ADHD Prejudice in Admissions?

Applying to College
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<p>My son has ADHD-inattentive type, and has been taking medication for it since 2nd grade. He's now a junior in high school.</p>

<p>He still struggles with his ADHD, but somehow has managed to get a 3.5 average and is ranked about 10th in a class of 67 at a small, rural school. He took his PSAT's without getting extra time as an accommodation, and scored 42 W/ 50 Readiing/52M; we're applying to get him extra time, and with it, I'm guessing he'll have about 600 on the reading and the math, and probably 500 on the writing, which is his weakest area. He left many questions blank when he took the PSAT</p>

<p>Those scores and grades should qualify him for many schools, but I'm wondering if we should reveal to the school that he is ADHD. I realize that it is illegal to discriminate against someone with a disability, but the law doesn't stop it from being done, as we all know. </p>

<p>Kids who require accommodations and extra help could be a pain in the butt for a college, and they may not want to accept someone with ADHD. At the same time, I wonder if there might be an advantage in showing that he has overcome his ADHD by working hard (and at the same time, it will explain why he doesn't have as many extracurriculars as some kids - his activities are just band and baseball). </p>

<p>(As a side note, I'm aware of Landmark College and their programs for kids like him, and he'll be attending their summer program this July).</p>

<p>Does anyone know if we should keep his ADHD a secret in the admissions process?</p>

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<p>I’m not an expert on the matter, to be honest, but I’d like to share that I didn’t let any of my schools know that I have ADHD in my application. I briefly mentioned it in one or two interviews when a question it related to was brought up, but I was quite nonchalant about it. My situation, however, is quite different from your son’s. If you’d like to know more about it and get a detailed reason as to why I didn’t make it a priority to tell any schools directly, send me a private message. </p>

<p>I do strongly suggest that you talk to a school counselor, an out of school counselor, AND his psychiatrist about whether or not to let colleges know. It’s highly beneficial to have multiple professional opinions.</p>

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<p>I’d take the above-mentioned route and seek professional opinions on the matter. It’s unlikely that you’ll find a lot of helpful and accurate information on the topic here.</p>

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<p>[Learning</a> Differences and Challenges - LD, ADHD - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/learning-differences-challenges-ld-adhd/]Learning”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/learning-differences-challenges-ld-adhd/)</p>

<p>I think it’s fair to say it doesn’t hurt to mention it IF you can demonstrate that the student overcome the challenge and can still compete at the level of the average student admitted.</p>

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<p>I know very little on the subject but my feeling is that he will get into a college based on his stats regardless of reasons.</p>

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<p>I do believe that the fact the my son disclosed his ADD and learning disabilities hurt him when he applied to colleges 7 years ago. He pretty much had to disclose, to put his grades vs test scores into perspective, because he was in a private prep school that made little accomodation for him. He also refused meds at age 13, so that was an issue also. He ended up in a school were his stats were in the top 2%. The first couple of years in college were a struggle for him, until he found his way. He is doing fine now, transfered to a different school, and will graduate in December with a degree in electrical engineering.</p>

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<p>Thanks one and all. I went to the link that Shrinkrap pointed out, and the consensus seems to be to not say a word about having ADHD until after admission. </p>

<p>One of the posts Shrinkrap referred to said that the courts ruled that the College Board could not indicate if a kid was granted an accommodation for his SAT scores. My assumption, then, is that this was because colleges were discounting SAT scores if a kid was granted extra time, and that there is prejudice against kids with ADHD.</p>

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<p>My son is in the current admission pool, and did mention it to explain relatively high SAT compared to one semesters GPA that he attributed to a med change. It was followed by greatly improved grades.I think his GPA, not his disclosure,has greatly effected his results. </p>

<p>For his rejections, all Cal publics, his SAT’s have been in the 75 or better percentile, but his GPA below the 25th. One exception was SAT in the 50th percentile, GPA well below the 25th.</p>

