<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I hope this is the correct forum.</p>
<p>I am a 22 year old student at Century College with a 3.81 GPA, and will be graduating with an AA after the summer semester. It is my intent to transfer to a four-year school for a Screenwriting major, but I am concerned about the admissions process.</p>
<p>I suffer from Nonverbal Learning Disorder as well as Sensory Processing Disorder. As I was undiagnosed for some time, I did not attend high school. I was able to attend college courses in Fall of 2010 by testing in, but not without difficulties: Symptoms of my disorders have caused me to be unable to complete some classes I signed up for, which led to three withdrawals and one F (for a course I later retook under the same Professor, earning an A). I have also never taken the SAT or ACT, and to be perfectly truthful, my learning disability makes the math section a virtual impossibility.</p>
<p>Once I graduate, I will be taking a year off to work on my applications and long-overdue intensive therapy for these issues.</p>
<p>While I will be posting in what I hope to be the correct subforum regarding my search for the correct college, I am very concerned about the lack of high school education, lack of SAT/ACT scores, as well as my withdrawals and the F in my transcript. I am also greatly concerned that my math disability will create issues as well.</p>
<p>Please, tell me what I need to know with my background to be a successful applicant to these four-year schools. I am still searching for schools that fit my specific focus, with Columbia and DePaul currently on my shortlist.</p>
<p>Thank you.</p>
<p>First of all, you can work this out. I don’t think the problems you’ve presented here are insurmountable.</p>
<p>I don’t think you’re going to be able to get into Columbia without the ACT/SAT, so even if you’re going to bomb the math section, take them anyway. Send in your psych reports to the respective testing agencies so you can at least get extended time on the math section. I think the abysmal math score on the standardized tests can be put into perspective for colleges with the NLD diagnosis; it’s not that you’re dumb–you have a disability. Judging from your writing ability and my knowledge of the typical NLD neuropsychological profile, your math ability is no way representative of your verbal ability or overall general intelligence.</p>
<p>As for the lack of high school diploma and withdrawals–have a psychologist write up a report explaining your situation to send to colleges. You should also write an essay explaining how NLD has messed up your education. Not everybody’s education goes perfectly and you have reasons for struggling. Colleges will understand that, and I think they’ll appreciate your initiative in trying to get things together.</p>
<p>I, too, had issues with getting into college because of NLD-ish symptoms. I consistently tested with a 20-point discrepancy between my verbal and nonverbal IQ and will probably struggle like hell with socializing. My grades for the first half of high school were terrible and I transferred high schools 3 times–something no college wants to see. I made it into a good college in the end, so you can too.</p>
<p>If you want any help in formulating a letter explaining how NLD affected you to send to colleges, hit me up. Been there, done that :)</p>
<p>I’m glad to hear you say they’re workable. I’ve spent a good amount of time working at Century for my academic success: One of the things that really gave me comfort was knowing that transfer students had different admission standards that tended to focus on college grades rather than high school education because of how strongly I’ve performed at Century.</p>
<p>I’ll investigate taking the SAT/ACT if that’s what’s necessary, though I’m surprised (I did notice I failed to point out it was the Columbia in Chicago, not New York! My apologies). Some of what I’ve been reading on the board shows that there is a greater flexibility in admission requirements for extenuating circumstances like disabilities, and hopefully the schools will understand it. </p>
<p>I suppose I just don’t know if I’ve put my position to lose right out of the gate, and if I have, what I need to do to get ready for the next race. Based on what caligulashorse said, it seems possible, but showing that my disabilities do not define my academic profile when they seem glaring, particularly to those who are unfamiliar with my disabilities, is something I am obviously unfamiliar with.</p>
<p>I am, to clarify, an A student with two Bs on record beyond the aforementioned grades. But I honestly don’t know how my transcript looks, and services at my school have indicated that the only thing they’d look at is my GPA. Since the transfer counselors services at my school are… lacking, I thought I’d come here and ask people who know better.</p>