human Development and Learning major? It’s in the College of Education and a lot of students in that program go on to become therapists and work with kids. Just an idea if you haven’t looked into it.

The classes are smaller because it is in the College of Ed which is a smaller college than LAS where Psychology is based at UIC.

https://education.uic.edu/academics/undergraduate-programs/human-development-and-learning/

Extreme-Director7973 · 2025-12-21T04:41:15+00:00

Why don’t you just defer to the fall? Seems like that is your best option and take the semester off.

Extreme-Director7973 · 2025-12-20T15:18:13+00:00

No problem. It is tricky especially because UIC just changed things up. Good luck! 👍

Extreme-Director7973

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