<p>Oh, no a accommodations on SAT, and none in school, other the the fact that he went to the same small school from age 3 to 18.</p>

<p>I don’t want him going where he’ll be over his head.</p>

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<p>This question has been debated extensively on CC’s LD board, and you might want to do a search, going back a few years, for the relevant threads. There are some pretty passionate opinions on both sides ranging from, Let’s reveal all; if the school doesn’t want my kid just as he is, !@#$ 'em (a bit of hyperbole, but you get the idea) to my polar opposite opinion, which is, Reveal nothing unless revealing something makes the applicant seem more desirable. </p>

<p>An example of the latter would be if a student was undiagnosed and unaccommodated through 10th grade, at which point testing, counseling in how to address the LD, and maybe accommodations or meds resulted in the kid’s grades rising significantly. Explaining what happened (or maybe giving the GC permission to explain what happened in the best light possible) could help the admissions folks understand why the kid’s GPA is depressed by lackluster 9th and 10th grade marks.</p>

<p>When you’ve got an LD kid whose grades and standardized test scores correctly reflect his academic abilities and accurately predict how well he will do in a given college, I don’t see the value of revealing. The possibility of bias, risk-aversion, a desire not to overload the LD support office, and fear of the unknown seem to me to be too great.</p>

<p>If the student has a well-documented LD, a 504 plan or equivalent private school plan that has been in place for years, and if retesting near the end of high school shows that the same LD’s persist and the same accommodations are needed, then the student should qualify for accommodations at the college level. Virtually every college in the US has a disabilities/support office (some a lot better than others) that facilitate LD students receiving the accommodations they need and to which they are entitled. Those offices are there because virtually every college in the US has LD students. </p>

<p>Those offices have no connection with admissions. LD students show up on their doorsteps in the fall with their medical documentation and the support offices take it from there. (If the family is smart, they have carefully checked it out to make sure the college their child selects is able to provide the specific support their student needs. A college without certain facilities may be a non-starter for some students.)</p>

<p>And really, with most LD students, accommodation is not that hard and not that big a deal for the school. Say a particular dyslexic student reads at the rate of a tortoise and cannot read handwriting so must write essays with a keyboard. The college gives the student extra time and/or Kurzweil in order to read the test, and allows the student to type answers on a keyboard. The student lets the support office know about the test and his midterm and final exam schedule in time for this to be set up. If the student needs books on tape or other assistive technology, the college steers him toward services that can provide them. Voila. </p>

<p>My kid’s LD was identified early with testing at the school’s suggestion. He was a superb student at a tough high school with appropriate accommodation and a lot of motivation, determination, and hard work. The decision about whether or not to reveal was his, and he felt that revealing would be asking the college to feel sorry for him and was way too private. (Note that the GC may not legally reveal without your permission.)</p>

<p>S was accepted to an excellent college where he is also a superb student. After he got into the college, he revealed both to the college’s support office and to the administrator of the program that had accepted him. Neither seemed to have any feeling that he should have told them beforehand. The college offered him more support than was available at his high school, but he ended up using exactly the same plan that he did in hs and not availing himself of other services that were offered. </p>

<p>Would he have been accepted into his top choice college if he’d revealed during the admissions process, maybe with a couple of paragraphs about overcoming obstacles etc.? Who knows. But the decision not to reveal certainly didn’t have a downside for him, and no one held that decision against him when matriculated.</p>

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<p>You aren’t required to tell them when your applying. But check and see how the school’s disability department is run. When he gets accepted, THEN tell the schools he needs accommodation (if he does.)</p>

<p>I don’t have ADHD but something health-related. I plan on telling the one school I choose after im accepted so I can be accommodated. Best of luck to the two of you!</p>

<p>EDIT: I have a 504 plan too, I thought it was something that only my school did (well I thought only they called it that.)</p>

