<p>I am applying to MIT EA this year, ad I had a question to ask you. </p>
<p>I have a learning disability - I have been diagnosed with non-verbal learning disorder in addition to dysgraphia and impairment in executive function. I have complete documentation from a psychologist.I recieve 50% extended time on exams, including the SAT. </p>
<p>I am wondering whether discussing my learning disability (as a challenge I had to overcome, as it definitely was) in my application or interview would hurt my chances for admission. As of now I am not mentioning it at all because A. I have the legal right to keep my testing accommodations confidential and I don't want admissions to assume I'm less qualified because of my accommodations and B. Though many readers might like the fact that I could overcome adversity, one or two might not understand my condition and/or think I might not perform well academically or socially because of it. </p>
<p>Is this the right decision? Different counselors have given different opinions on it. Also, what type of support does MIT offer for students with learning disabilities.</p>
<p>Please note that this is NOT a "what are my chances" thread. I just want to know your opinions on the issue. Does anyone here have experience with gifted learning-disabled students applying to MIT?</p>
<p>Hey apophis13.
If you do mention your disability, do not do so in a way that makes you seem less qualified. I hope your academics can prove that learning disability won’t stand in your way.
The most important thing is to mention how you overcame that disability and still perform great in school .</p>
<p>I understand this, I wasn’t planning on putting myself down or in any way talking about how I couldn’t do well in school - with my high grades they wouldn’t even believe me! it’s just the whole extra time thing - colleges by default do not know this, but if they notice I have some disabilities that make me much slower at test-taking, they might see it as a sign that I might not perform well at such a rigorous school. Plus non-verbal learning disorder DOES have a social impairment, even though I have gotten a lot better at communication skills. I have very good but not amazing ECs but I do lack community service, and combined with my diagnosis they might see me as not a good fit because I might not work well collaboratively or be involved socially. </p>
<p>I know this is not true of me, but I think it’s still risky b/c the readers might not know that even if I say so in my essays.</p>
<p>You can find information on MIT’s resources for students with disabilities [url=<a href=“http://web.mit.edu/uaap/programs/dso.html]here[/url”>http://web.mit.edu/uaap/programs/dso.html]here[/url</a>].</p>
<p>Hey,</p>
<p>I’m a current MIT sophomore. I also have a disability like you, but not learning disability. My disability is physical (deaf)…but it still qualified me to have the same testing accommodations as you had. There is no way to indicate that you took the test with an extra time as my counselor had assured me of (there was some legal dispute over this and it was ruled that it is illegal to mark which test took extra time).</p>
<p>My main essay for MIT (back in the time when I had a long essay option) was about my disability and overcoming it and I managed to tie my disability to my interests in math and science. My letters of recommendations also emphasized how I succeeded academically and everything I did despite my disability. You might want to ask your teachers to mention that somehow if you do choose to disclose your disability. I personally think that showing how you overcame your disability and manage to succeed would look very favorable in admissions’ eyes.</p>
<p>Right now, in collaboration with my MIT and Harvard friends, we’re thinking about creating a website to outreach to disabled students to higher education, especially for MIT and Harvard. So, if you have any questions or anything about accommodations at MIT, let me know. PM me.</p>