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8 Steps for Learning Disabled Students Who Want to Go to College

Diligence, creativity, and resilience can help LD students succeed in college.

December 2, 2010 RSS Feed Print

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6. Update the documentation on your learning disability. Students who want accommodations from their colleges must have documentation confirming the diagnosis that is generally no more than one or two years old, college officials say.

[Learn the secrets of getting off of a college waitlist.]

7. Accentuate the positive. Applicants aren't required to inform colleges of their learning difficulties, and many students keep quiet for fear of hurting their chances of admission. Federal law bans colleges from discriminating based on disability, but it doesn't require colleges to give any special admission breaks to learning disabled students. Many admissions officers, including David Hautenan, associate dean of admissions at Northeastern University in Boston, say, however that students who can explain a bad grade or test score, or who use their application essays to show how they've overcome their challenges and "developed resiliency," improve their chances of admission.

8. Consider extra help. A few colleges, such as Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, N.J., offer extra counseling and tutoring to learning disabled students at no extra charge. But most colleges charge anywhere from a few hundred dollars to $3,000 per semester for extra support for learning disabled students. Grants and scholarships to cover those extra costs are scarce. Some students are able to persuade their state's vocational rehabilitation offices to pay for the extra services, though. Colleges add the extra fees into the student's total cost of attendance so that the students or parents can qualify for larger loans.

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Tags:: colleges,; ADD/ ADHD,; college admissions

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my name is cary i would like to talk to sme one by computer about learning to be come a signlanguage teacher.is there any one who could help me iam almost deafand.i would like to become a teacher ok

cary thompson of SC 10:11PM January 22, 2013

To your #2 technology point, students with print and some learning disabilities may want to look into Bookshare, an online accessible library. www.bookshare.org Digital accessible books are free to U.S. students who qualify for membership.

valerie chernek of MD 6:12PM December 13, 2011

As a challenged parent of an autistic son, I have to say that I think this area of education really needs to be addressed in more colleges and institutions. My son was fortunate enough to be part of a High School program with caring support to help him through some tough times. However, College for him started out very badly. In an attempt to stay close to home he decided to attend a local community college. I was very disappointed in the lack of support he received there. When he left High school he was very excited and had great hopes and lots of confidence in his abilities. Between narrow-minded instructors and lack of understanding, they managed to totally destroy his confidence and self image.
I think our schools are too focused on molding all students into their idea of who they should be, rather than allowing each student to flourish for who they are and expand on their gifts and abilities. My son is very intelligent and has so much to offer, he merely struggles with the social realm. Who set the rules that every student should fit a certain prototype? It seems to me that if your not "out-going" and willing to stand in front of the world and make a speech you don't have much of a chance in the extended education world.
I am happy to say that my son just graduated from ENMU - Roswell receiving a certification in office skills. Where he was part of a special services program where they took the time to understand his disabilities as well as his abilities. He works on campus there and will be returning in the Fall to further his education in the main stream towards and associate degree.
Thanks to an amazing staff and a great program, now my son has great confidence in himself and the vision of a great future of independence.
To all the struggling parents out there.....there is hope for your children to succeed, don't let them fall through the cracks. To all the colleges and instructors out there....open your minds, expand your ideas..for these students are our future, each and everyone unique, stop trying to make them fit your mold. You have as much to learn from them as they do from you.
God Bless

Sheila Vancleve of NM 6:33AM July 30, 2011