Hello, I’m a mom of a senior with dyslexia who has a 4.25 GPA in a very rigorous school: all APs, honors classes. APs have all been science and math: long list, won’t write it all down. His problem is not with comprehension but with reading speed. For example, on his latest ACT score he got a 21 reading and a 32 math. Overall, only 27. Even the science section requires reading the prompts and charts. He’s a varsity athlete. Wants to do ROTC. Has good extracurricular activities that are not just a long list: things he did long term and was very involved in. He wants to major in engineering. He had no accommodations on his ACT. Maybe we should have pushed for it, but he was always so successful in school that he never needed or could get an IEP. You have to fail before you can get an IEP in our district. So, there was no history of a need for the accommodation of extra time, which is what he needed.
His siblings and parents went to ivy league schools or similar, and he feels pressure to do the same. We do not care as much about the big name school as he does. We’re over it! We just want to find a good fit where he will be happy. Finances are such that our older children got huge financial aide packages at private universities (one perk of being poor, I guess). Also, if he gets ROTC that will help. But first you have to get in!
Questions:
Should we try for any out of state public schools like Univ. of WI or Michigan or Purdue. Would we get the same financial aide packages (mostly grants) that our older kids got at private institutions?
Would Pitt or VA Tech be realistic for engineering for him?
What about ivy leagues where he has a legacy (immediate family)?
We are Catholic and care about it a lot: would Franciscan’s 3+2 program to Notre Dame Engineering make sense?
Our location is VA…parents would like him close but he is okay with being far away, he says.
Our plan is to have his letters of recommendation and letter from his counselor address the dyslexia head on: they should do a great job with this. He is well liked at school and they want him to succeed.
He’s a typical young man: likes sports, wants to watch football with his friends, but he is quiet and might get lost at a huge place (my worry, not his).
Advice? Thoughts? This is my third kid through and I am most perplexed by him and how to advise him.
Wow, just wow about your district’s IEP policy. Too late for your son probably, but it might be worth it to get together with other parents and lawyer-up.
Worth considering: the list of test optional institutions at fairtest.org
Most OOs publics don’t have the kind of aid you need for students who aren’t from that state. Run their Net Price Calculators to see if there is any chance they could be affordable.
Thank you everyone! We did try the SAT with a prep class, and it was basically the same story on practice tests, so we switched to the ACT, and he has taken an ACT class and taken the test twice. I think the results we have are pretty much close to what we are going to get…but we may try having him do the SAT in October…give it one more try.
Out of state public schools generally do not give the same financial aid packages as private schools. Read the web pages carefully. But, you have a great set of public schools in VA.
Kids with LDs often hit a wall at some point - just because it didn’t happen in high school doesn’t mean it won’t happen in college. I would be sure all LD testing is up to date and have long discussions with this child about using the disability services in college. (Many kids refuse to use it because they “just want to be normal.”) I would also stop by the disability services program office on each college visit, to see what the vibe is like and how helpful they seem to be.
I would really push/fight for extra time on any standardized test he takes, a lawyer may not be a bad idea as suggested in an earlier post. He’s covered by the ADA which could take precedence over the need for IEP, but again you would need a lawyer to navigate this. If he was on a 504, he’d get the extra time, and you wouldn’t have to tell colleges that he needed the extra time (again, ADA says you can’t discriminate on disability).
The other option is to disclose the LD in the app and have him address the lower score in the open part of the essay, or if you want, have the LD be the main essay in the common app and how he’s overcome it. Colleges love that. And yes once he’s in, definitely go to the disability office so he gets extra time on tests, maybe tutoring and possibly help from the professor.
Ohio State offers their first two years of engineering at the Marion branch. I don’t think my D or S who dual enrolled there has ever had a class over 20 kids there. Same professors commute up from Columbus. The OOS tuition is high, but if you qualify for financial aid that is need based it may be worth contacting Marion OSU directly to get a net price, they are particularly interested in growing the number of engineering students so that may be in your favor. Marion OSU also has its own good sized endowment. They also have undergraduate research opportunities, a new science and engineering building and it is in a manufacturing area so local engineering internships are possible. http://osumarion.osu.edu/
I have a relative with dyslexia that also did very well at Ohio State main campus and she was able to get quite a bit of accommodation for her dyslexia even in the early 2000’s. They have testing facilities on campus and support services.
The other school I would recommend is Wright State in Dayton, OH. They have a novel approach to mathematics in their engineering program that aligns the math concepts with the engineering concepts so that there are always applied mathematics examples. It is part of the teaching philosophy there that weed out classes are an institutional failure and too many motivated bright students are lost to that system. They have been working and testing better ways for students to gain competency and their system is starting to be adapted by others. Applied mathematics really plays to the advantage of kids that are great at conceptualizing the real world (important to engineering) and less talented at abstract recitation.
Wright State is strongly affiliated with the Air Force since it is built on land donated by the adjacent air force base. Part-time internships are abundant in the Dayton area, so kids can earn as they learn and not have to delay graduation. If he plans to go on to graduate school, this may be an excellent choice. They are particularly interested in making talented students competitive for national awards to pursue higher education. For example, one of their undergraduates recently won the MD/PHD and chose Harvard/MIT to finish his education.
Wright State was also named one of the nation’s top disability friendly schools. As far as OOS goes, full sticker CoA is about $28k so relatively affordable. OOS tuition itself is about $9k/semester so an off campus apartment with a roommate can drive the CoA down quite a bit. https://www.wright.edu/bursar/tuition-fees#estimated
VA Tech seems very possible to me. Engineering is presumably a tougher field there, but it looks like the ACT reading score is the only downside on his record. And I think a 27 ACT is still around their midrange. (They don’t report ACT that I can see, but an SAT equivalent to 27 ACT would be in their midrange.) As you know, Tech is very large, but it sounds like the combination of engineering/sports/ROTC/not too far from home could make it a good place for him.
