How to Get Accommodations in College: A Family Guide

If your student has an IEP, a 504 Plan, or has been receiving learning support throughout high school, you are likely approaching one of the most misunderstood transitions in the college process. Learning how to get accommodations in college involves a fundamental shift in who carries responsibility, what documentation is required, and how support gets delivered. Most families, however, are navigating this terrain for the first time without a roadmap.

Here is the good news: families who prepare for this shift intentionally — ideally starting as early as junior year — tend to see remarkably smooth transitions. Interestingly, the students who struggle are rarely the ones without accommodations. Rather, they are the ones who weren’t prepared for the handoff.

As a result, this guide walks you through what changes, what’s required, and how to prepare your student with clarity and confidence.

What Are College Accommodations?

College accommodations are formal adjustments to how your student accesses learning — things like extended time on exams, reduced-distraction testing environments, note-taking support, priority registration, or housing accommodations for medical needs. These supports exist under federal law through the Americans with Disabilities Act (Title III) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Here, however, is where it gets interesting: the purpose of college accommodations is fundamentally different from high school accommodations. In K–12, accommodations exist to help students succeed. In college, on the other hand, they exist to provide equal access. That subtle shift, in fact, shapes everything about how colleges approach, approve, and deliver support.

Do IEPs Transfer to College?

No. IEPs are K–12 documents governed by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) — a law that does not apply to higher education. Consequently, when your student graduates from high school, their IEP effectively retires with them.

504 Plans hold up slightly differently. Although the underlying law (Section 504) does follow students into college, the college’s process for delivering accommodations is completely separate from whatever was in place during high school. In other words, no plan transfers automatically. Every student, regardless of what they had in K–12, starts the college accommodations process from scratch.

High School vs. College Accommodations: What Changes

Three fundamental shifts catch most families by surprise:

1. The adults who have advocated for your student are no longer in the room. In high school, a team of teachers, counselors, case managers, and you identify needs and build a plan around the student. In college, by contrast, your student must self-identify, submit their own documentation, meet with disability services independently, and advocate with each professor — often semester after semester.

2. The legal framework shifts from success to access. High school schools are obligated to help students succeed. Colleges, meanwhile, are obligated to provide equal access. As a result, some accommodations you may have had access to in high school (like modified assignments or reduced course loads as a default) may not be available at the college level.

3. Your role changes too. Under FERPA, college students are adults at 18. Therefore, colleges communicate with your student directly. Parents can only be copied on communications through an explicit FERPA waiver, and even then, the student remains the primary contact. This shift — from advocate to consultant — is often the hardest part of the transition for parents.

How to Get Accommodations in College: A Timeline for Families

The most important thing to understand about how to get accommodations in college: timing is everything. Unfortunately, waiting until your student arrives on campus often means going an entire semester without support. Here, then, is the timeline we recommend to families working with our college consulting team:

• Junior year: Review existing documentation. Identify any gaps. Begin conversations about goals and support needs.
• Summer before senior year: Schedule updated psychoeducational testing if your documentation is older than 3–5 years. Additionally, begin researching Disability Services at prospective colleges.
• Fall of senior year: Factor accommodations support into college list decisions. Note documentation requirements at each school (they vary considerably).
• After acceptance: Contact the Disability Services office at your student’s chosen college. Submit documentation. Finally, complete any required intake meetings before the first day of classes.
• Summer before college: Practice self-advocacy skills. Role-play professor conversations. Meanwhile, build the routines that will replace the ones you have been providing.

Documentation Colleges Require

Most colleges want documentation from within the past three to five years, including a specific diagnosis, a description of functional limitations, and an explanation of how those limitations affect academic performance. Unfortunately, documentation that was sufficient for a K–12 IEP often is not sufficient at the college level.

Acceptable documentation typically includes:

• A recent psychoeducational or neuropsychological evaluation
• Medical documentation from a licensed provider (for conditions like ADHD or anxiety)
• A formal diagnostic statement detailing functional limitations
• Records from previous accommodations, when relevant

Therefore, plan for updated testing during junior year or the summer before senior year if your student’s documentation is aging out. The Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD) publishes documentation guidance that many colleges reference.

How Students Actually Request Accommodations in College

The process of learning how to get accommodations in college — and successfully using them — typically looks like this at most schools:

1. Register with Disability Services. Your student contacts the office (often called Accessibility Services, Student Accessibility Resources, or a similar name) and initiates the registration process.
2. Submit documentation. The student uploads or sends the required paperwork. Ideally, do this as early as possible after acceptance.
3. Complete an intake meeting. Most colleges require a one-on-one meeting between the student and a disability services coordinator to discuss needs and approve accommodations.
4. Receive an accommodation letter. Once approved, the student receives a formal letter listing their approved accommodations. This letter is the student’s to keep and share.
5. Notify each professor, every semester. At the start of every term, the student shares their accommodation letter with each professor and often follows up with a conversation about how accommodations will work in that specific class.

