<p>Hello everyone. I am writing this in regards to my 17 year old daughter, who is applying to colleges this year (this is her sister's accout!). She is an excellent student - a GPA of 3.8 (weighted 4.5) and adored by all her teachers. She is currently taking 5 APs this semester, and will take 4 next semester. (Cumulatively, she has amassed an impressive 6 APs on top of this).</p>
<p>However, the problem is this she has a learning disability. She has never once used this to her advantage; her tests are timed normally, she is not in special classes nor does she receive tutoring. In middle school, we noticed that it took her the longest time to complete her work. For freshman year, she had her IQ (and various other factors) tested which resulted in us confirming our beliefs she has some delayed cognitive abilities. Certain factors were in the 99thpercentile, such as the intact of information (I cannot be sure of the scientific terms) and was inferred that the IQ equivalent was in the mid 160s. Despite this, certain skills (linked to memory) were dismal seemingly the paralleling an IQ of 80. They diagnosed her with a learning disability and an IQ of 115. The results were namely that her brain has the inability to retain information unless the material is studied ad nauseum. In fact, we have never even informed our high school about this.</p>
<p>How does this factor in to schools? Well, she has NO ECS! No time, she is always working. In order to reach parity with top students, she works around 18 hrs. a day each weekend, and from 3:00pm to 12:00 am during the week. At times, she must stay up until 2 am. Ostensibly, the transcript would reveal that she is unwilling to participate in activities outside of the classroom. She goes to a highly competitive private high school where a plurality of the students also are on student gov., sports, etc. </p>
<p>When speaking to schools, they were appalled that she did nothing with her free time! What can we do to ensure that she is accepted to a great school, when even the local colleges are dismissed by her lack of social relativism?</p>
<p>She should do fine in college. She just has to figure out her learning style and pick a college accordingly. I suggest that she go back to the psychologist that did her evaluation (or a new one) and find out what will work better for her. She can excel by getting the type of education that fits her.</p>
<p>Your daughter needs to define “great school” according to what is the best academic “fit” for her. (I have a highly gifted dyslexic who did not choose to go to the highest ranked school she was accepted to, but the one she felt best fit her vision of how she wanted to spend her time in college.)</p>
<p>For example, does your daughter really want to spend college doing this? It sounds endless and really hard. The point may be irrelevent. The schools will look at her qualifications, and depending on her test scores, my daughters were all 800’s, will decide what level of work they think she can do.</p>
<p>Schools really only admit kids they believe can do the work.</p>
<p>Does she plan to disclose this in her essay to explain her time use? My daughter did disclose, and it didn’t hurt her at any top 25 she applied to…Just FYI</p>
<p>A young man in our community has some learning challenges (dyslexia). He graduated from high school a few years ago and is doing extremely well in college. He found a school where you take 1 class for a month. You are completely immersed in the material during this time. Your entire focus is on this one subject but it is for just four weeks and then you move on to another. This college is Greeneville College in Tn. I believe there are other schools with similar course offerings.</p>
<p>Perhaps this full immersion would work well for your daughter and also allo her to pursue some interests outside the classrooom. </p>
<p>First of all, hats off to your daughter and her success in school. My daughter has very similar LD issues and is currently a college freshman so it was last year that she submitted applications to her selected colleges. Most of these required essays as part of her application. After consulting with two college counselors and speaking to admissions offices directly, it was agreed that those essays could be a very powerful tool to explain her LD (in positive terms, how she’s a really hard worker, puts in a lot of hours, etc.) Some schools even ask if there is anything else they should know about the student in the application. That is also an excellent place to include info about your daughter’s LD/ assessment . Just keep it positive. Any college worth its salt is familiar with LD issues, and would welcome a student who has achieved so much in spite of her LD. And it gives you a place to explain why no ECs. Frankly, I would be a bit worried about my child having to put such copious amounts of hours into her homework already. So “fit” becomes very important in selecting a college. Letting her have some breathing room, so to speak. Really, and most importantly, do not be afraid to disclose the LD issue. I’m rather surprised that the high school hasn’t already been informed and a 504 plan put in place. If her assessment is current, she will qualify for services at college that she might find very helpful…notetakers, extended time on tests, etc. There is absolutely no shame in this. By the way, my D was accepted at many respected universities and is flourishing in a well-selected college who supports its LD students. I think you will find many high-tiered schools who will do the same. Best of luck!</p>
<p>Besides worrying about where she gets in, think about what courses she should study that allows her to do her best while in college. If she’s already spending so much time on schoolwork in HS, she might burn out.</p>
<p>(You probably already do this but I’ll say it anyway…) I don’t think you should focus on what she doesn’t have… (ECs), but rather her strength: her commitment to her studies.</p>
<p>BTW, the dx of LD was given because her “potential” indicates she could perform at the IQ 160 range, yet, her achievements indicate she functions at the 115 range. That difference is “explained” by giving her a dx of LD. Be sure, when the mode of delivery does not require areas where she struggles, that she has access to higher level thinking. (This is what her APs have provided, for instance.) I know she currently attends a private school where she may get the support she needs even without a formal evaluation, she should get one for colleges and pick colleges that offer substantial support. She’ll probably use support services a lot there.</p>
