Welcome @damon389 ! I have a higher performing IEP student applying this year, as well. Although I know nothing about the schools you’re looking at, I do share your concerns and careful planning for finding the best school for her needs. I think your views on a school like Idaho are spot on.
@Damon389 My son is going to go to Arizona next year, but I don’t know anything about SALT. Overall the school isn’t cheap, even with the $15k merit aid he got. I don’t know much about Idaho although my daughter (a junior) is interested in it. My so was interested in Wash St so we took a visit and it’s a great area.
Hi all. I am genuinely touched how responsive people are on this board and how insightful their comments are.
Re University of Arizona. The SALT Program is seen as the gold standard of programs that assist kids who learn differently to succeed in college.
We visited it and my daughter loved it. However, I have a few concerns about Arizona that will more than likely eliminate it from the running:
- The University itself is REALLY big. I would be worried that my D just gets lost.
- Just too expensive. My daughter got in, but she's OOS and won't get much in the way of merit scholarships. Coupled with the fact that there's a $6.2K/year cost to participate in the program, Arizona's price tag is essentially neck and neck with what a private college would run.
Supposedly Cal State East Bay has a program similar to Arizona. This could be an interesting option, but they’re very much seen as a commuter school where she’d miss out on a key aspect of the college experience.
http://www.csueastbay.edu/clp/
This is why as a family we’re leaning towards Idaho. With the WUE, it’s about as good as we’re going to get financially and it’s exactly the type of environment my daughter’s looking for. While it wish it was a touch closer to the SF Bay Area, you can get to the Spokane Airport in 90 minutes where there are many direct flights to OAK and SFO.
I’m just so fortunate to have a sweet daughter who’s excited about the next phase of her personal journey. For those parents who have a kid with an IEP, remember to keep believing in them and letting them know that with the proper support, they can succeed in anything (while making sure that their school holds up their end of the bargain!).
D has five full acceptances now (dance and academics), after being accepted to a dance program in London today. Her top two schools will be releasing decisions in the next two weeks, but I think I’m more nervous than she is- she’s happy with the acceptances she has now, which is the exact right attitude of course. She even decided to pull and app and cancel an audition today from one of her remaining schools.
@milgymfam Congrats! A dance program in London sounds amazing!!
Cheers from Seattle! My brother in law enjoyed going to U Idaho last decade, but I do want to offer a caution that there is usually quite an educational impact when there are permanent budget cuts with more on the horizon as is the case there https://www.idahopress.com/eyeonboise/university-of-idaho-planning-more-budget-cuts-in-face-of/
I’ve worked for the University of WA forever & we still haven’t recovered from a similar situation http://www.dailyuw.com/news/article_e6735164-170b-11ea-a43e-e7355080bab8.html Honestly, I’m glad our son (also w/IEP) enjoyed a summer class at UW so we can truthfully say we’re all Huskies but is looking for a smaller college elsewhere in 2020 
@Damon389 My D also toured U of Montana, Montana State, and U of Idaho. Of those three, she ended up just applying to Montana State and got accepted. She’s considering going there, but is also waiting on the CSUs and UCs. It is interesting that U of Montana lost about 40% of its students in the last 8 years, while Montana State has gained 31% in the last 10 years:
https://missoulian.com/news/local/university-of-montana-enrollment-decline-severe-but-montanans-see-signs/article_64a9aa85-e85a-571b-80a8-d7c34d051921.html
https://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/news/education/montana-state-bucks-national-trends-on-growth-spending/article_8248832a-9ea7-5d78-8dc8-e49052d91c73.html
I personally liked U of Idaho. Their new student center has an atrium design, which makes it feel more open than its library. It’s interesting that their football stadium is indoors, while WSU’s is outdoors despite only being 8 miles away. I think U of I really improved their campus in the last 10 years with the new rec center and other buildings. They are strong in greek life and walking distance to the small but cute Moscow.
Overall, my D was looking for the more western feel of Montana St., but U of I seems like a great school and is about $5K per year cheaper than WSU. The airport between Pullman and Moscow has increased in the last 5 years to handle more students flying out of there:
https://news.wsu.edu/2019/08/29/pullman-airport-closing-temporarily-bring-expanded-new-runway-online/
Also, recent safety improvements were made on the road to Spokane:
https://dnews.com/local/state-funding-to-address-safety-on-hwys-and/article_d87b46f6-0d05-5d48-94d3-3c4e7d4639a4.html
Overall, U of I is a great choice. However, if she gets into Cal Poly, go there.
