College Recommendations for ADHD son

<p>I would like your college recommendations for my son. He wants to major in business. We live in California, and would like a college in the West. </p>

<p>After a disastrous junior year, my S was diagnosed with ADHD, combined, dysgraphia, and cognitive disorder NOS. He has a high IQ. His main issues are with executive functioning, planning, organizing, visual & working memory. He has gone undiagnosed so far because teachers and others said he was lazy, underachieving, unmotivated, etc. Finally, he starts failing, testing gets done, and we have a diagnosis. He will be getting accomodations the next school year. He is also trying meds. </p>

<p>At this point, as an incoming senior, he has a declining GPA, 2.67 overall, SAT (no prep) of 1534, ACT of 23. </p>

<p>On the positive side, he has high verbal functioning, plays soccer/lacrosse, has played a musical instrument since age 3, has done community service in Mexico, and the Philippines, spent a summer in Spain doing a language immersion program. </p>

<p>Your suggestions are most welcome.</p>

<p>This is a toughy, primarily because of your son's GPA going into senior year.</p>

<p>He'd have to have at least a 3.0 to get into a UC, along with all the A-G prerequisites -- if he had all that, I could make a couple of recommendations for the UCs.</p>

<p>As for Cal State colleges, your son would have an automatic entry if he had a 3.0 to most (not all) of the Cal States. With his GPA, coupled with his ACT and SAT scores, there's a couple I'd recommend based on either personal experience, or experiences last year of my son's ADHD (and other LD) friends -- I'd put Cal State Monterey Bay at the top of my list, because their disabilities coordinator is amazing, I really liked her. Son's friends have had success at Chico and Humbolt -- I haven't visited either, so I have no personal experience.</p>

<p>Another kid is doing very well at Santa Clara and has a great support group there, but again, I don't know about their GPA requirements. Same for University of Arizona and their SALT program.</p>

<p>Finally, some of the community colleges with direct transfer programs to Cal and/or UCLA have superb disabilities programs -- SMC is a perfect example, and it's a great learning center and transition from HS to top academic universities.</p>

<p>He is pretty set on going away to college, like his big brother. It is his dream. I don't want to take that away, but I don't want to throw him to the wolves either. </p>

<p>I lean towards finding a very supportive school, where people get to know him. Currently, his teachers love him, because he participates, and is "a pleasure to have in class." Also, he needs the DRC to be engaged, and continue the coaching process we have begun at home.</p>

<p>The school that chooses him will be taking a chance that with proper support, he can excel, regardless of his current stats, as those don't show what he can do with proper support.</p>

<p>The question is finding that school. I welcome your suggestions, and your experience.</p>

<p>OK, so being in Santa Rosa, he can still "go away" to most of these places mentioned, and still be close enough for you to deal with emergencies.</p>

<p>Here's another thought -- have you looked at Oregon colleges? He should be able to get into Southern Oregon University in Ashland, Oregon (one of the prettiest towns I've ever seen!). California recently joined the WUE, and SOU is one of the exchange schools with California (still waiting, I think, for U of Oregon to add California). What it means is, if you apply for that, you don't have to pay full out of state tuition in Oregon, but rather a reduced cost based on a formula. I recall them having a decent DSP, but we didn't look at it too closely on our visit, so I can't give you the particulars, you'll have to check it out yourself. I remember my BIG problem with SOU -- completely personal, because the campus and area are both gorgeous -- was the on-campus presence of military recruiters. I understand they're everywhere, but more in-your-face at 2 of the Oregon colleges we visited (the other was at Oregon State University, again, a gorgeous campus, but ROTC bldg is right next to the registration bldg). University of Oregon, however, I know two kids going there (w/LD or ADHD) and they have had a very successful first year, with a lot of good support. I was very impressed with the Ducks.</p>

<p>Transition -- I'm wondering what that student mean when he said it was so huge -- did he mean the SALT center itself or the college as a whole? The SALT center is its own building, very easy to navigate and not large at all. The campus is big, mostly long, but laid out extremely well.</p>