<p>If I read your post correctly, your D’s school is not involved in any way with her LD issues… so the counselor cannot explain the lack of extracurricular activities…</p>
<p>I think you have some choices … and others can maybe weigh in on the pros and cons of each,</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Convey this information to the counselor now, so he or she can explain it to the colleges… it might be a real plus “I had this amazing, outstanding student who I didn’t even know was working so hard to compensate for her individual learning glitches, and if it ever occurred to me that she wasn’t as involved in other activities, this blew me away and I could only applaud her dedication to learning.” On the other hand, if the counselor is a bum…</p></li>
<li><p>Have her explain it, either in the framework of an LD or as her learning style… and I see there are other threads on pros and cons of disclosing this in an application.</p></li>
<li><p>Not overly worrying about it… She sounds absolutely wonderful simply as she is! All students have strengths and weaknesses, and her academics sound like a resounding strength. Also, she may have extracurriculars lurking somewhere that are intermittent… or one off experiences… She is who she is, and while it will make some schools less of a match for her, there will be other schools that will want to snatch up a hard working, committed, bright student who has proved herself.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>For happiness in college and in life, it would be good for you to determine what fields of study work best for students with your D’s mix of gifts and challenges.</p>
<p>Are all those AP classes really worth it, after she has spent 18 hours/day on weekends and 9-11 hours/day on weekdays, doing work? This sounds really, really excessive. Might she not benefit from less academic pressure and more variety in her life, such as theater or sports or music? Does she spend time with friends?</p>
<p>A 50 point gap between verbal and performance (if that is what it is) is huge, according to my understanding.</p>
<p>One of my kids has long had substantial health problems, some of which are neurological and can affect her learning (temporarily, for a couple of days at a time). She has a similar personality in terms of perseverance, high standards for herself, and not wanting accommodations. However, I see it as a sign of maturity, and of acceptance of her self, that she is finally learning that she cannot do everything in this fierce and dogged manner, forever.</p>
<p>I have another child with learning disabilities, who spends much longer on work than her siblings ever did, and she has survived by doing a performing art during high school. She does well enough at school, and took one AP class for each of two years, but her college choices (she has applied, but not yet heard) will be more discussion based, more cooperative and creative, and hopefully will not keep her at her desk all night.</p>
<p>It’s too late to change your daughter’s high school experience, but I sincerely hope that she attends a college where this kind of work load is not the only choice, and where she can spread her wings and try some things. There are plenty of kids like your daughter at top, top colleges, but at a price. It would seem that she is willing to pay that price, but it might help to offer some alternatives at this point, for balance. Maybe she just needs to hear from others that the price is too high.</p>
<p>We have a similar situation except we finally classified our daughter sophomore year in high school. Each year I would speak to her teachers to alert them to her disability so they would unofficially know what her situation was. Still, she works incredibly hard for her grades. When it came time for the SATs I knew we needed to get her more time or it would just be a waste no matter how much prep she had. We went through all the tests, meetings, etc. and she now has a 504. The only time we use it is for the SAT and AP tests, never in class, not for the NYS Regents, it’s what she wants.</p>
<p>My daughter has two ECs - costume/make-up/hair three times a year for the school productions and every Monday she assists in the local art center for 1 1/2 hours in their early elementary clay class. These are two areas that she is interested in, they take a limited amount of time and are flexible should she have too much work or feel too stressed to participate on a certain day. (Her math teacher is the director of the school play and gave a big test the Friday morning of opening night after a late night dress rehearsal. She did not do as well as she typically does and blamed him for keeping her out so late. This connection helped her learn to talk to teachers and he appreciated the situation when grading her report card.)</p>
<p>After all this I am trying to say that you should classify her even if you don’t use it often or at all. You should also look for an EC activity that can fit her schedule, if chosen appropriately it will be an extension of who she is, not a burden.</p>
<p>My D is in 8th grade and very similar to OP’s. Her short term memory is at 3% of normal and the LD psych says this means one can’t retain the material long-enough to learn it without the studying ad nauseum, as OP stated. My D also has that type of intensity and determination in her studying. I do worry about its price–she doesn’t socialize like most young girls. </p>
<p>My D is classified and does get extra time. Even if your daughter doesn’t need it now, the college work load will be even more intense. I would get her classified and paperwork in place now, so that it is in place if she needs it in college.</p>
<p>On applications, I think you need to disclose. It will explain so much. I struggle with this question a lot. There are many different opinions on that, and most on the LD board have indicated not to disclose. I appreciate all the posters on this thread who endorsed disclosing and stated it worked out ok. I do wish posters disclosed the names of their LD friendly schools though! It would be helpful.</p>
<p>Schools which we found very open to dyslexia: </p>
<ol>
<li>UNC-chapel Hill (has separate application process)</li>
<li>Berkeley (has separate application process)</li>
<li>Yale (doing great research on this issue, would recommend getting in touch with the researchers before applying if you think your kid is a “fit” and can handle the work load)</li>
<li>Brown (though less so than they used to be)</li>
<li>Many of the well-known LAC’s, simply by virtue of the small classes, case by case basis…You really have to talk to the disability center before and especially AFTER admissions to find out what they will and will not do.)