S20 received another acceptance today - George Mason University! But as he was recently recruited by VMI to play soccer (only VA school to reach out thus far that he is even remotely interested in attending) he now says he wants to go to VMI. A good school too and we know it well as my brother and a few friends are alums. Part of me is proud that he wants to go to VMI (even though he doesn’t want to go into military), but another part of me wishes his decision wasn’t based solely on being recruited to play soccer.
Congrats, @scoutmom2002 ! If it makes you feel any better, my husband now says he wish he had chosen the school who recruited him for sports over the Big Ten school that he did. So maybe your son has it right.
I completely understand how you’re feeling though. One of mine is being recruited by a small LAC that seems to use athletics for flattery to build their class. I mean, a very high percentage are athletes. I wonder what happens when they decide they are done playing?
I don’t know much about VMI. But if he feels comfortable, that’s all that matters!
@momoftoomany - thanks! VMI is Virginia Military Institute and it is highly regarded although very small (under 2,000 students). It will all work out I’m sure and to be honest the rigid structure and discipline will be good for him I think 
DS got two more acceptances yesterday, Appalachian State (his first choice) and UNC-Wilm (one of my favorites, but never his). He is now 5-0, and is feeling pretty good. Just one left to hear from in January, NCSU which is a reach based on his test scores but we shall see. I think he will pick App but if he gets in NSCU we will have to reevaluate. I am wondering now if we should have applied to UNC-CH which is the dream school here in NC (and my alma mater), but he couldn’t picture himself there, so we didn’t even try.
Good vibes to all those still waiting!
@ITBgirl - I’ve heard nothing but great things about AppState! Not a bad first choice. Congrats.
Thank you for the responses re UA SALT. He did think Arizona was big. Also looked at ASU and he thought that was huge. It looked a bit intimidating. Quick question, does anyone know much about University of Portland? This might be one of his top choices. Visited the school and really liked it, but didn’t speak to the students there. Anyone know if students enjoy their time at UP? They are very generous with merit scholarships, too.
Also interested in Portland for my 3.0 S22. I think diversity might be an issue…
That’s what I read, but it wasn’t any less diverse than other schools we visited. Actually, we were moderately surprised at how many Asians attend. A lot of kids from Hawaii. I am curious whether graduates find jobs or internships outside of Portland. That’s one question I have.
Also concerned about Portland’s weather…is it too gloomy?
D20 just submitted her final app…RD to her reach school (W&M in VA)!! That’s it – all applications done…now the waiting game.
Great to see all the new activity on this thread! DS just received his first college acceptance - EA admit to St. Joseph’s University in Philly with a nice merit award.
Does anyone have recent input re St. Joe’s?
@1stTimeThruMom - I have heard great things about it from the parents of two kids in town who seem to really be enjoying their time at St. Joe’s. Not much help, I know, but wanted to share anyway.
Thanks for the feedback. It sounds like our kids are on a similar track. Collectively, we’d be REALLY surprised if D gets into Cal Poly. We applied more along the lines of “why not” since once you apply to one Cal State it’s very easy to apply to several others (with the relatively high application fee being the biggest consideration). That said, if she does happen to get in I’d be hard-pressed not to have her go. She did get confirmations of admission to Humbolt and Sonoma State, which we were expecting.
I liked MSU more than D and spouse. I liked the strong STEM emphasis but my daughter wants to study Environmental Science and it’s grouped into the Agriculture Department vs. a stand-alone department @ Idaho and NAU. The other consideration is that it’s farther away and Bozeman is about the coldest school you can find on the western side of the Rockies. Not that Moscow, ID is warm, but the winter isn’t nearly what she’d face in Bozeman. She’s totally cool with four-seasons though.
I have some concerns about the Cal States. I’ve heard through others that often majors are impacted and it’s extremely difficult to graduate in 4-years due to not being able to get into the classes that she would need to graduate. I’ve also heard that the Disability Services within the Cal State program have a spotty repuation.
Thoughts on that would be helpful…
Overall, I’m most excited for her about Idaho but we’ll see how things ultimately shake out.