My S (a junior) is smart but has multiple learning disabiilties: dyslexia, dysgraphia, ADHD. That said, he has a 3.8 average at his private prep school (for kids with learning disorders), 1430 SAT (but only 680 math…he’s going to retake to superscore), , and is a whiz at coding (wins hackathons, got a great summer job at a software startup and another summer working as an research assistant for a Comp Sci professor at local college). He wants to go to a school for computer science, possibly interested in developing prosthetic limbs (so bioengineering?) No sports, but is the youngest member in the local ham radio club, started a coding/robotics class at his school for younger kids that he teaches at lunch time, volunteers at a horse therapy program for physically disabled kids assisting the instructors and and is a volunteer fire cadet). Problem: he is focused on schools that are either very big or hyper competitive: Georgia Tech, Carnegie Mellon, Rice, etc. I think he will be happier at a smaller school, and am worried that he wont be able to keep up in college outside the supportive environment of his LD high school. I dont want to discourage him, and I am a liberal arts mom with no tech background or insights. Trying to steer him to smaller schools with smaller classes, LD support and good work opportunities (coop program) since I think that’s how he will do best in school. took him to Stevens Institute of Tech in NJ, looking at RIT, RPI but otherwise stumped. any insights?
Rose Hulman? Michigan Tech? Illinois Institute of Technology?
will look at all of those thank you
I can say that Carnegie Mellon is a very stressful school. Therefore, I would not recommend it if you are concerned about your son’s happiness. I heard that Harvey Mudd has one of the best CS programs for liberal arts college. So maybe you should look into that as well.
Price limit?
new to this…hadn’t considered it because I am not sure re: financial aid and the whole process. Going to talk to his school guidance counselor for some advice
If you are the parent, you need to evaluate your household finances to figure out what you can comfortably afford, taking into account any later kids who may go to college and your own retirement savings.
Then try the net price calculator on the web site of each college under consideration. These will give you some idea of what financial aid each college may give.
Some of the schools mentioned above, specifically the smaller privet Tech schools, offer significant merit aid. His test scores are already good and if he raises the Math score even further, then he would certainly qualify.
Hi, my son was applying 2 years ago as a CS Major with 1380 SAT and 4.2 weighted GPA. He was waitlisted at Stevens and RPI and accepted to RIT. (He also applied to CM and Georgia Tech as well. Those 2 were unrealistic though, so hard to get into, he never had a chance.) One school my son was accepted into and strongly considered was Worcester Polytechic (WPI). It sounds like a good match for your son. It is expensive though, and my son chose UMass Amherst, which gave him merit money. The other schools he was accepted to were were Virginia Tech, Univ of Maryland and NC State.
Good luck with your search!
Thanks. He’s retaking SAT and now doing ACT with a 34 on his last practice test. We spent much of our college savings for him on his private high school so financial is a consideration
How much help has he been getting in HS? Do they emphasize accommodation or do they emphasize tools that help him independently achieve? Think about that very strongly. Did he have accommodations on SAT and ACT? How long did it take him? Did he get hothoused to get those scores (ie. lots of prep) or did those scores come easily to him? I would not assume that a small school will do better with his learning disabilities. A larger school might have a bigger program for support.
RIT has a very strong support program for learning disorders and has a very very strong CS program. I would strongly encourage looking into it. Yes, there will be higher ranked and more competitive options however I’d listen to your gut about where he would be the most successful.
My son has different LD’s but we also looked for some of the same qualities you are targeting. He did agree that smaller would be better. I’d second Rose Hulman and WPI as solid options, R-H is better known for the major. Santa Clara might be worth considering as well. I have heard that R-H is very nurturing and do think it could have been a good fit for my S as well. What I like about RIT is there is very much a tiered approach for support services available, some paid programs, some classes, traditional accommodations. I have been thrilled with their responsiveness to questions so far, at every level. I also agree that the co op system is great in general but in particular for kids with LD’s.
I do not agree that a big school will have more support. At a big school he will have to self advocate quite a bit more and fight for resources. Each school, of course, is different. That said, we chose to skip Northeastern and RPI for perceived competitiveness and found Drexel to be lacking in the department and school personality/spirit, for his taste. There was a lot we liked about Virginia Tech but decided it was too big.
Consider Swarthmore. It is one of the few liberal arts colleges that also have engineering and cs. The plus is that it is a small school. It is not an easy one however. It’s not called Sweatmore for no reason. So whether or not it is a good fit depends upon how your S would deal with a highly rigorous curriculum in a small school.