That last step, admittedly, is the one that surprises families most. Accommodations are not automatic. Instead, your student activates them, class by class, semester by semester — and the professor is their primary point of contact, not a case manager.

Common Accommodations Available in College

Although every college is different, these are the most common accommodations approved at the college level:

• Extended time on exams (typically 1.5x or 2x)
• Reduced-distraction testing environment
• Access to lecture notes or recordings
• Priority registration
• Housing accommodations (single room, medical accommodations, service animals)
• Alternative format textbooks (audio, digital)
• Flexibility on attendance policies (for chronic health conditions)
• Assistive technology

On the other hand, what you likely will not see at the college level: modified assignments, reduced course content, waived course requirements, or the kind of daily check-ins a K–12 case manager might provide. In short, college accommodations level the playing field — they do not change the game.

Should Students Disclose on College Applications?

This is one of the most common questions we hear from families, and honestly, there is no universal right answer.

On one hand, disclosing can provide helpful context for academic inconsistencies and help identify genuinely supportive schools during the college search. On the other hand, not disclosing keeps the application focused on strengths and accomplishments. Ultimately, both paths are legitimate.

Whatever your student decides, however, one thing is certain: they will still need to disclose to the Disability Services office after enrollment in order to receive accommodations. These are two separate decisions — and the first does not determine the second. For additional perspective, Understood.org has thoughtful guidance for families weighing this choice.

Executive Function: The Skill That Makes Accommodations Work

Here is the quiet truth about college accommodations: the paperwork gets your student through the door. However, executive function skills determine whether they can walk through it.

Task initiation, time management, organization, working memory, and emotional regulation are the difference between an approved accommodation and a used one. In fact, the students who thrive in college are not necessarily the ones with the most support — they are the ones with the skills to actually use what they have.

If your student has historically relied on adults to manage their time, initiate tasks, or organize their materials, then the summer before college is a critical window. Our executive function coaching work with families often focuses on exactly this transition — specifically, building the behind-the-scenes skills that make accommodations meaningful. For research-based context on executive function and ADHD, CHADD is an excellent resource.

Preparing Your Student for the Transition

Self-advocacy is a skill, not a trait. Moreover, it is built through practice, not lectures. In the 18 months before college, therefore, the single most valuable thing parents can do is gradually shift scaffolding from themselves to their student.

For example, let them make their own medical appointments. Encourage them to email teachers directly when they need clarification. Similarly, let them handle administrative tasks. Ultimately, the goal is fluency, not perfection — and every small interaction builds the muscle they will need on day one of college.

In our experience, the families who see the smoothest transitions are the ones who start practicing this shift early, without waiting for a crisis to force it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How early should we start the college accommodations process?

Ideally, begin reviewing documentation in junior year, complete updated testing (if needed) the summer before senior year, and contact Disability Services immediately after your student accepts their offer. Otherwise, waiting until after move-in typically means going the first semester without support.

Can I talk to my student’s college disability services office directly?

Generally, no — not without your student’s explicit FERPA waiver on file. Even then, the college’s primary relationship is with your student. Indeed, this is one of the biggest shifts families face in the transition.

Does my student have to disclose a disability on the Common App?

No. Disclosure on the application is always optional. Furthermore, students who choose not to disclose on the application can still register with Disability Services after enrollment and receive full accommodations.

What if our psychoeducational evaluation is old?

Most colleges want documentation from within the past three to five years. If your student’s evaluation is older, therefore, plan to schedule updated testing during junior year or the summer before senior year. Because testing can take weeks to schedule and complete, build in buffer time.

Will having accommodations affect admissions decisions?

Colleges are not permitted to use disability status as a factor in admissions decisions. That said, students sometimes choose to use the Additional Information section of the Common App to provide context about academic inconsistencies — and how they have grown through them.

The Bottom Line

Ultimately, learning how to get accommodations in college is really a lesson in a bigger shift: your student is stepping into adulthood, and the systems around them are stepping back. The families who thrive, therefore, are the ones who treat this transition as a gradual handoff rather than a hard cutoff — preparing documentation early, practicing self-advocacy, and building the executive function skills that turn paperwork into real support.

You do not have to figure this out alone. If you would like personalized guidance through this transition, reach out — we would love to hear your family’s story.