My daughter is currently a Jr in HS. She was diagnosed with epilepsy at age 10, and by sophomore year of HS had developed a bit of brain damage (memory impairment) from seizure activity. She had two neurosurgeries last year and missed about 1/3 of the academic year. As of today, no seizures since the week before the 1st surgery. She’s in the “high honors” track at her HS and keeps a strong GPA. With her IEP, she gets extra time on the ACT/SAT. Pre-tests show that she’ll probably have an ACT composite somewhere in the 28-31 range. My income is about 60K/year. Any suggestions of mid-sized selective colleges where disability might be an advantage for admissions or financial support?
I am not sure it will be an advantage…remember that colleges want students who will succeed. Is it helpful to disclose a disability when applying? Will there be unconscious bias? Or would it be better just to have those good grades, good ACT scores and apply as usual. When she gets to college, she can talk to the disability and health offices to make sure they know of her history but that she does not anticipate needing accommodations (or may need extra time).
As the parent of a kid with epilepsy and a few other serious medical conditions, I just have to say that I found the title of this thread a little offensive. But I realize it is a matter of wording. Clearly epilepsy is NEVER an advantage in life and any parent would trade admissions at a desired college for a healthy kid any time.
So…of course, the ability to overcome an obstacle like epilepsy and surgeries and all that entails, and still maintain academic performance, is commendable and shows the “character” and “ability to overcome obstacles” that colleges say they want so yes, if the guidance counselor mentions her challenges,yes, it may help. In some cases guidance counselors will ask the family to write a note. If you do write one, make it matter of fact and factual and let the college come to its own conclusions.
There might be scholarships for kids with epilepsy. Check a database for that or call the Epilepsy Foundation.
I would not ever, ever mention this “advantage” to my kid. It breeds a bad attitude about ill health in terms of identifying as a victim or as someone who is entitled to favors. It would appear, since your daughter has continued to work hard and do well, that she is a warrior who has not succumbed to any of this and that you have, so far, done a great job parenting a kid with a disability.
One thing about essays: she can write an essay about this but I also think and essay about something else can be healthy, and she can use the shorter supplementary essay that asks about anything about you that hasn’t been covered in the application, and write about her medical challenges.
Make sure she registers with the Office of Disabilities once admitted. And that a dean or advisor or someone who can be helpful to her also knows about her epilepsy. She can have a single room, reduced course load (with extended financial aid), extra time on papers, exams in a room by herself, excused absences for appointments etc.
If medical leaves are ever needed, they can be very useful in terms of gaining work or volunteer experience once the problem is handled.
I think you might want to check the Colleges that Change Lives website. I don’t know where you are located but Goucher and Clark U come to mind. Good luck!
I agree with Compmom. I have a child with a major medical condition. He has lived his life to succeed despite it. He would be offended by the mere idea of using it to gain an advantage.
At age 11, he angrily refused to use it to get line-cutting privileges at Disney, when I read that some people with his condition do… and he also was adamant in middle and high school that he never wanted extended time during testing or any other special accommodation, beyond what was simply needed to stay alive and healthy. He never wanted to be defined by his condition.
(I am not implying that others might not need accommodations he did not. They might. He didn’t. Everyone is different.)
There is nothing whatsoever in any of his portions of his applications or interviews that would indicate his condition. He did not mention it.
I do not know whether his guidance counselor or any of his teachers mentioned it in their recommendations.
He will, however, apply for the special scholarships for people with his condition. As he explained, then he is not using it to get an advantage. He is competing only against others with the same condition.
However, in your child’s case, OP, the loss of school time requires some type of comment. There might be a meaningful and character-revealing essay your child could write about these experiences. Or your child could choose any other topic and leave it to the guidance counselor to mention the epilepsy and surgeries. I am certain your guidance counselor will address the reason for the interruptions to her schooling in her recommendation. And your child might mention it if the application has a section asking you to explain any interrruptions to schooling. But I would not think of it as an “advantage”— more like an important aspect of your child’s life and high school experience that you are sharing with admissions.
