A Challenge!! Help find schools for our college tour

College Search & Selection
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<p>Trying to come up with a list of good colleges for my daughter is a real challenge. She is a current junior with an anemic 3.0. Last spring, she was diagnosed with a ADD. Her low achievement and her lack of impulse control were key to her diagnosis. That being said, she is very bright, just got a 28 on her ACT's (without any accomodations for her ADD and on first try) and has a good range of ec's including summers at the Interlochen Arts Academy and involvement in many local organizations. </p>

<p>She is the kind of kid who functions best with clear and concise rules and expectations. I know college life in general will challenge her impuse control. She is also an alternative kind of kid and would not do well socially with a preppy or politically conservative crowd. </p>

<p>We are planning a college tour for spring break. We are located in Michigan and don't know where to head. Her GPA puts her out of the running for alot of the midwestern LAC's and MSU is a stretch...although maybe her ACT's and ec's will help her a bit. We are open to any geography..just want to find the match that works for her. </p>

<p>A couple of other questions...she has expressed an interest in retaking the ACT and adding the SAT...My feeling is that she would be better off focusing on her GPA and put the testing behind her. If she improves her score, she will have a greater disparity to explain. Additionally, for most of last spring and this fall, the doc has been trying to calibrate the right dose of meds for her ADD. These were also her two weakest semester. Is this something worth mentioning on an application or interview? Thanks-I have my atlas out, waiting for your responses!</p>

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<p>I can't recommend any specific colleges for you, but DEFINITELY tell colleges about her ADD. Many colleges are LD-friendly (ie they will give accomodations on tests) and it is better to have an explained disparity than an unexplained one! </p>

<p>Because it seems like your daughter would need a supportive environment at college, I would suggest looking at LACs. There are a lot of great schools out there that are not super-elite, and they tend to have more community and a better support system, whereas at a big school she could easily "fall through the cracks". </p>

<p>I'd suggest talking to her guidance counselor (not sure how good they are at your school), and looking at books like the K & W Guide to Colleges for Students With Learning Disabilites, which will give you an idea of colleges which are LD-friendly and would provide accomodations. Good luck!</p>

3

<p>I think your daughter will have plenty of choices. First, I'd recommend that you and your daughter take a very proactive approach to learning about LD/ADD support services at colleges and universities. An excellent place to start is the National Clearinghouse on Postsecondary Education for Individuals with disabilities - <a href="http://www.heath.gwu.edu%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.heath.gwu.edu&lt;/a>. I would particularly recommend their fact sheet on Selective Colleges for students with LD/ADD: <a href="http://www.heath.gwu.edu/PDFs/SelectingCollegefactsheet.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.heath.gwu.edu/PDFs/SelectingCollegefactsheet.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>The K&W Guide that etselec mentioned is also very good, as is Peterson's Colleges for Students with LEarning Disabilities . I'd suggest that both you and your daughter read all of these resources and talk openly about how much accomodation she is going to need or will be willing to accept. That will have a big impact on her college selections. Etselec's suggestion of consulting with an independent education counselor who is familar with LD/ADD student issues is also a good one. Check with the Independent Educational Consultants Association for possibilities:
<a href="http://iecaonline.com/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://iecaonline.com/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>As for particular colleges, I think your daughter's grades and test scores will give her plenty of options. Really, a 3.0 GPA is workable for MANY colleges, and her ACT score is fine. Don't under-estimate her chances - there are close to 3,000 four year colleges in the U.S., and a large majority would not only be thrilled to have your daughter as a student, but provide the support and atmosphere she needs to get a great education and thrive academically in the process.</p>

<p>In fact, some private colleges in the Midwest that would probably be matches for her, and that also have ample LD/ADD support services might include: Alma (Mich), Loras (Iowa), Muskingum (Ohio), the University of Indianapolis, Anderson (IN), Augsburg (Mn), Augustana (SD), Bradley U (IL), Coe College (Iowa), Creighton, DePAul (IL), Drake (Iowa), FRanklin College (IN), Hiram (OH), Loyola (IL), Oakland (MI), Ohio Wesleyan, Otterbein (OH).
Some of these may not be right for her, some may be a bit of a stretch, but just this list, with a few state universities thrown in to the mix, would give you a good start on narrowing down her likes and dislikes. And, of course, there are MANY other options outside of the midwest. Thbe most impor</p>

