A lot of people have heard of Middlebury. While it’s true there are a lot of uninformed and educationally unsophisticated people who have not heard of the elite LACs, but have heard of Harvard and Princeton, I think sometimes we tend to exaggerate the anonymity from which these schools suffer in some crowds. The internet has democratized a lot of information that used to be in the hands of the few. And a lot more kids are trying to get into elite schools than when I was coming up, and those kids tend to get the information either themselves or it’s fed to them. My D didn’t know what NESCAC was until her counselor started bringing it up.
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Personally I disagree - ask 100 people on the street if they heard of Harvard and 99 or 100 say yes. Middlebury, Bowdoin, W&L - even a WUSTL, Emory, etc. - I’d say less than half but that’s just my guess.
But those that need to know - know - and I think that’s the difference. Perhaps some lower level HR people who went to a state school don’t…but the big time people know.
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I suppose it is a function of where you live and who you tend to run into. And it varies by school even within the same class. Williams is a generic enough “sounding” name such that people who aren’t focused on these things tend to not have heard of it. Amherst, OTOH, sounds like an important name, and I’ve known people who don’t know anything about it assume that it’s some elite school in the northeast. I’ve run into a few people over the years who think it’s a boarding school, but have not heard of Groton or Lawrenceville.
That all said, I would not describe the situation as “not many people have heard of it.” A great many people have heard of Middlebury. No, not like Harvard. That’s why I used that example. Really, no school has that kind of brand recognition.
Back on the topic, as a parent with a late diagnosed kiddo, my .02 is that vary large schools are generally not the best bet, but I would also not assume all small schools will work better. I think a lot of LACs are simply not built to deal with these challengers either. You have to get the perspective of people who’ve been through a particular school, and then you have to talk with that school’s student support services people to really get a feel for how they accommodate and, more importantly, how they advocate. I don’t care where you go, every school has some horse’s *** professor who refuses to bend much less support kids with disabilities. It’s just the world as it was made. At some point over 4 years, believe me, you and the people in that office are going to get into a scrap with some self-important jerk who will seem as if he or she almost wants your kid to fail. The people in support services need to have game and they need to have political power at the school, and that varies by institution. Trust me on this point.
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Without having any knowledge or experience to think this, after visiting Cornell College in Iowa, it seemed like a great fit for a student with ADHD bc of its block plan (students only take one class at a time, for 18 days, then move onto the next class). It allows them to stay focused on and immersed in one subject at a time. (Only one other school in the country, Colorado College, offers this type of block plan).
We visited Cornell College in October and although it wasn’t a fit for my D23, I am absolutely going to have my D26, who certainly exhibits ADHD symptoms, look closely at the school. I also know a graduate who had a fantastic experience there.
Although small, Cornell College has an ABET-accredited engineering program and seems strong in STEM.
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My friend is a psychologist and specializes in educational issues. Her daughter is 2xE and she searched a lot of colleges to get the perfect environment, interviewing the disability services department and eliminating schools like Amherst as they didn’t give her the right answers for supports and accommodations. D started at a well known school with about 4000 studnets and it was a disaster from the first day. She got all the supports she requested but they made her feel exposed. She had trouble making friends because she required a single room, she had trouble with medications and counseling. It was all just too much for her.
She moved home, transferred to a huge commuter school and it worked great. What she needed was to be with her family. She loved being the smartest in her program, and didn’t care about friends. They had never, ever, considered the much less prestigious local commuter college but that really was what was best for her. She got a lot of perks at the school, like early registration, small classes (just because she took a major that wasn’t over subscribed), knew all her professors well, easy to get to from home on light rail.
So, my advice is to find the school he likes and make the other stuff work for him. Big doesn’t mean unworkable (and most of the big schools have much smaller engineering schools). Almost all schools have a disability office and they’ll help with any adjustments needed to schedules or testing. What they won’t do is make sure he uses supports or accommodations, that will be up to him. Engineering is pretty straight forward with a list of classes and a few electives.
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100 percent agree with you. I’m glad things worked out for your daughter. 
I have a close friend whose son had a similar experience at a well known midsize private university. The mom told me that disability services was great and he had no issues with the professors. The kid refused to use the resources available and ended up dropping out. He worked a job in retail for 3 or 4 years and eventually enrolled at our large state flagship. He is now a second year med student.
Some small schools aren’t going to be great and some large schools are and vice versa. A lot of this is dependent on the individual student and their ability to self advocate and utilize the resources available. Some of this has to do with the culture of the school There are large state schools that have some of the best programs for neurodiversity - including Auburn SKILL, Arizona SALT, and UCONN Beyond Access that I referenced up thread. I really wish there was a Green Book of sorts for this where people could detail their experiences with Disability Services and report issues they have encountered at different schools. It is very hard to navigate, even if you ask all the right questions. My college freshman had a great first semester, but I am always apprehensive that things could unravel.