Never disclose disability before an admissions decision has been made. Schools might be concerned about an ongoing medical condition that could lead to missing class. You never, ever want admissions speculating about your daughter’s health and stamina. Your daughter should seek any scholarship that match her credentials. The idea of checking for scholarships dedicated to college students with epilepsy. Finally, your daughter’s has done well academically, socially, and other ways too. Please remember that your daughter’s success is built on the foundation that you provided her until now. She will need your support in college until she finds her place. Really finally, register with both disability services and the college health center right after she accepted admission to a particular school. Also, with her, sign a release for the two services immediately and to you if she has a medical incident. You don’t want to be fighting paperwork and law if the signatures are gathered immediately. They may never be needed, butlike insurance, you can never predict when you might need it.
Yes, as Grey King says, most kids with disabilities abhor accommodations. BUT they are sometimes needed so the flip side is that it can be hard to convince them of the validity of the principle of “level playing field” behind the Americans with Disabilities Act. Accommodations can make a huge huge difference for some. But kids should take responsibility also in the sense of getting work done in advance to avoid problems, taking only the extra time needed, and going on medical leave when the demands of the illness become burdensome.
Many kids do not want to identify with their disability, as Grey King said, and don’t write an essay about it. Again, the options are for the GC to tell schools or for your child, to write a short piece in the supplementary section.
Good luck.
Hi and thanks for the response; I’m guessing my question didn’t provide the correct context.
I teach English to juniors and seniors and am familiar with the do’s and don’t of personal statement strategies. I work at a Title I high school in Chicago, and it’s not a well-kept secret that my students’ backgrounds are often an advantage, per se, in college admissions and financial aid. In other words, it clearly sucks to grow up poor. It’s also challenging to be the first kid in one’s family to attend college. Nevertheless, only a moron would advise my students to turn down admission from a university looking to diversify their student body. It would also be an insult to suggest that the university is doing them a “favor” by offering admission or extra financial aid.
I’ve taught many CT classes where the students with IEPs are ashamed of having one. It takes a lot of maturity for teens to be open about disability, and to understand how to effectively work around their weaknesses. The only teens I’ve known who “identify” with their limitations are those whose limitations are more perceived than actual.
So a re-phrasing of the question would be, “Do any mid-sized selective colleges include disability in the assessment of the diversity of their student body?”
I’d recommend she look at Dickinson. Not a large school, but they come very close to meeting need and she probably has a good shot at getting in.
Again, I would not include epilepsy in an application for the reason of appealing to a school’s desire for diversity.
However, the GC note will show an ability to succeed at college despite the disability, and there might be implications about “character.”
I don’t think the rewording helps, frankly. I think you are still seeking an advantage from the epilepsy. The goal here is for the absences from school to be explained, and make the playing field level, not make hers higher.
Colleges want to know that applicants can do the work, despite any challenges they might have, and they want to know that an applicant will contribute to the mix on campus.
I don’t think it will be an advantage nor a disadvantage but could play into the college depending on degree and proximity of any needed medical care. Only you know how well controlled the disorder is. I only have two close friends with the disorder but both are so well controlled you might not even know other than one does not drive and sometimes discloses to give a reason.
@clmiller3 - I have a child with a disability and while I don’t think of it as an advantage (nor does she), I do understand your re-phrased question about disability and diversity and I’ve wondered it along the way myself. I do think students with a disability add to the diversity of a school. In my child’s case, her disability is obvious. There have been many instances where she’s been bullied, isolated or worse - assumed to be intellectually unable to do the work or perform at the level at which she’s capable. Her classmates and teachers have learned to accept her as part of the community and I believe the community is more diverse because she’s in it. During the admissions process, she was very careful not to use it as an excuse or a pity card, but as she’s matured, she’s accepted herself in a way that allows her to acknowledge that the disability is a part of who she is. She was ok allowing her GC to mention it in her recommendation. Not sure exactly what the GC wrote, but assuming it speaks to her character, work ethic, perseverance, etc. My daughter also mentioned it organically in her essay. The essay was about another topic, but there was a reference to the disability. We aren’t concerned that it’s out there as my daughter interviewed at many schools and therefore it was not a secret. She’s faced a lot of adversity in her life because of the way she came into this world. She will have a hard road ahead - people can be cruel. If her disability helps her in some way as colleges review her application because they know how much harder she works for the same result, I’m not ashamed to say that I’d be happy. Best of luck - this road is not easy.
