We are gong to start our college search a bit early as it is complicated. I was wondering how many students/parents have approached the Disability Office about a reduced course load for Freshman year. Are they flexible about this? I would imagine that it just extends the number of undergrad years.
I am a very different animal than my child but I attended a LAC and was required to take 5 classes at a time. My child could never handle that…at least not initially.
Many LACs have kids taking 4. Take a look at the CTLC schools. You can probably find on their website what the minimum credits are per semester, and look at the course catalog to see how that might work.
I looked into this at my daughter’s school and it was allowed. Typical recommendation for freshman was 14 - 16 credits first semester. She ended up taking a combination of 4 courses for 14 credits but she could have been approved to take less than 14 while keeping full time status. I found this on the website. I didn’t even need to call! I can’t speak for every school but I would imagine it’s not uncommon.
Best of luck.
My son attended an LAC. There were four courses per term. After acceptances, but prior to deciding where to attend, we met with the head of Disabilities Services and the Dean of Freshman to understand how they would treat an incredibly smart kid with severe dyslexia. The Dean of Freshman volunteered to be his advisor. When my son showed up with his first proposed schedule for fall of freshman year, the Dean said, “This is too hard. Come back with something easier. I want you to learn how to be successful here.” My son revised his schedule and got an A+ and three As that semester and never looked back. It was great advice and was consistent with what we learned that caused him to decide to attend that school.
A typical courseload at my D’s LAC was four classes. If your child takes less than a normal courseload be sure to check if/how it might impact housing and financial aid.
Check into schools with quarter system. A full time load can be as low as 3 classes per quarter.
Note that three classes taken in a quarter system will be faster paced.
Yes, quarter system is faster paced. Depending on the needs of the student, it may be better to take fewer classes but at a faster pace. Or the other option is to go for a traditional semester based college.
Either way, its a good idea to consider taking extra time over the summers to spread out the course load. The disability office at each college is a good place to ask about these options
Or a trimester system.
The minimum course load to be full time for financial aid purposes is 12 credit hours or equivalent, even though the full time course load to graduate in 8 semesters or 12 quarters is 15 or 16 credit hours or equivalent. At many colleges, students can register for the financial aid minimum, which is 3/4 or 4/5 the average needed to graduate in 8 semesters or 12 quarters.
Of course, if a student registers for the financial aid minimum, s/he needs to “catch up” on credits later by taking overload schedules, or bring in AP/IB/etc. credit, or take extra semesters, quarters, or summer sessions. Taking 12 credit hours per semester would mean needing 10 or 11 semesters to complete the 120 to 128 credit hours or equivalent needed for a bachelor’s degree at most semester system schools.
Students not concerned about financial or the cost (including living and/or commuting expenses) of extra semesters or quarters may want to consider colleges that allow part time enrollment if taking reduced course loads below the financial aid minimum is desired (common for students attending college part time while working, not just students with disabilities).
Also consider if starting in community college and taking courses at a slower pace may be the way to go.