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I totally agree with you. Personally, I have worked with HR people who have never heard of some good colleges but are so excited when they see candidates who got a master degree from Harvard, but ignore the fact the undergraduate school is average. The HR people just think this candidate must be awesome because they have a master degree from Harvard. LOL.
Idk, isn’t that the point people make all the time, that even though your undergrad institution is “average,” if you make the most of your time there you can go on to a fantastic grad program? Is your point that they aren’t actually awesome for getting a graduate degree from Harvard or other top-ranked program bc they chose a lower-ranked undergrad?? Fwiw, I think it’s awesome.
@twoinanddone Thanks for sharing your insight!
We are still discussing the size of the school and its fit for my son. He has an outgoing personality and would like to go to a medium to large college as his high school is small. I personally think he might benefit from smaller class size and easy access to professors. However, he is very strong minded. I think we will probably compromise to a medium sized school or a honor program at a large school may be a good option.
I was reading his psychologist’s report again and want to share his strengths and area of challenge. He has exceptional verbal reasoning skills and critical thinking skills. That’s why it is very difficult to convince or argue with him. LOL! However, he struggles with slow processing speed and poor working memory. So I am not sure if physics or engineering is a good fit for his major in college although he loves physics now. Also I don’t know if Econ. requires a lot of memorization, which he is definitely not his strong suit. Any thoughts or insight?
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No, my point is we should not judge people based on the name of the school they went. Plus many elite colleges offer master programs to make money and the acceptance requirements are not nearly as high as their undergraduate or Ph.D programs.
I asked about this at our tour today. They said 98% of student do co-ops, but those co-ops can be (and many are) research based. They also said there are many opportunities for research in all majors during the semesters you are on campus. And they said plenty of students decide to go on to careers in academia, although most of them decide that over their time at Northeastern rather than coming in with that plan.
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@MAmomto4 Thank you so much for your quick follow-up! That’s impressive execution speed I wish my son had 
With respect to school reputations, I think it is very regional. In much of the southeast, very few people on the street have heard of most NESCAC schools or other Top X schools. I know there’s a poster in health care who talked about how employers in Texas were more impressed with their degree from UT than they were with the degree from Johns Hopkins. And Johns Hopkins has way more name recognition than most “elite” colleges. And there are those who also are aware of “elite” schools, but have mixed feelings toward them due to their “elite” nature.
Regardless, being an “elite” or Top X or small or big school doesn’t necessarily mean that the school would be the right (or wrong) fit for your student. In your initial, quick looks, U.S. News and World Report (USNWR) is helpful as on each school’s academics page it will list the percentage of classes with fewer than 20 students, 20 to 50 students, and more than 50 students. I have definitely been surprised at times when seeing what the percentages looked like at a particular school. When you’re getting more serious about a school or deliberating whether it should or shouldn’t make a cut to the further research/application process, I would recommend looking at the Common Data Sets for each school, as there is a more detailed breakdown of classes from 20-30, 30-40, and 40-50. If lots of classes have 40-49 students, that’s different than having most of those classes in the 20-30 range.
Anyway, my two cents on factors I’d be considering for my own kid, or any kid with ADHD or other learning concerns.
My kid has ADHD, diagnosed in junior year of HS. We thought a SLAC would be better for them than a large uni. But they were adamant about a mid to large school because they were tired of their small high school. They agreed to add a couple of SLACs to their application list - their college consultant & one of their teachers had more influence on this than we the parents did. Ultimately they chose a SLAC over their big school options. Connecting with the main professor in their major was key, as was the campus visit. Their first year is going really well. But I’m sure they would have done well at the right larger school too.
Regarding “name brand” recognition, that was tough. One of the kid’s bigger school options is well-recognized, at least among those who know. Their SLAC doesn’t have the same level of recognition. But what was most important to my child, and us, was the fit.
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Thanks @Ocean30 for sharing your experience and insight.
Your kid sounds very similar to mine. We will leverage the college counselor and teacher for influence.
This is insightful. How can one tell from the outside the quality and influence of the academic support team at one or another college?
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I wish I could say. My kid’s particular experience was driven by athletic recruiting, academic standing of the school and where she wanted to be. Newly diagnosed, we were naive about
all of it, including our faith in our D’s ability to just continue “coping.” She was at a SLAC and it worked out. She actually did very well when it was all said and done. Part of the reason for that is she was a recruited athlete and athletics has a formal relationship /connection with student services. She also had another adult on campus (her coach) who had a vested interest in her remaining in academic good standing. And, she’s a gritty kid. One history professor from her freshman year was particularly difficult, and student services could only do so much in that case. But he unwittingly set a fire under her rear end that may have actually helped her in the end. I would never admit it to him, and I wonder how a kid with less grit and stubbornness would have fared. These people are everywhere.
