<p>I was diagnosed with ADD in middle school, and honestly it is a significant part of my life. Obviously, I should tell the colleges I'm applying to about this, right?</p>
<p>Well, there are some issues.</p>
<p>First of all, I have not been put in any special education program in high school, and my school doesn't know about my disorder (at my own request). However, my grades have been impacted by said disorder, I believe.</p>
<p>Second of all, I'm not positive: will having a learning disability affect my chances of getting in anywhere? Will this been seen just as an 'excuse?' Will they take my disorder into consideration at all?</p>
<p>Third, if I do decide to report this condition to the colleges I'm applying to, how should I do it?</p>
<p>I think that time and a half is the customary amount. So, a 30 min section would be 45 min, if you were granted the time. I think that there is a drawn-out process to have the extended time approved though, so you should talk to your school counselor ASAP, if you want it.</p>
<p>You get like an hour extra or something like that...it's pretty ridiculous in some aspects because even people with minor attention disorders and medication can use it to their advantage.</p>
<p>Since no one in your high school knows about this, there won't be any corroborating perspectives. Your mentioning it now raises more questions than it provides answers.</p>
<p>As I recall, you are applying to all fairly large schools. I do not think the adcoms at the big schools want to go into this level of sublety.</p>
<p>There are some good threads on this issue in the Learning Disabilities forum. The bottom line is that it isn't necessary to talk about your ADD as part of your application, although some decide to do so to explain problems or grades. However, not having disclosed your condition to your high school to receive appropriate accommodations will disqualify you from getting the extended time on CollegeBoard exams. </p>
<p>College will be a new ball game; think about whether you may want accommodations there. You should try to learn about how the schools you are applying to deal with ADD. More than likely you will need new testing. Even if you decide you don't want to start out with accommodatons, you may change your mind later on.</p>
<p>Yeah, you shouldn't mention it on the application. You can't just immediately get extended time on the SAT though. To get extended time is quite a long process. First, you would need to go have psychological testing done, which could span up to three days. Then, the doctor would have to confirm that you needed extra time and write that up in a full report (15 pages or more). Then, you would have to submit that to the College Board. It is a long process and an expensive one too.</p>
<p>"not having disclosed your condition to your high school to receive appropriate accommodations will disqualify you from getting the extended time on CollegeBoard exams."</p>
<p>This is not true. As long as the OP can get the testing, or has testing from within the last 5 years (I think 5), he/she can apply for accomodations. It will make it easier if someone from the school helps, but it is not necessary as long as the OP can finish the forms.</p>