<p>My first two kids applied to 4 and 5 colleges respectively. My third has dyslexia and while he has worked extremely hard there are limitations to how he has had to arrange his schedules and his standardized tests composites have taken a hit because of the low reading scores. His GC hopefully wrote about his determination and will to succeed and my son put together a personal statement that went with his college applications in order for the colleges to put him in context. The jist being that what most kids with his GPA and course load can read in a couple hours takes my son hours and hours but he simply does it because that is who he is. Our philosophy was to cast a wider net with him. He applied to colleges where his standardized reading scores were slightly below the norm but everything else fell in line (math, GPA etc.), he applied to colleges where his standardized score composite fell within the norm and he applied to a couple colleges where he is assured an acceptance. That approach is often suggested for ALL students, but I think it’s especially important for students that have specific disabilities that can easily be overcome with compensating tactics, like allowing enough study hours, or adjusting a course schedule to fit etc. </p>
<p>Finally you just have to believe that college admissions officers WANT kids that will succeed at their colleges and an acceptance or a rejection in some small part is meant to be. So let her reach, but also make sure she has variety in the applications that she would be willing to attend. </p>
<p>It sounds like another factor you will want to consider as you research colleges is access to medical care which is not something my third had to think about.</p>