Special situations
Getting diagnosed with Crohn's disease during your teens or early twenties changes the math on everything from choosing a college to picking a first job. While your peers are worrying about roommate assignments and meal plans, you're mapping bathroom locations and figuring out how to explain absences to professors you've never met. The good news: there are real systems in place to support you, and learning to navigate them now builds skills that will serve you for decades.
College Accommodations Start with Disability Services
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 protects students with chronic illnesses, including Crohn's disease, at any institution that receives federal funding. That covers most colleges and universities. But here's the shift from high school: in college, no one will come to you. You have to register with your school's disability services office yourself, provide medical documentation, and request specific accommodations.
Common accommodations for students with Crohn's include extended exam time (with the clock paused for bathroom breaks), adjusted attendance policies so that flare-related absences don't tank your grade, and flexible deadlines during active disease. Some students also secure priority housing closer to accessible restrooms or single-occupancy bathrooms. In December 2024, the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights published a fact sheet specifically addressing IBD accommodations, signaling that schools are expected to take these requests seriously.
The key is to register early, ideally before your first semester starts. Bring a letter from your gastroenterologist that documents your diagnosis and describes how symptoms affect your ability to participate in academic activities. You don't need to be in a flare to qualify. The accommodations are there for when you need them.
Scholarships Designed for Students with IBD
Paying for college is stressful enough without factoring in the cost of biologics and specialist visits. Several scholarships exist specifically for students managing inflammatory bowel disease.
The AbbVie Immunology Scholarship awards $15,000 to students pursuing bachelor's or graduate degrees and $5,000 for associate degrees, with 45 recipients selected annually.
The Salix Gastrointestinal Health Scholars Program offers ten scholarships each year to students living with GI conditions.
The Crohn's & Colitis Foundation maintains a broader list of financial aid resources and can connect you with additional opportunities through their IBD Help Center.
Application windows vary by program, so bookmark these pages and check back during fall and winter months when most cycles open.
The Insurance Cliff at 26
Under the Affordable Care Act, you can stay on a parent's health insurance plan until you turn 26. For someone with Crohn's, losing that coverage is a high-stakes transition. Biologic medications can cost thousands per month without insurance, and a gap in coverage can mean a gap in treatment.
Start planning at least six months before your 26th birthday. If your employer offers health insurance, review the formulary to confirm your current medications are covered before enrolling. If you don't have employer-sponsored coverage, the Health Insurance Marketplace allows you to enroll during a Special Enrollment Period triggered by aging off your parent's plan. You typically have 60 to 120 days from your coverage end date to select a new plan. A handful of states, including New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, allow young adults to stay on a parent's plan beyond 26 through state-level extensions.
A 2024 HealthCentral survey found that 35% of young adults with IBD felt they lacked confidence navigating insurance questions, and step therapy mandates (where insurers require you to try cheaper drugs before approving the one your doctor prescribed) hit this age group harder than older patients. Knowing your rights and asking your GI team for prior authorization support makes a real difference.
Career Decisions and Disclosure
Crohn's disease doesn't limit what careers you can pursue, but it does shape how you evaluate job offers. Health insurance quality, remote work flexibility, and sick leave policies matter more when you have a condition that can flare without warning. Many young adults with Crohn's weigh benefits packages as heavily as salary when choosing between offers.
Whether to disclose your condition to an employer is a personal decision. You're not legally required to share your diagnosis, but if you need accommodations (frequent bathroom access, flexibility for medical appointments, occasional remote work during flares), you'll need to work with HR. The Americans with Disabilities Act protects you from discrimination based on a chronic health condition, and reasonable accommodations are your right.
Military Service and Crohn's
If military service has been part of your plan, Crohn's disease changes the picture. Under Department of Defense Instruction 6130.03, current or past inflammatory bowel disease is generally disqualifying for enlistment. The rationale centers on the need for ongoing medication, monitoring, and the unpredictability of flares in deployment settings. Medical waivers exist but are granted rarely. If military service matters to you, speak with a recruiter early and get an honest assessment of waiver likelihood for your specific situation.
Building Your Own System
The thread connecting all of these challenges is self-advocacy. In high school, parents and school nurses managed the logistics. In college and beyond, that responsibility shifts entirely to you: registering for accommodations, choosing insurance plans, deciding what to share with employers, and keeping your treatment on track through every transition. Tracking your symptoms, medications, and flare patterns gives you the data you need to make those conversations productive, whether you're sitting in a disability services office, negotiating with an insurance company, or explaining to a new gastroenterologist why your current treatment plan works.