My child has been admitted to SCU and is considering the school as one of her top choices. However, she has some learning challenges (specifically, anxiety, stress, ADHD and a few other learning challenges) and has identified a school’s support system for students with challenges as one of the more important criteria on which to make her decision on the school to attend. We were lucky to have visited the campus before the pandemic and really like the campus and people we met, include folks at the disability resource center.
Since her acceptance, we have also found the resource center to be very friendly, open and willing to work with my daughter, but the actual real world experience of a current student may be very different. We also reached out to them for some actual student references but they cannot share any because of confidentially reasons. We would love for my daughter to talk to some actual students with challenge who can talk about their personal experiences at SCU.
If you or someone you know fits this scenario, do send me a private note and we can have that conversation. If you are a person with challenges, you know how critical this piece of the overall college experience is, so I hope you will be willing to connect with an incoming student to share your thoughts.
Concerned mom
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Can you please also direct message me as well? Thanks
If you see this can you PM me as well. This is one of our concerns as well.
I searched and I am not sure I have PM’ed any of you. I have had two kids with various challenges whose privacy I guard at this point. I just want to say that once your kid is accepted, as they have no doubt been at this point, you can get a better idea of how things work.
In our experience the office of disabilities was not the main player in the system. They give the student letters for professors and negotiate accommodations. Some schools will list accommodations, others won’t. The diagnosis is not on the letter but often can be found by faculty in a file if they bother to look.
Often it is others who really make things work: deans, advisors, doctors, therapists and others who can communicate with a professor at a time when accommodations are needed to support the student.
The first year is a time of learning how it all works. Things can go smoothly after that.
I passionately believe students should not choose schools based on these services because they have a legal right to be anywhere they like and things won’t move forward if we don’t do it. Most schools are pretty good about accommodations. That said, I completely respect those who feel otherwise and want a school that is really good with this stuff.
I would also caution that you cannot always tell…some schools do have a proven reputation. It can also depend on the professor, the student’s personality and other factors.
Finally, you can feel free to write the letter for doctors or therapists yourself and then just have them sign it. The professionals we know didn’t mind at all. I researched accommodations appropriate to the specific challenge and listed them in the letter that the professional signed, and sent it to the disabilities office and dean. (Reduced course load is not often used but saved one of mine.)
Also get tuition refund insurance that covers whatever the issue might be for withdrawal.