I’d love some suggestions on where to look for a kid who has a somewhat rocky path through HS, due to both illness and some learning issues. Let’s say GPA a little under 3 unweighted, a little over 3 weighted, a couple AP’s but also a lot of “on level” classes., and SAT/ACT scores somewhere around 1000/21.
His priorities are as follows:
Urban or suburban with relatively access to a city by public transportation.
Small
Business majors
Either an official program for kids with LD/ADHD or a reputation for providing good support for these kids.
Within a few hours (let’s say 4, but closer would be better) of DC
And he’d love:
Electives and opportunities in tech theater that are open to non-majors.
I don’t have first hand knowledge of these schools but you may want to look into Goucher and the University of Mary Washington near you. If Long Island isn’t too far there is Adelphi and Hofstra both with LD programs.
In the Philadelphia area, you should take a look at Arcadia University – I know it has a successful program for students with LDs, or at least it did a few years ago, as well as a theater program that was not closed to nonmajors – and LaSalle University. Arcadia is located in Glenside, a close-in suburb. Transportation into the interesting areas of the city is not as good as one would like, but not awful, either. The college may have some kind of shuttle service, too. LaSalle is in the middle of the city, in a not-so-hot neighborhood but with good public transportation access.
I’d also strongly second Goucher, especially for a boy. I know a boy there now who isn’t so different from the OP’s son, except for not having much interest in theater tech. Goucher has been a great place for him. I am morally certain it offers plenty of opportunities to work on theater productions.
I know one boy who got great support at Allegheny (visual processing/ADHD), but it’s not exactly suburban. (Unless driving to Pittsburgh counts!) The academics are strong. Mercyherst, (Erie, PA – does that count as a city??) has been very supportive of another boy with more issues.
None of the kids I’ve known who’ve gone to Arcadia have had LDs; they’ve all been decent, but not stellar, students. In that environment, they’ve really had a chance to shine and have totally blossomed.
He might want to look at this long list of test-optional schools, some very very selective, others representing a wide range of selectivity. http://fairtest.org/university/optional
Thanks for all the ideas! Lots of schools to investigate. It sounds like a road trip to Philly in particular might be in order. I don’t think test optional will work for us. Although I think his test scores won’t be great, his GPA isn’t any better.
I am actually a little confused about how to figure out what’s reach/match/safety for him. A lot of the schools that seem good on paper, like Goucher, he’ll probably be around the 25th %ile for their admitted class for both GPA and probably test scores. But they’re also schools with admissions rates of 60 - 80%. What are the odds in that situation?
I know a kid with some LD issues who went to Duquesne, in Pittsburgh. He even received a merit scholarship, but I think his grades were higher than your son’s I second Drew as a suggestion, also.
What state do you live in? Richard Bland College of William & Mary is a state junior college with dorms. In state tuition is $5400 and OOS is about $15k. Room & board is $9k per year. They have an Associate’s Degree in Business. The stats fit your son. It is about three hours from D.C. and about 45 minutes from the real William & Mary. They have some LD support and an equine therapy program. We have not toured it but I was seriously considering it for my D17 who has some LD’s. Like all state of VA community colleges there is an automatic admission agreement with state four years. The campus is on an old pecan plantation.
We are in MD, but I haven’t ruled out VA publics as the whole system has an excellent reputation.
I have heard good things about Richard Bland, but I don’t think it’s a match for my particular kid. His strongest preference is for an urban setting and RB is very isolated.
You should look at Widener U
It also is right out of phila
Has a good reputation for helping with LD students
Nice small campus in an urban environment
Very good relationships with internships in phila especially in business
Has a reputation to really guide and watch over their students
Good luck
I think we’re going to plan a spring break trip to Philly to see Widener, La Salle, and Arcadia. Anything else we should see there? Someone mentioned St. Joseph’s, is too much of a reach?
Maybe Hood College in Frederick, MD. Small school with a lot of personal attention. I don’t know about their business program, though. Stevenson University in Baltimore County might also be one to look at.
I may have it wrong, but my impression is that St. Joe’s, a Jesuit college, is a little higher-strung academically, and somewhat preppier than LaSalle. It’s definitely larger. For a non-LD student who may simply be immature and not all that focused on academics, I think LaSalle is a more nurturing environment. I don’t know what kind of support system it has for students with LDs, but I think that would be core to its educational mission, so it’s worth finding out.
If you drive up to Philadelphia (about 2-1/2 hours from DC, unless you try to do it Friday afternoon/evening, and 20-30 minutes less to Widener), it wouldn’t be hard at all to see all four schools in two days. It shouldn’t take much more than 30 minutes to drive between any two of them, and they aren’t huge campuses; you could see three in one day if you pushed it.