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<p>Hi CPU Scientist,
I know you’re not asking this, but may I stick my nose in with a suggestion? I’m thinking that after you have your acceptances in hand, you might want to talk with the support offices at your top two or three colleges just to make sure that each and every one of them is going to facilitate your getting what you need. Also be sure to look up the support offices online to get a feel for the kinds of services they say they offer routinely, the size of their staff, and their qualifications. You might even want to come onto the relevant CC board to ask about whether anyone there has experience with those particular schools. In all likelihood, every school you’re considering will meet your needs admirably, but there do seem to be a couple of clunker schools out there and it might be good to check out schools before sending in your deposit!</p>

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<p>Thanks AnonyMom!
I was thinking about doing that, but I wasn’t sure whether to ask before admissions decisions came out or after, but now I know after is a good idea :)</p>

<p>Which forum would I find this information from CC users who have experienced this? Is there one for Special Accommodations in general, or do they have different ones for LD, health-related things, etc? (I’m mobile and this CC app is difficult)</p>

<p>Thank you again!</p>

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<p>Hi CPU (and sorry OP for going so far afield) –
The LD forum is under the high school life section and while physical issues have been touched on a bit there, they haven’t been a central issue. There are, however, a number of parents on CC whose college kids have physical issues. My thought is that you might be best served posting on the parents’ board if you can do so in a way that doesn’t identify you personally. Heading on the order of: Question for parents of college students w/ physical issues. (Or you could even name or give the classification of the issue.) If you need a particular kind of accommodation and are closing in on a list of colleges you’re considering, you might even ask very specifically if anyone has knowledge of how students with similar issues have fared on those campuses.</p>

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<p>Alright, thanks so much!</p>

<p>Sorry OP :)</p>

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<p>Also want to say that there are a couple of currently active threads on the LD board with parents and students who advocate revealing, including a young lady, kartwheelie, I believe with Aspergers, who did reveal and discuss her needs with colleges very proactively and who is having good results with admissions.</p>

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<p>Hi -</p>

<p>I did a quick search for Kartwheelie and nothing came up. Can you give me a link to one of these threads?</p>

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<p>My daughter has dyslexia/dysgraphia and the decision to reveal was hers, and she did so, openly and unambiguously, and it did not hurt her admissions at all.</p>

<p>Of course, as with everything, your milage may vary.</p>

<p>The one thing I will say is this. If a college does not want a high stat student with a learning difference, the requirements to accomodate are different than in high school. One of the things about the admissions process is that it is designed to determine whether or not a particular student will be able to do the work at that school, at least in part. So, to withhold this information CAN, and I’m not saying it will, but that it can, put your kid in a situation where they are at war with the system and constantly fighting for things.</p>

<p>This was what my daughter wanted to avoid. She wanted to be somewhere where she could work in her strengths and not her deficits. She will never be hired to be an editor, there is no reason for her to worry about that, now, when she is so gifted in so many other areas. </p>

<p>My main belief in this is that the person who ought to decide whether or not to reveal the learning difference is the student and not the parent.</p>

<p>My .02</p>

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<p>Thanks, poetgrl. I think you’re right that the decision should be up to my son, as the choice will ultimately be his.</p>

<p>I’ve been pondering one of the issues you’ve just alluded to, and that is that given extra time on the SAT, he could get scores high enough to get him into a school that would blow him away. An engineering curriculum is time-consuming enough for kids without ADHD and LD.</p>

<p>At the same time, I wonder if his chances at financial aid or some type of merit awards, as well as admissions, could be limited if he tells them upfront about his ADHD.</p>

<p>This was all so much easier when I applied to college, when there was no such thing as a personal computer, and since pens hadn’t been invented yet, we carved our essays into stone tablets.</p>

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<p>Boondocks – To find kartwheelie, go to the LD board under high school life. She is the OP on the top post. Then you can click on her name to find her other posts; I believe there is one from months ago when the girl was contacting colleges and really doing some excellent self-advocacy.</p>

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<p>Sorry! Kart is OP on the second thread of the LD board.</p>