section 4: Asking the right questions
Asking questions is an essential part of any college tour. Having food allergies only adds to the questions that have to be asked. The one trick is though, to ask the questions you need answers too without identifying yourself as a food allergy student. People with food allergies are protected by the Americans With Disabilities Act and are considered a disability under the law. Unlike being in a wheelchair or being blind and needing a cane, food allergies are an invisible disability which means unless you tell someone about it, no one will know.
Our guidance counselors and other food allergy students agree, it's best not to tell tour guides and admissions people about your allergies (including in your college essay) until after you are accepted into the school. Although not accepting you because of your allergies is illegal and unlikely, it could happen. Once you’re accepted, you can ask about accommodations before you accept any offer.
That being said, there are still questions that you can ask and things you can look for on your visit that will help you get a basic idea of the accommodations that may be available without “outing” yourself. One thing to be careful about is not to ask questions you can easily google. Such as, “Where is the closest hospital?” because they only annoy the tour guide and take up valuable time you could be using to ask other more important questions.
Dorms
When you are on your dorm tour, notice the size of the dorm rooms. Would they accommodate any food preparation? We toured a freshman dorm with ceilings so low it would have been a fire hazard to have any appliance in the room. And most schools ban certain appliances in dorms. Do the dorm rooms have their own bathrooms or would you share common bathrooms with common showers where beauty products, soaps and shampoos with top 8 allergens could be used by other students? Are there common lounge areas where pizza, peanut butter and baked goods with top allergens are consumed?
Do Ask:
Dining Hall
If you think you will eat in a school dining hall, there are some things you can do before being accepted to find out if that school will be a good fit for you:
- Ask to tour the cafeteria during normal operating hours. and look for stations that are free of the top 7 or 8 allergens and have precautions taken to prevent cross contamination of utensils. Also look for separate microwaves used to reheat food that are restricted from the top 7 or 8 allergens.
- Ask what company provides the food service at the school. Most schools use one of two companies: Sodexo and Compass Group. You can contact those companies directly to hear about how they handle top 8 allergens and accommodate students with allergies to other less common foods and spices. Both of these companies have partnered with FARE (Food Allergy Research and Education) to make eating in a dining hall safer for food allergic students. They have leaders within their organization who understand the challenges of having food allergies at college. The biggest complaint we hear from students who eat at these allergy free stations is that a student who can't eat one top allergen (for example wheat) misses not being able to eat food with another top allergen (for example dairy). Because all of the top 7 or 8 allergens are omitted in every dish served in those allergy free stations. So just keep in mind that eating in a dining hall probably won't be like eating at home where you can omit only your allergens.
- Check out the FARE website. FARE has created the College Food Allergy Program which partners with colleges and universities to make all aspects of higher education safe for students. They will have a list of partnering schools that have participated in training and the creation of programs to be shared with schools nationwide.
Do Ask:
Don't Ask
Safety
You can ask (The tour guide may not know all the answers):
Here is a printable version of the questions listed which you can bring with you on your college visit. There is also space to write your own questions!
Our guidance counselors and other food allergy students agree, it's best not to tell tour guides and admissions people about your allergies (including in your college essay) until after you are accepted into the school. Although not accepting you because of your allergies is illegal and unlikely, it could happen. Once you’re accepted, you can ask about accommodations before you accept any offer.
That being said, there are still questions that you can ask and things you can look for on your visit that will help you get a basic idea of the accommodations that may be available without “outing” yourself. One thing to be careful about is not to ask questions you can easily google. Such as, “Where is the closest hospital?” because they only annoy the tour guide and take up valuable time you could be using to ask other more important questions.
Dorms
When you are on your dorm tour, notice the size of the dorm rooms. Would they accommodate any food preparation? We toured a freshman dorm with ceilings so low it would have been a fire hazard to have any appliance in the room. And most schools ban certain appliances in dorms. Do the dorm rooms have their own bathrooms or would you share common bathrooms with common showers where beauty products, soaps and shampoos with top 8 allergens could be used by other students? Are there common lounge areas where pizza, peanut butter and baked goods with top allergens are consumed?
Do Ask:
- Is it mandatory for freshmen to live on campus?
- Do any of your dorms have kitchens?
- Do all rooms have refrigerators and microwaves?
- Are there singles available?
- Are there off campus apartments available? (google it)
- Do you have a question on the roommate questionnaire about food allergies? (outing yourself)
- Is peanut butter allowed in the dorms? (of course it is!)
Dining Hall
If you think you will eat in a school dining hall, there are some things you can do before being accepted to find out if that school will be a good fit for you:
- Ask to tour the cafeteria during normal operating hours. and look for stations that are free of the top 7 or 8 allergens and have precautions taken to prevent cross contamination of utensils. Also look for separate microwaves used to reheat food that are restricted from the top 7 or 8 allergens.
- Ask what company provides the food service at the school. Most schools use one of two companies: Sodexo and Compass Group. You can contact those companies directly to hear about how they handle top 8 allergens and accommodate students with allergies to other less common foods and spices. Both of these companies have partnered with FARE (Food Allergy Research and Education) to make eating in a dining hall safer for food allergic students. They have leaders within their organization who understand the challenges of having food allergies at college. The biggest complaint we hear from students who eat at these allergy free stations is that a student who can't eat one top allergen (for example wheat) misses not being able to eat food with another top allergen (for example dairy). Because all of the top 7 or 8 allergens are omitted in every dish served in those allergy free stations. So just keep in mind that eating in a dining hall probably won't be like eating at home where you can omit only your allergens.
- Check out the FARE website. FARE has created the College Food Allergy Program which partners with colleges and universities to make all aspects of higher education safe for students. They will have a list of partnering schools that have participated in training and the creation of programs to be shared with schools nationwide.
Do Ask:
- Is there a dietician on staff to meet with students?
- Are meal plans mandatory/what are the meal plan options?
Don't Ask
- How are food allergies handled? (Tour guide most likely won’t know and you are outing yourself)
- What kind of restaurants are on/near campus? (google it!)
- Does the dining hall serve peanuts? (of course it does!)
Safety
You can ask (The tour guide may not know all the answers):
- What happens if an ambulance needs to be called?
- Are the security guards trained as first responders?
- How does your student health operate?
- Can RAs use auto-injectors? (most likely they have not been trained but you may be able to train them)
Here is a printable version of the questions listed which you can bring with you on your college visit. There is also space to write your own questions!
College Question Sheet | |
File Size: | 64 kb |
File Type: |