<p>D1 has non-hyperactive ADHD with underlying processing disorder - centered in math & analytical tasks. She goes to a Catholic HS with a higher level of rigor than our local public HS... but receives no special accommodations. She does take a time-released formula of ritilin, which helps her focus for schoolwork. There are no behavioral issues. SHe's a great, motivated kid who hapens to fall shy of the mark academically.</p>
<p>Although she is a conscientious hard worker, her grades are marginal, at best. Junior year was a bear for her, as it is for many students, and she wound up with a handful of C+'s on her transcript (Chemistry, Alg II and Spanish III), which brought her gpa down to a 2.8.</p>
<p>The second sitting of SAT yielded a 1510... which, although terrible... is 140 points higher than the first time. She won't be taking them again.. we're running with that windfall gain!</p>
<p>Her college list includes a bunch of small LAC's, some secodary level state schools, others with religious affiliation (her only hook -coming from parochial HS), and some other tertiary level state schools and satellite campuses. Although she is undecided on a major at this time, clearly it won't be engineering.</p>
<p>My question after all that background is this...</p>
<p>For schools where test scores are optional, would you send the 1510 since it is fairly commensurate with her 2.8 gpa... or would you leave it to chance that the Admissions folks might suspect her scores are even lower? She writes beautifully and I suspect her essay will be solid. I am also counting on both her teacher rec and guidance counselor rec to be resoundingly positive - centered on her work ethic and personal drive.</p>
<p>The GC is clearly overwhelmed and underpaid... and I can't get a definitive answer out of her, as to whether it is best for D1 to send the optional scores or not.</p>
<p>I don’t think it will matter one way or another, as you point out her standardized test scores are comparable to her GPA. If she is a hard worker as you say and you have no qualms that she will be in over her head academically at a particular college then the most important thing is to find a college that fits her academic abilities where she will thrive without your supervision. The other positive is you say her high school is rigorous so being self driven and already having a few years in an academic environment that is a notch above average will help with the college transition.</p>
<p>Read the fine print on the college financial aid pages of the test optional schools. When going through this with S2 we noticed that one of the test optional schools on his list required the test scores for the awarding of some of the scholarships that were GPA/test score based and they required the test scores for consideration of those particular scholarships. It may not make a difference in your case but just something to be aware of.</p>
<p>If her testing is all up to date, you can certainly explore what supports are available at the colleges for LD kids. You say she doesn’t have any accommodations but does she have an IEP currently? If so, the folks that manage the IEP may be able to help you explore support options at the colleges you are considering. I know for my son, the guidance office doesn’t get involved in that very much as they have their hands full, but the people that we work with for my son’s IEP have been a valuable source regarding exploring college disability options.</p>
<p>First of all, 1510 isn’t terrible. 1510 is an average SAT score, which means her score is average for someone heading to college (the average student - the one who isn’t heading to college - doesn’t take the SAT).</p>
<p>Virtually all colleges publish their SAT ranges. If the SAT scores are in range, it certainly won’t hurt to submit them.</p>
<p>A bigger question: did she get extra time accommodations on the SAT? If not, and it appears that she’ll qualify, she should take them again with extra time. You will need to have the school apply for this accommodation, and get them to step on it, because they can take 7 weeks.</p>
<p>If you apply to the SAT for extra time, also apply to the ACT for extra time. My son was turned down for extra time by the SAT, as they wanted additional documentation and testing. The ACT approved him quickly.</p>
<p>I think that every college in the country now accepts the SAT and ACT on equal footing. Have her take whichever test gives her extra time accommodations.</p>
<p>Thanks for your replies, MomofThree and Boondocks. </p>
<p>I posted this same question in the Parents Forum, where I suspected it would garner a little more traffic. I am linking the responses I received there, in case anyone else has a similar scenario and can benefit from what was conveyed:</p>
<p>I’m assuming that your daughter didn’t receive “extended time” for SAT test, since it appears she doesn’t receive that accommodation in HS. Did she finish test sections, or do scores reflect incomplete sections? (Also, guessing to fill blank questions can cause SAT score drop, because wrong answers cause a drop in scoring.) Would both her test scores and her HS grades benefit from “extended time” accommodation? Does your daughter have “ed psych” report documentation for LD? Some Catholic HSs provide non-IEP-defined LD accommodations to their students, if student is bright enough to enroll but has documented diagnoses and IEP accommodations history. ACT/SAT provide accommodations too, but require specific “ed psych” test documentation to prove need. (If someone tells you SAT requires only a doctor’s note or an IEP report for “extended time”, well that leniency has ended because the accommodation request was frequently abused by savvy parents.)</p>
