<p>Steverholts, depending on the degree of your LDs, as other posters have explained well, any large school will require a lot of initiative to navigate, and a Socratic, small-class style of liberal arts college could suit you better. However, as a parent of a child who has both LDs and is gifted, I’ve also heard from parents with children at LACs who have the same problems with fewer resources.</p>
<p>So on Michigan’s behalf, I will say that there is a strong LD support center available for those students who use it, whereby you can receive some coaching about time management, etc. To access these services you will need a new, adult neuropsych evaluation at 18 no matter how well documented your LD has been in the past. Depending on your LD, if you’re granted accommodations such as extra time on tests, you will find a majority of profs will accommodate that if you’re organized about communicating. Also, if you have processing speed issues (which it sounds like you might) you might find that using a.dictaphone device or reviewing notes the most profs record and post on ctools will help you keep up. For some LD students there are note-taking services. While mich is strict about documenting these needs, they’re actually better than many schools at helping the students themselves develop the management skills required to succeed in terms of having the resources available. But keeping up with the material and staying on top of assignments can be challenging when it takes longer to process/digest/master the material. The pace is the pace, and having an LD in university is very different than high school, where the goal in the latter is to have everyone pass or master the material. At this level, it’s really all on you to manage.</p>
<p>For this reason, there are some programs out there that are designed especially for students with LDs, like at the University of Denver or the Landmark program on the east coast. Another good strategy if you’re not sure you’re ready is to start out at an in-state school closer to home, master university style independent learning, then transfer to the more expensive schools. That’s because there’s normally extra pressure if you’re a scholarship student to maintain a particular GPA or else lose the money.</p>
<p>That said, my son is graduating this year and has loved his experience at UMich. In his case, parts of his program are hands-on and play to his natural talents (in music, composition and technology) so while he still has a lot of challenges with time management, his LD hasn’t consistently created a problem…but in his engineering classes and a few other things he’s had a tougher go than the average bright, gifted kid might, because like you, he responds best to Socratic style instruction but without it takes a long time to process the information (and even longer to master the work.)</p>
<p>The strategies and organizational skills that many LDs entail do improve over time; the executive function center of the brain continues to develop in your 20s. If you make careful choices, you can in fact succeed, but its worth noting that in my son’s type of LD, only 5% of people with it graduate college. So it’s worth talking in advance with the LD facilities, if available, at any of the schools you’re interested in attending, and preparing yourself for the possible challenge. Some students with LDs do very well in the structured environment of high school because the material and approach are easier. Rigorous, top schools can be a shock to the system.</p>
<p>I hope this is helpful to you. If you’re still interested in Michigan and IF you have a natural skill with languages, you might enjoy the small-classes of the RC program at Umich. My son has trouble with languages since has also has central auditory processing issues, but had he not, the seminar styles there would have suited him well. There is an intense language sequence that is part of that program. And depending on your degree, you still take additional large-lecture style classes and regular upper level classes, but it would otherwise give you a smaller setting in which to begin.</p>
<p>Best wishes in finding the right fit!</p>
<p>PS in response to your question, our experience has been that if you’re in communication with a prof at Umich and have an LD, the majority can be exceptionally generous with their time. That alone, however, is not enough to succeed in this kind of setting. That is why I discussed the aspect of resources and the development of the skills necessary to succeed and the focus being on self-management, self-advocacy, and being intent on “getting what you need” from the bounty of study groups, support, LD coaching, tutoring, etc.</p>