<p>Hope this gets you started -- She will, as I said, have plenty of choices but it may take some research and digging on both her part and yours to identify which type of atmosphere she's most likely to thrive in.</p>

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<p>Right now my daughter recieves no special accomodation except having a mother who serves as both a human palm pilot and chief disciplinarian. </p>

<p>As I mentioned, she is an alternative-ie kid; It seems that many schools that are not overly preppy, conservative or religious also give the students lots of freedoms, both academically and socially. We are trying to find a place that combines structure with self expression. Anyone know of such a place?</p>

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<p>Hiram came to mind as a possiblity for your D. Hard to find a LAC that is not conservative in Michigan. What about Wooster, I don't know what your D wants to Major in but Wooster would seem to fit her criteria.</p>

<p>Her ACT is fine, I concur with Carolyn. I would not take the SAT but if she wants to take the ACT again, I would do that and prep a little bit.</p>

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<p>Look at Albion College in Michigan and St. Mary's in South Bend, Indiana.</p>

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<p>Hard to improve on Carolyn's advice, would only add three schools to her list.</p>

<p>Earlham in Richmond Indiana, supportive, small (12-1300), liberal and students seem to be rather free spirited in a controlled manner (if that makes any sense)</p>

<p>Beloit in Beloit, wisconsin - student body seems to seek individuality and is open to free spirited persons, suppotive faculty</p>

<p>Cornell College in Iowa, near Cedar Rapids, has unique (like Colorado College) schedule, one class at a time for 3 and a half weeks. This level of concentrartion on just one subject at a time, might give your D the structure and discipline to allow her to flourish.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

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<p>I have adhd(more like add but i tend to get a little hyper here and there) and have problems to my first year of hs..i did horribly and got little to no help in my classes at my public schooL! so I thought alternativly and now im at a school focused w/ ad/hd LD or just have trouble in school theres out of 90 kids in my school there is 10-15 kids in each grade! its also 5-12th grade! now i happen to be getting a lot of help there is 7 kids in my main classes 9 in spanish and the rest is w/ 10-15 kids! Im not doing that great realizing i will probably never be an amazin student but im doing better! and im happy...thanx for the help!</p>

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<p>Carolyn, as usual, has some wonderful suggestions for schools. I was trying to think of liberal arts colleges in Michigan which may fit your daughter. I think that Kalamazoo and Albion may be a reach (but may be worth applying if she really enjoyed one of them), while Alma and Hope are probably too conservative (for that matter, Albion may also be too conservative as well).</p>

<p>One school that may fit the bill for your daughter is Manchester College in Indiana. Manchester is a small liberal arts college in Northern Indiana that is known to be very supportive. There is a strong Peace Studies program at Manchester (the school is affiliated with the Brethern Church), so there is a liberal presence on campus. However, there are also typical pre-professional types as well (accounting, being one of the stronger majors and a decent reputation at placing their students into Medical School). Manchester does not get much national play, but the school does a good job with providing individual attention.</p>

<p>Other suggestions of schools that are worth a look include Warren Wilson College, UNC-Asheville and St. Andrews Presbyterian College (all in North Carolina); Northland College in Wisconsin; University of Evansville; Wells College in New York.</p>

<p>If you have not done so already, you may want to take a look at the Colleges That Change Lives book for some additional ideas. While not every school highlighted in that book will be a match for your daughter, it will at least give you a good place to start.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

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<p>If you want to look at any schools on the east coast, McDaniel College in Westminster,MD is a small LAC (1600 students) that accomodates students with ADD. The students there did not appear to be preppy or conservative (many wore jeans, sweats, pj's and flip flops).</p>

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<p>Does anyone have any thoughts on Guilford? Or Knox-which could be stretch. My daughter's first choice is Evergreen State, but I think that there might be more freedom than she can handle? Any thoughts?</p>

