Information for VR Counselors

Vocational rehabilitation counselors

Greetings! This page is especially for vocational rehabilitation counselors. The information below can be shared with your clients and their families, your colleagues, and your supervisors, and other decision-makers. We will update this page periodically. If you need further information, feel free to contact us.

We also have a general document that provides justification for sending clients to Gallaudet instead of other colleges and universities. This document is available here: VR Justification Document.

Gallaudet is a comprehensive educational institution with a robust General Education curriculum and challenging majors, including new programs public health and risk management and insurance. Our students obtain a liberal education infused with digital literacy. They can design self-directed majors and participate in our Honors Program. We are especially proud of our science, technology, and mathematics programs and their new classrooms and laboratories.

Our academic support services are second to none. We offer tutoring, American Sign Language (ASL) and writing assistance, accommodations for students with additional disabilities, and counseling and psychological services. Best of all, Gallaudet University is the only university in the world that provide direct communication in American Sign Language which means information presented to students will not be lost as it might be through interpreters.

Accommodations: Nowadays, the majority of deaf and hard of hearing students attend mainstreamed schools, and more and more of them have cochlear implants. Gallaudet recognizes this and welcomes them by providing qualified interpreters, computer-assisted real-time captioning (CART), American Sign Language classes, and notetaking services at no charge. We offer accepted students a four-week JumpStart ASL immersion summer program. The retention rate for ASL JumpStart students is very high, as these students find out very quickly that Gallaudet is the place to be. For more information, go to JumpStart.

Career preparation: Our students can study in more than 40 major fields or design their own major. All students take a required course in job preparation skills: identifying knowledge, skills, and aptitudes; searching for suitable positions, preparing cover letters and resumes interviewing, attire, etc. This preparation pays off: 100 percent of our students complete one or more internships during their years here. Ninety-seven percent of our alumni are employed or pursuing advanced studies within one year after graduation. Our Office for Career Education & Professional Development (Office for Career Success) offers internship and job fairs twice annually, with representatives from businesses, educational programs, and local, state, and government entities.

Internship and job opportunities: Our prime location in Washington, D.C. makes possible unparalleled internship and job opportunities. It also offers our students the unique experience of living in a world capital. There are over 400 on-campus jobs available to our students, including paraprofessional positions.

Gallaudet is eminently affordable! We are the #3 Best Value among National Universities in the 2021 U.S. News & World Report Best College rankings. Although Gallaudet is affordable, students and their families are still required to submit the FAFSA so they can be considered for financial aid. Keep in mind that high school students in dual or concurrent enrollment programs with local community colleges or four-year universities can transfer their credits to Gallaudet, thereby getting a head start on their post-secondary education.

A significant percentage of our students receive VR support. Many of these students are the first generation of their family to attend college, and many others have limited family financial resources.

Challenges: We understand that VR agencies nationwide face multiple challenges, among them funding cuts and the need to prioritize clients with multiple disabilities. We have prepared several justification statements that may support your efforts to meet the requirements of the new WIOA mandate.

• Immerse Into ASL justification letter
• Discover Your Future justification letter
• Bison Brainiacs justification letter

For more information about our summer camps, please see Summer youth camps.

Undergraduate Open Houses: As always, Open Houses are an excellent way to support prospects in making career decisions and receiving a Bachelor Degree at Gallaudet is the pathway to achieve their Individual Plan for Employment. At our Open Houses, prospective students have the opportunity to meet with academic representatives and with our Office of Financial Aid. Students who wish to register for the Open House should visit this page.

Direct questions to Contact.

The Office of Undergraduate Admissions staff includes admissions counselors for each of five geographic regions. To find your admissions counselor, see this page. Even better, if your client is ready to apply, go to this page.

Our Office of Financial Aid also stands ready to help! See financial aid for more information.