I have a Non Verbal Learning Disorder. The consequences of that are that my math and science performance is absolutely pathetic. In turn, my English, History and general verbal skills are better than average. Am I screwed? I know I could do very well at a good university in political science and/or journalism, but I’m worried I will be stuck at colleges taking courses that are no where near at the level I could handle because my tests scores and grades in math/science are lacking. Do universities generally make exceptions with this kind of situation?
The title should say performance iq; damn autocorrect
Schools have requirements that applicants must meet with the goal of admitting students who are ready for college level work. Schools do not waive essential requirements. If grades are poor in a subject despite otherwise meeting qualifications, some schools provide remedial coursework in reading, writing or math. It is necessary to meet these qualifications before moving on. Note that remedial classes require tuition, but do not result in credit toward graduation.
Now, it may be possible to satisfy most degree requirements but not graduate because some requirements are not met. Thus, you may be allowed to move on even without satisfying requirements for which a student enrolled in a remedial class and did not pass. Colleges are not sympathetic to students desire to graduate without completing all requirements. Finally, students with disabilities are required to satisfy academic requirements from matriculation through graduation. Colleges do provide accommodations to students enrolled with the disability office. These accommodations provide access but do not guarantee success
Well, I’d first ask what “pathetic” performance really means. A lot of kids with learning disabilities in a particular area consider their As in areas of strength to be normal and anything less to be failure. So is “pathetic” you’re making Ds in low-level classes, or is “pathetic” those classes are on-level with your other ones, but you’re getting Bs and Cs?
Next, I’d recommend you look at general GPA ranges and see if even with those low grades factored in, are you anywhere near what a given school of interest is seeking? That’s your starting point, for sure.
College will require you to meet a basic requirement of “core” classes, and those are going to include some math/science classes (though how much, and how difficult, will vary by school). Assuming you have the stats to get into a school, and assuming you wisely pick one with the fewest/easiest requirements in your area of difficulty, you’re still going to have to pass those classes. As @zannah mentioned, you may be able to get help/accommodations through Disability Services once you’ve gotten to college, but the best way to make sure that happens is to have an official diagnosis, documentation, and a plan in place in high school, first. And assuming that you have not yet gone through the college application gauntlet, you are going to want your guidance counselor to address your learning disability in their comments, and you may wish to include information about it, as well, in the “additional information” section of your applications.
There are many schools with academic support programs. Do a search and you will find many. Also get on the NVLD boards and ask were other people have gone. My friend has a very similar profile and did very well at the University of Vermont for undergrad and NYU for grad school. Also, Emerson has a good journalism program and I don’t think their is a math/science requirement
Institutions of higher education do not waive either admissions or graduation requirements. So you must meet any requirements. Do register for the disability services office to receive accommodations. Also locate whatever math assistance available from the school’s learning center. Talk to your advisor about satisfying requirements in math by other classes such as statistics with math involved but little actual math content. You might also ask about transferring your math requirements from a community college. At the community college you could take math as your sole class in summer school and have the option of sending you grade to your school. Think carefully about enrolling in remedial math because those classes involve tuition without credit toward graduation.
I have to correct you on the. Schools cannot refuse to offer a substitution for math under certain circumstances. It is a civil rights violation and this has been established with the Federal Department of Education Civil Rights Division. Schools often try to refuse and if the student doesn’t complain, the school might get away with it…but if you press the issue, they have to consider it. Many school have a very easy substitution policy that they post on their websites.