Ostensibly, there’s no way to be 100% sure until your kid attends a particular school, but if I knew then what I know now, I would have asked around and tried to get connected with families and get as much anecdotal information as I could get my hands on. Then, after admissions, I’d go interview student services and try and get a feel for the people and the department. I’d ask the hard questions: are there faculty who are difficult to work with and do you know who they are? how much power do they have in circumstances involving conflict with faculty? what is the graduation rate of kids who use their services, etc.? You also want to understand entirely the governance structure that exists for when a kid goes on academic probation. What are the rules of the road, what is the name of the committee, who is on it, where is their charter or other writing outlining their power and discretion, what is the appeals process, etc. We didn’t get to that point, but it really matters.
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My son has a different diagnosis, but with many of the same issues as ADHD. He is graduating this year, and I’m pretty much convinced he is not ready to go to college next fall. We are considering a gap year (something like AmeriCorp possibly), and I’m sure that would give him a chance to mature, but I’m not sure it will improve his ability to turn assignments in on time (or even to know what assignments he has) the following year in college.
I have two ideas for him that I feel pretty good about. The first is the “Learning Services” program at American University (which is a school he really liked due to his interest in politics.) It is a comprehensive program in the first year, including weekly meetings with an advisor, a separate section of the required first year writing course just for this group of students, peer mentors, and some other services. After the first year there is no requirement, but the students can still make use of the services offered. This program would allow him to explore academic interests, and I wouldn’t have to worry that he might struggle in all of his classes and no one would even notice.
The other program I’m intrigued by is the “Bridge” program at Landmark College. Landmark exclusively works with kids with diagnosed learning disabilities, and I believe they really know what they are doing. I don’t think my son needs something at that level for his entire college experience. However, the bridge program would give him one semester to work with people who will help him develop strategies for being successful wherever he ultimately ends up. He could do one semester at Landmark and then have a proper “gap” semester before starting a degree program fall of 2024. Based on his success with college applications that have already been submitted, he could either choose a school and defer, or he could choose to submit new applications next fall. I think this program could be extremely beneficial, as he might really learn to manage himself, and might also get a better idea of the type of college he would thrive at.
My son is onboard for the program at American (they required an additional application at the same time as the regular one). I haven’t yet discussed Landmark with him (I was waiting until he could breathe after getting the college apps in, and then midterms and catching up on all the missing work from the last quarter before even bringing it up.)
Long answer, but I’m still thinking this through myself.
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I agree with you. It really depends on the individual kid.
My kid had two colleges on her final list. One small liberal arts college in the Colleges that Change Lives book, and a big public Research 1 university.
She liked both but ultimately chose the big public research university.
The good:
*Both the Housing and the Disability office have been very approachable and easy to work with. This I expected would have been the same at the small liberal arts college.
*Priority enrollment. Invaluable because so far she has been able to enroll in all the courses that she wanted to unlike the majority of students. This is a major stress for kids in the regular enrollment pool.
*The amazing selection of courses to choose from. My kid needs to be fully interested in the course subject or it’s a no go, so the fact that there are plentiful choices is priceless. This could have been a problem at the small liberal arts college.
*She has found two jobs on campus that she loves and give her pocket money. I was not too sure this would work out because she has no financial need and more on campus jobs than not are work study. I think she would have found a job at the small college too.
The bad:
The fact that professors are researchers and not teachers. She has had a couple of excellent ones, but this quarter there is one who claimed to not have taught that particular class for 17 years and who is assuming the students have more background knowledge that they really do and doesn’t care. I am sure this would have been much better at the small liberal arts college.
You have pluses and minuses to either choice, it really depends on the kid which are more important.
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Trust your instincts if they’re telling you he might need more time before college. My son wasn’t sure it was a good idea, but once he started college and could see some of the other freshmen struggling with homesickness, independent living, etc., he was grateful he’d already worked through some of those issues during his gap year (which he spent away from home).
I was going to suggest Vassar until I saw that your son’s intended major is engineering. (Students at Vassar can request academic coaches who meet with them weekly and help them keep track of their schedules, advocate for themselves, etc.)
I’ve read the faculty at U. Conn. are studying which methods work best to teach engineering to students with ADHD. Not sure if that’s filtered down into the classrooms yet, but it might be worth looking into. Engineering a New Learning Environment For Neurodiversity - UConn Today
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