Section 3: Staying safe while visiting colleges
Once you have narrowed down your college list based on the accommodations each school can offer you, your own personal preferences of the college and also it’s location, the last thing you need to do before applying is to visit the colleges you are considering. Most colleges offer tours multiple times a day, but make sure to go to their website and a schedule a visit before making travel arrangements. While visiting colleges, the last thing anyone wants is to have an allergic reaction, but having one on a college visit or on your way to a college visit would definitely damper your plans. Here are some tips for staying safe while visiting colleges:
If you are driving to a college for the day:
If you are flying to visit a college:
Here is a checklist you can use throughout this chapter to help you keep your priorities straight when looking at colleges.
If you are driving to a college for the day:
- Bring your own food, that way you don’t have to worry about eating food in the car and reacting while on the road.
- Avoid quick food like fast food restaurants and places like Panara and Cosi because they use small kitchens and cross contamination is a huge risk and possibility.
If you are flying to visit a college:
- Call ahead and ask the airline about their food allergy policy. Bring extra food for the flight and have at least 4 epinephrine auto-injectors in your carry-on luggage as well as some Benadryl just in case.
- Know the airline’s policy for carrying medicine on board. To avoid suspicion and for security, keep your epinephrine in its original packaging. Also carry your action plan signed by a doctor. You may also want to cary a letter from your doctor stating your food allergy and explaining the importance of the need for you to carry medication, food or drinks with you.
- Once you get on board, check your seating area. You can ever ask the gate agent if you can pre-board to give you extra time to clean your seat. Wipe the tray table and hard surfaces by your seat. Consider bringing a fitted bed sheet to put over the seat to help create a barrier between any crumbs that could be on the seat and your skin.
- Always keep your medicine on you, NOT in an overhead bin. You want to keep it as accessible as possible just incase you need it.
- Because going to college via airplane is not as accessible as a car, use this time to explore the surrounding areas. Find the nearest hospital, grocery store, pharmacy and anything else you may need while in college. You may also want to identify some food allergy friendly restaurants so when at college yourself, you don’t have to play a guessing game of whether a restaurant is safe or not.
Here is a checklist you can use throughout this chapter to help you keep your priorities straight when looking at colleges.
College Priority Checklist | |
File Size: | 110 kb |
File Type: |