Colleges base admission decisions – and decisions as to how to allocate their own merit scholarships – based on institutional interests, goals, and priorities. The question the admission officers ask with each student is, what will student X bring to us? what will we gain by admitting student X?
So if you want to ask whether a particular medical condition or disability can be an “advantage”, you would need to be able to answer the question, “how will the college benefit by admitting a student with X condition”?
The economic, racial and cultural diversity questions are easy enough to answer: most colleges do not want to be places where the student bodies consist only of rich white kids. And these days, it is harder to attract good students across the board if a college is perceived as lacking diversity.
I think there may be confusion because some may perceive affirmative action programs or generous need-based scholarship programs as being charitable programs driven by sympathy for the student who has suffered in life. But that just isn’t the case – no college is going to admit any student, or award scholarship money, because they feel sorry for a kid.
So your kid – and every other applicant - really needs to build their college search and applications around their individual strengths. Sometimes overcoming a physical disease or disability can be part of that strength – the appeal of the “challenge you have overcome” essay is that it can demonstrate dedication and resiliency. But it can also backfire if the essay fails to impress.
I do agree that it is important and valuable to disclose the reason the student has missed 1/3 of an academic year, although simply explaining that the student had two major surgeries and now has fully recovered is probably enough of an explanation, especially if it comes from the g.c. In that case the disclosure is made to avoid the possibility of the admissions staff making unwarranted negative assumptions.
I don’t agree that a disability should NEVER be mentioned. I’ve had clients do an excellent job (they felt strongly that they wanted to do this) write about their disability in their personal statement essay but wrote from the perspective of how it made them grow and how they worked to manage/overcome it. I agree that in general it’s probably better to wait until one is admitted and then address the disability through the student support center (or whatever the school calls their disability services office) but if a student does want to write about it, it should come from a positive, personal growth perspective. If a student needs to explain (not excuse) a blemish in their record, that can go in the “additional information” section. But also agree with those who point out that schools want students who will succeed and graduate (and be successful and give $ back to the school). So be careful. Choose wisely.
My child also has a disability. She applied to and was excepted at all the schools without their knowledge of her disability because she wanted to get in or be denied on her own accord not on a disability. Once she accepted the school of her choice she was admitted into their honors program on her own accord. She chose her dorm because it would accommodate her disabilities and was excepted in that dorm. No one at the school knew of her disabilities until the day she registered for classes when I spoke to the director of their disabilities dept. and then emailed her file. My daughter wanted minimal intervention from the school since she wanted to do things on her own. She graduated with honors, was in the highest level of the honors college and was a student leader on campus. Only once did she have to play the disabilities card and that had to deal with housing. Housing keep insisting that she was to live on another side of campus with a lot of walking and busy street crossing. One call to the head of disabilities and her response was no, I’ll take care of it and she did. Even now my daughter does not reveal her disabilities unless she is offered the job or a contract. If someone cannot get into college without playing the disability card, then perhaps they are not ready for college.
I asked a similar question last year when my son, who has a medical disability, was applying. I figured, as you did, that disability is a form of diversity. I professionally work with people with disabilities, and I am a strong believer in the perspective that people with disabilities add and enrich the community.
Most CC posters discounted the idea that disability could be a “hook”. For his own reasons (not owing to CC), my son ended up not emphasizing the disability, and not mentioning it in the common app. On some prompts, such as “Write about a time where you had to overcome adversity” (or something similar), he did write about his disability, but typically in the context of how it led to resiliency. These were generally short answer type prompts, not full essays. Of the places he mentioned disability at all, two rejected, and one accepted, but with no additional funds. At the schools which accepted him with merit scholarships, disability was not mentioned.
So, from this very small sample, mentioning it does not help, and may hinder.
On the bright side he did get a small scholarship from a charity associated with his particular disability, and he did get into quite a few excellent schools.
We are very very proud of him for overcoming all that has been put in his path, including rather severe medical issues this Fall.
Back in the Stone Age, I received some tuition assistance from vocational rehab in my state for both tuition and medical benefits. I’m not sure if they still do this for college students who benefit from specific job training…but maybe worth asking.
I do agree with @compmom. As worded initially…I just can’t say I think ANY disability is an advantage.
To the OP…contact the Epilepsy Association. They might have some information for you.
They would be able to suggest scholarships.