Tech is a bargain at $23K plus expenses instate, though going by my D’s recent experience (she is now at UVa), they may or may not meet the need of those who need it to be lower. As you say, ROTC may help.
The advice about looking for test-optional is really good. I’d suggest looking at any schools that show up on that list and also on a “meets full demonstrated need” list, and also have an engineering major. Any school with those three qualities seems worth consideration. ROTC, size, and location could be further factors to narrow things down, if not necessarily deal breakers.
Here is the ROTC scholarship info. for Wright also on same webpage linked above: 100 percent tuition and fees; $1,200 book allowance per year; tiered tax-free monthly stipend of $300 to $500; and a possible Wright State University room/board incentive; no obligation until sophomore year
Since your son’s grades and course rigor are awesome, why don’t you look into test-optional top colleges like Bowdoin, Bates, Wesleyan, Brandeis, etc.? Or whatever top colleges have a test optional policy and and are otherwise a good “fit”?
My son was severely dyslexic (reversals) which cut down his reading speed. We had him tested and had all the reports. Our public school turned him down for an IEP or any help because his grades were so good. 4.94/5.00 GPA. He had no help on the ACT and just got a 29 but with everything else he had it was enough to get him in to the college that he wanted.
In college so far he has had no trouble other than it takes him a little longer to read than some other students. He took a summer reading program for HS seniors and college students that helped him tremendously just before his Sr. year. You should be able to get in somewhere very good!
Should we try for any out of state public schools like Univ. of WI or Michigan or Purdue. Would we get the same financial aide packages (mostly grants) that our older kids got at private institutions? ** Usually OOS tuition is high and you don’t get merit scholarships.**
Would Pitt or VA Tech be realistic for engineering for him? With the 21 I would also have more safeties.
What about ivy leagues where he has a legacy (immediate family)? Legacy doesn’t mean that much…you need to be competitive as well.
We are Catholic and care about it a lot: would Franciscan’s 3+2 program to Notre Dame Engineering make sense? ** I would say no because the “3” part would be liberal arts and much reading.**
Our location is VA…parents would like him close but he is okay with being far away, he says. ** I personally would have him closer so you can support him **
Our plan is to have his letters of recommendation and letter from his counselor address the dyslexia head on: they should do a great job with this. He is well liked at school and they want him to succeed.** Can you get him tested for dylexia? and push more to be able to get accomodations?**
Unfortunately, even with the counselor letter explaining the dyslexia, the lower scores are going to hurt him in terms of admissions to competitive schools. (I have 2 severely dyslexic but highly gifted kids, so I can empathize with your situation.) VT is probably your best option. I looked at VT’s common data set and and they don’t report ACT data. Here is a link for their entering freshman by school and I would personally put VT in the slight reach vs match category b/c of the 21 CR score. Their avg SAT reading score for engineers starts with a 6 http://www.ir.vt.edu/data/student/admissions.html and according to this converstion, a 21 is going to converst to around a 500. http://www.thomasmore.edu/admissions/act_sat.cfm VCU might be another instate option to consider. (I don’t have time to look up their common data set, but if you google it, you can find the info quite easily.)
I would not recommend any 3+2 engineering programs. I would go straight into an engineering program. Co-oping as an engineer is always a good idea. I would use that extra 12 months co-oping vs. a 3+2 program.
Fwiw, my 2 dyslexics are both STEM guys. Our oldest is a chemE and our youngest is a college sr doubling in math and physics and applying to grad schools for physics. Both did/have done exceedingly well in college. I wouldn’t stress so much about where as much as finding a place that offers the major he wants (ABET and co-op opportunities are going to matter more for engineering than school name.)
Thank you so much to everyone: your input, suggestions, and encouragement are a big help. I have been going around and around in my mind as to how to advise him, and I really needed some other perspectives/information! I will look into the schools suggested. I like the idea of Franciscan a lot (the supportive community) but agree the reading in the liberal arts part would be awful for him. I also think it is a great idea for us to get him more help in college than we have in high school. I will look at the test optional schools. What was the name of the reading course that was taken by the child of “momocarly?” Also, what is ABET?
I personally would not want my child to attend any school that does not have their own direct engineering program, even those that partner with other schools. (As I stated earlier, I am not a fan of 3+2 programs, either.)
@luvbear The program was the Institute of Reading Development, ours was through Baylor but it is all over. It isn’t specifically for students with dyslexia but it helped my son tremendously. He was never an avid reader and now he reads all the time and enjoys it! It did more than double his speed of reading. His ACT reading portion went up 4 points after the class! Another friend who was already a good reader took it and it also helped him. I do think it depends on who is giving the program so check the ones that may be by you. The words about it are:
The program will make you a faster, smarter reader and more effective student. You will cut the time you spend on required reading in half, and the reading you do for pleasure will be faster and more enjoyable.
You will learn several speed reading techniques, as well as comprehension, concentration, and retention strategies. You will double your speed in materials ranging from novels to nonfiction. You will learn how to adapt your approach based upon the type of material you’re reading and your purpose as a reader. In addition, you will be able to prepare for tests efficiently without extensive rereading.
Your enrollment includes a lifetime instruction privilege, which allows you to repeat the program any time at more than 700 locations nationwide - for free!