<p>We are concerned. We are concerned that her writing does not have the depth required. We are concerned that her math skills will make it very difficult for her to keep up with a college math course pace. We are concerned that she is so excited about the prospects of the social life at college that she wishes she had in HS. We are concerned that she will not take full advantage of ALL of the academic supports that we know she will need to get through as a student with an LD.</p>
<p>For the purposes of this thread, any idea how we can "test" our concerns? Are our concerns just typical? Should we just trust that since we don't have major behavioral issues that she'll be fine and the college will develop those academic areas of concern? Any experienced advice would be welcomed. Thank you.</p>
<p>If I may ask two questions:
(1) What grade is the girl in; and
(2) What type of high school does she attend (or will attend)?
Urban, suburban, rural, large, medium, small, lots of AP courses, a few, none?</p>
<p>4) will the college she be attending require a math placement exam? If so, you don’t need to worry about the math because she won’t be allowed to register for any classes she’s not ready for.</p>
<p>5) is there a plan for what you will do if her social life is no better in college than it has been in HS - or even worse? How is it that she has developed the expectation that things will be better there?</p>
<p>You are right to be concerned. A college course over the summer might help with tutoring support and shoring up the academic skills where there are deficits. Then at college, investing in a private tutor to oversee the assignments and where the student is should be a budgeted part of the college cost, and a scheduled session she has to make for her to have her college paid.</p>
<p>Not sure what grade you D is now in at HS. But perhaps she could take a dual credit class and get a feel for college level work? If that is not available I would also suggest taking a class from your local CC both summer sessions this coming summer (if she is going to school in the fall) to get a feel for the academic level. This can also help keep her learning process going. </p>
<p>Socially I am not sure what she is looking for in college, but if it is something different the HS she will need an idea of how she wants to acheive that change. Just going to college will not automatically improve your social life. She will need to know what clubs/activities interest her before going. Have her look at the universities student life section of the website for her university.</p>
<p>As for “testing” how she will do, does she take advantage now of tutoring etc. now? How are her high school studie habbits?</p>
<p>My S just completed his 1st sem fresh yr. It was rocky but successful. We had the almost exact same concerns. A couple things we did
Pick college close to home.
Meet and speak with LD counselors
Pick school with requirements your kid can handle - range of options that help meet math requirents v a required sequence that goes beyond your kids ability.
have access to college email. Our S knows, we told him to use a private account to talk with friends and to use school acct with teachers, advisors, etc. we check it mostly to see if he is checking it regularly and to know what’s going on in classes - we found out his professor recommended tutoring and he hadn’t gotten it. We discussed with him, he got it and passed the class (C-). Not great but better than where he was headed.
He lives in dorm with all the international students. A LD is kind of like learning in a country where u don’t fully understand the language I guess. His dorm has a tutoring center and resources right in the dorm, they get to move in a couple days early and register for classes before the rush plus he gets assistance registering. Being treated like foreigner has some pluses to it. Not every school does this but look and ask around.
He is majoring in his greatest talent - besides the C-, he got 2 As, a B and a C. He did it on his own with mostly encouraging support. He had far more challenges in HS. His learning disability is a challenge because it’s rare - dyscalculia - dyslexia for math basically.
Managing expectations - for some students, graduating Summa Cum Laude is expected, for others, graduating thank you Laaawwd! Is enough.</p>
<p>Good luck to you. Will update as we continue learning from trial and many, many errors.</p>
<p>I’ve posted this before, but to my mind, being aware of the different expectations between high school and college can help ease the transition considerably. [How</a> Is College Different From High School? - - SMU](<a href=“http://smu.edu/alec/transition.asp]How”>http://smu.edu/alec/transition.asp)</p>
<p>happymom, Right or wrong, I think she and most of her peers typically believe that “but for their parents”, their social lives would be much better, so college will be the answer to their prayers.</p>
<p>Madaboutx, WOW! That is some great insight and advice!!! Right down to the dorm choice! Genius, and I totally can see the parallel. Did you deliberately choose that dorm or was it circumstance? And the EMAIL coverage idea…also a great one. I’d love to stay in touch. Will email you directly if that’s ok.</p>
<p>My concern about the social life was that if she spent HS as a miserably lonely outsider, college might not solve things. But if it is just typical teen attitude, she should be OK in college.</p>
<p>To me, the hardest part about the transition to college level work was the VAST amounts of reading that had to be done, compared with high school.</p>
<p>Get this book now, while in high school, so that she can practice these skills in HS.
It’s call how to be a straight A student by Cal Newport. It basically teaches you how to study efficiently and effectively so that you can spend time doing more fun things like socializing. </p>
<p>Also, for math, don’t worry, she will be placed at an appropriate level based on her abilities. As for writing ability, you could hire a tutor now to help with her writing so that it transitions into college appropriately.</p>