<p>Regarding average SAT score, my impression is that “test optional” LACs expect students w/combination of “high GPA/average/low SAT” to skip their score reportls. It allows school to calculate a slightly higher “average SAT score” absent those missing typically lower scores for college ranking reports, in hopes of increasing its perceived academic eliteness. Your daughter’s GPA within context of her school’s average GPA may match her SAT score’s implied ranking. Question is whether lack of “extended time” is skewing both GPA and SAT, because academic performance shouldn’t be solely formed on time-restricted performance. Have you attended any LACs Open House or College Night forums? Your question could be addressed by individual schools in open forum context w/o admissions linking your question to your daughter. I think answer will vary from school to school.</p>
<p>MaryOC – thanks for posting – my son has a learning disability, IEP and extended time, and even though he’s a sophomore (HS Class of 2014) I am already wondering if he should even take standardized tests.</p>
<p>I noticed you mentioned having your daughter apply to some schools with a religious affiliation. I think that’s a great idea – my nephew got 1500 on his SAT (one sitting) and got a substantial scholarship to a local Catholic college. He’s Presbyterian (not Catholic) – but they knew that and still offered it to him. It’s a good school (but I’m sure no one on CC has heard of it) and he’s quite happy there – studying international business, living at home (no ADD issues but his mother/my sister is convinced he couldn’t handle being on his own).</p>
<p>Another idea – would your daughter consider Smith? In my experience, they’re willing to look past the score and see the person. If she is firmly against the single-sex educational experience, then don’t mention it.</p>
<p>My daughter definitely wants a co-ed environment…so all-women schools never even made it to her radar. </p>
<p>We are agnostic … but our kids attend Catholic high schools… for the discipline, classical education and whatever spirituality they wish to accept/retain. </p>
<p>Of the 14 colleges my daughter applied to, 6 of them are small LAC’s with a Catholic affiliation. We targeted these schools because they truly offer the best kind of learning environment for our daughter, AND because such schools tend to grant a little leniency to kids matriculating from Catholic high schools - her only hook, if you will. </p>
<p>She also applied to a couple state flagship and second tier universities…and some slightly larger, non-denominational LAC’s.</p>
<p>I’m very proud of her - she banged out all 14 of her apps and supplements some time during the first week in November, well in advance of deadlines. Some were rolling admissions, some were EA… but the lion’s share of them were RD. </p>
<p>She received her first decision this week… from my alma mater - the flagship university of a neighboring state… and she is IN! I can’t tell you what a relief that first response was for her. It really took the pressure off, knowing that if nothing else, she has secured a place where she can thrive and grow. Our biggest fear was she might get shot down from the get-go…and worse, have no takers. I would be thrilled if she had a handful of options, come spring, and we were forced to make another round of campus visits to help her decide!</p>
<p>D1 is dyslexic. There are schools with programs targeted for students with a variety of LD .</p>
<p>UConn, UMD, UAZ are some of them. I like the idea of the smaller schools, but do they offer assistance for LD kids? D1 ended up at a large school with a note-taker, tutoring, and a huge support group. The professors, even in huge classes, were great about having tape recorders and asking for students to copy notes. Pretty awesome.</p>
<p>Thanks orangemom–good to know – one question – does that mean the entire UMD system for example offers LD services? Or is there one school (College Park for example) that is known to be better than the others? </p>
<p>MaryOC: that is SO great! What a relief! Hope more come her way.</p>
<p>My son’s testing “runs out” this school year, as a senior. We debated back and forth on what to disclose about him to schools where he’s applied. It looks fairly obvious there is something going on with his high math scores, his ap’s in math & science and his regular level english/history, minimal foreign language and “B” grades. What we chose to do was have his GC write his recommendation mentioned how well he’s handled his learning differences and in some of ds’s essays he mentions how he overcame dysgraphia. So it isn’t all over the place, but it’s in there if you look. </p>
<p>DS has always hated accomodations but he may need extra time in college. Once he can get in we’re contemplating going back for testing to have it available if he finds he needs it next year.</p>