These are the top schools.</li>
</ol>
<p>Also get the Fiske guide for LD. It is accurate.</p>
<p>What exactly does this mean? It reads like actually someone who does not understand learning disabilities and thinks those that get accomodations are someone cheating/ ‘using it to their advantage’ when instead it adjusts the circumstances to enable one to reduce the liability of the LD. </p>
<p>This is such a shame because it seems like perhaps you did not understand the role of accomodations nor seek them out, and she’s instead spent most of her teen years studying. If it was an issue in HS, it will surely be a bigger issue in college. But it is not too late to start to identify- and understand!- and find appropriate accommodations for her specific LD. She will no doubt find a good college to suit her, but I think the more important issue is coming to fully understand her disability and how to effectively accomodate it.</p>
<p>My son also has an IEP. It is very helpful and he can trigger the accomodations when he needs it. Without the IEP there are very few avenues. Primarily he uses the IEP to gain a study hall freeing up time to participate in the sports he loves. Without that extra hour during the school day everyday he, too, would spend too much time studying to stay “up” with the volume of reading. He’s willing to give up a “fun” class and just take the cores in exchange for time for something outside of academics after school. The IEP also sets a track record for the colleges. I’m not sure however how it works with a student who has not used any accomodations through the K-12 experience.</p>
<p>As far as ECs there must be something your D does other than study and go to classes or something she’s interested in doing that can be addressed in a short essay question. If academic is what interets her to the exclusion of other activities, perhaps broaden your college search on colleges where that IS the focus. </p>
<p>Hindsight is no good to you, but I’m surprised her school allowed her to take such a heavy academic load if it causes her to have no time for anything else. Balance in life is good, too.</p>
<p>I do not really have any advice on college acceptance chances, but spending 18 hours a day studying and doing homework, even though that is only on the weekends, is way too much. And the 9 to 11 hours a day during the school week, in addition to what is actually done at school in the classroom, is also too much. Are we to understand that the other 6 hours of Saturday and Sunday are spent sleeping? How does this student have time for relaxing or even eating?</p>
<p>It’s been said a million times: adcoms need to know an applicant can fit and thrive, both academically and socially, at that school. They want students who will engage in campus life- forge friendships, join a club or two, get involved in other activities. </p>
<p>High school ECs are more than just “extras.” They give an idea of how the applicant views the world around her and integrates into it, the sort of pursuits she feels are worthy of her time, how willing she is to climb out of her comfort zone, how she balances, etc. </p>
<p>It’s risky to only explain why she does not have this balance. There must be something she can point to, as ECs. Find it. It can seem rather small to you, but it can be presented effectively. Better to state, look, I have an LD I chose not to disclose; I wanted to test myself against the rigors of school without extra consideration or the chance my grades would reflect lesser standards. I succeeded. And, aware of my own challenges, each summer, I…" You’ll have to find it. It shouldn’t be a solitary pursuit. If you have ideas, I’m sure we can give feedback here.</p>
<p>Also, yes, friends dau is at a “one class per session” school and loves it- and is doing superbly. Many of these shcools have great reps.</p>
<p>That she has no ECs is not going to make a bit of difference in most of the colleges where she will be applying. The most selective colleges are not likely to accept her, true. They are not interested in the diligent, hard working student as much as they are looking for the possibility of someone who is going to soar above the required work requirements. Not likely to happen with someone who needs every bit of time to do the required work.</p>