<p>My son is exceptionally bright but his ADD has gotten in the way of his developing good study and time management skills. As a result, his grades are not reflective of his academic abilities. He wants to go to Muhlenberg for biochemistry, but several of his teachers are concerned that he won't get enough intellectual stimulation there. I think he needs a small school with small classes so he can get a lot of attention, but I'm concerned about intellectual stimulation among the student body.. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>The trouble (and don't take this the wrong way, because I have an ADD son with the same problem) is that his grades are indeed indicative of his academic abilities up to now; they just aren't indicative of his intellectual abilities.</p>
<p>As you describe your son, it sounds like a small LAC is the right place for him. You might suggest some other LACs that have more of a reputation for intellectual rigor but that are not super-selective. Have you checked the book Colleges That Change Lives? Dickinson, Centre, Grinnell, Macalester?</p>
<p>I'm a neuropsychologist and do a lot of pre-college evaluations. I've had one patient go to Muhlenberg and am familiar with the academic environment. I think Muhlenberg can be a particularly good school for students who need increased structure/attention/accountability. However, because of the small size (both geographically and student body), the social/academic environment seems similar to high school. If your son is very achievment-focused, he would likely fall into the clique of students similarly minded. If he is more easily pulled away from his studies, Muhlenberg could be tough.</p>
<p>Depending on his distraction level, he can succeed anywhere if he really wants to. Have him get a reduced course load while being classified as a full time student. My son is attending a huge top 30 university that is renowned for its size and academic rigor and he has done well. His professors have all been very willing to work with him and the disability office would be highly beneficial if he took advantage of it. He is very smart and VERY ADD. What really helped him his sophomore year was finding a counselor near campus who he saw every week for one semester as a personal ADD coach. We had him allow us access to his medical records with her so we could check to see if he was making his appointments or not. We also paid for about 8-10 sessions at a time so my son knew the money was spent and he had better not skip or he would be wasting our fairly scarce family resources. She was able to help him develop work habits and time management skills that really changed the way he approaches things. He still procrastinates and pulls all nighters to get things done, but he actually DOES get them done without stressing out or falling apart (too much) and the grades have been good, though not great. I would say his stress level is half of what it used to be.I wish I would have done this as he started college. I found her by googling ADD coaches in the area, throwing out anyone who was not a licensed therapist, and then interviewing each person by phone. I also flew in for the first appointment to get a feel for the therapist and to make a personal connection. Watch out for the people who make a living running ADD centers... most of those seemed to be a rip off to me. Good luck. Some ADD kids actually find college to be easier than high school... both of my kids do.</p>