My daughter has just started the college process with her guidence counselor had school and have been given an initial list of protenial schools mostly based on grades, sat scores, and major interests. We haven't done much investigating get and the college counselor isn't as familiar with what services these colleges offer has he should be. My daughter wants to major in engineering or astronomy of all things. I mean I'm happy for her, its just not going to easily. Does any have and experience or knowledge with the support services or in general about the following schools:

Union College, NY
Lafayette, NY
Rensselaer Poly, NY
Clarkson, NY
Smith, MA
Rochester Polytech, MY
Adelphi, NY
Alfred, NY
Lehigh, PA
Oberlin, OH
Illonios Institute of Technology
Daniel Webster, NH
Embry Riddle, Florida
Wentworth, MA
Tufts, MA (?)
Swarthmore, PA (out of her leauge, though has a 8:1 ratio)

Kristie,

I am an independent educational consultant who does placements for students with learning disabilities and ADD. The school you select must reflect the kind of services you anticipate your child will need. For example, Adelphi has a comprehensive program where your daughter would meet with a learning specialist twice a week. Other programs accomodations are given and a student goes in as needed for help. Some have peer tutors, others professional. On the list presented, Adelphi has the most comprehensive program and Lehigh offers very good services. Oberlin has good services too. Rochester Institute of Technology has a wonderful program as well but I didn't see them on your list.The rest will have minimal services: mainly providing accomodations as needed. Good luck to you both!

How do you know when the student requires A learning specialist vs. a professional tutor, vs. a peer tutor at the college level? I would think that the ld specialist cannot teach course content, but study and organizational skills, some of which could be gotten with a good tutor as well.
Anyone have any graduation statistics for students with lds and/or ADD at these and other universities?

Buy Peterson's book for students with disabilities. I found this book very useful in finding a college for my son who has a LD and ADD. This book lists comprehensive and partilal services available for students listed by states. The high school probably has older copies of this book if you don't want to buy it.
Good luck.

I have found many colleges talk a good game about their services to LD students but when push comes to shove, they don't do too much. My own son goes to one of the colleges your daughter has listed. When he submitted his testing - done at our expense - they gave him a letter that he had to take to his professors to arrange his accomodations himself. Typing out that letter was all they have done. Up front, each college talks as if LD students can certainly be successful at their college. Once enrolled, the tone changes and then it's something closer to 'sink or swim' or, at best, ' college is what you make of it.'

I'd get hold of The Princeton Review's Guide to The Best 311 Colleges. It's an older edition but it listed what services were available at each of those colleges. Perhaps the newer version does as well.

Also don't be fooled by 'ratios'. Those ratios mean little. They certainly don't mean that there were only be 8 students in a class even if the college has a 8 to 1 ratio. I'd also say your daughter's list has some very challenging engineering colleges on it. Renssalaer, Lehigh, Lafayette - many of their freshmen classes will come in as engineering majors and the competition even after being admitted will still be very intense.

If I had to choose a college for my son all over again, I would keep distance from home in mind. It seems great fun to go off to great distances but coming home for a weekend is impossible from those great distances and getting all the 'stuff' they take to college these days back and forth those great distances requires great trucks and vans!

Good luck-