<p>By the way, we are Jewish-while we wouldn't rule out a church affiliated school, (and in fact, DePaul is on our short list) we don't want to be her to be a novelty. Would that automatically rule out any of these school...I am off to Hillel's website now!</p>

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<p>Kalamazoo College</p>

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<p>Beansmom- I don't know about Guildford, but I think that Knox has a small % of Jewish students (maybe around 1-2% at most). Although they don't have any info on the Hillel site, McDaniel College has about 4-5% Jewish students (according to their admissions staff - we went to visit a few months ago) and they have a Jewish Student Union. Goucher College in Baltimore, MD has a large % (maybe 18%) and is not preppy/conservative at all. Goucher is also small (about 1400 students) and may also make accomodations for ADD students. (See Loren Pope's book on Colleges That Change Lives).</p>

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<p>I have an LD and I got to type my essay on the SAT. The ACT offered me no accomidation. In Massachusetts, you could check out Clark University, Wheaton College or Hampshire (a weird school that appeals to some LD kids, you love or hate it.) In Southern California, Pitzer, Redlands and Chapman A lot of the time you retake a test, you do better even if you don't study. I did. It's a comfort level thing. The Fiske Guide to Colleges has a list of the best LD colleges. I was looking for my copy but couldn't find it. I think Clark and American University were on the list. In general, I'd go with a small LAC because of the personal attention.</p>

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<p>Oh, and in my experience, Hillel's website says there are more Jews than there really are at a school, at least practicing, or caring about it at all.</p>

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<p>After I originally posted I thought of Guilford as well for your daughter. Guilford generally is well thought of on this website. While there is some complaint about the general maintenance of the school, most reviews of the educational quality seem to be positive. With both Guilford and Warren Wilson, I think that your daughter would find a critical mass of Jewish students. In fact, I recently read a thread on the Warren Wilson College Livejournal site on this very subject:</p>

<p><a href="http://community.livejournal.com/warren_wilson/14476.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://community.livejournal.com/warren_wilson/14476.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Regarding Knox, in my personal opinion it is a very good school. However, it tends to attract a pretty conservative student, generally speaking. In my mind, the same type of student who would be attracted to Albion College would also find Knox a pretty good fit. That is not to say that your daughter could not be happy there. Carolyn and her daughter visited Knox on their "Great Midwest College Hunt" and wrote an insightful review of her and her daughter's impressions. You may want to look up that thread for some insight.</p>

<p>While it was mentioned briefly above, you may want to check out the Johnston Center for Integrative Studies at the University of Redlands. It looks like a very interesting program that may appeal to your daughter. Again, I think Carolyn has either personally visited the school and/or her daughter applied to this program.</p>

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<p>Knox college is great place, her ACT will be fine, GPA will need explanations, people are there absolutely outstanding in giving you attention you need. It is called Hard Knox sometimes and academics there are not easy.
I disagree that college attracts mostly conservative crowd- none of the other colleges has Red House theme for the dorm living, their library contents will get you not only very liberal but much more radical in your thoughts that you possible imagine. It was one and only college we have seen signs of protest against Iraq war in the very beginning when we still were reassured that we looking for weapons of mass destruction.
The motto of the Knox college is Freedom to flourish. Whether it is too much freedom for your kid you will have to find out. Students there are very active in directing college life and have voice on trustee board decisions and such, being treated as adults with all responsibilites coming from this view.
Hiram college is similar to Knox, admitting less high stats applicants, still producing very significant results. One of my D thoughts after visiting was that she would be babied too much at Hiram.</p>

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<p>Most small LACs have some type of religious history. Guilford is a Quaker School. You may also want to look at WV Wesleyan- even though it is affiliated with the Methodist Church. It was recommended to a friend as a school that does very well with ADD, ADHD kids. I think it may have been in Pope's book.</p>

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<p>Nix on Evergreen. Way too unstructured for someone with LD, I feel.</p>

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<p>Has your daughter made any decisions?</p>