College for ASD/ADD DS
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Anonymous
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ASD/ADD teen. Very smart but anxious about tests and assessments. Hence no honors courses because anxiety just goes through the roof. He tried them in MS, it was a horrible experience, he barely kept a B average. I keep hearing from relatives and some "well meaning friends" he has no chance at a good college w/o honors. He has several interests, is in a robotics club, water polo team, he volunteers a lot. He had jobs two summers in a row. His letters of recommendation would be stellar, his GPA right now is 3.8. But again, all regular courses. He is OK with trying an AP class or two at most.
What would you recommend? How can he make himself stand out. He's currently a sophomore. I hear nothing but positive feedback from his teachers and counselors. I know some of you will recommend I ask in the SN forum; I noticed most posters there have much younger children. |
Anonymous
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Maybe a college fairly close to home for supports. College is a stressful time for ASD/ADD/anxiety. If you're in Virginia, maybe GMU? If Maryland, maybe Towson or SMCM? In DC, maybe American?
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Anonymous
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In MCPS, non-honors is significantly below honors and AP level and four years of non-honors will significantly impact how they do on the ACT and SAT because the level is lower. This is not true at most private schools. So my first recommendation would be to make sure his classes will prepare him well.
My second recommendation - as the mother of an ADHD with language disabilities - is to work with a counselor on the test anxiety. It will be a problem in college so the sooner you deal with it the better. As far as how to stand out: Have him pursue his interests and enter any competitions involved. If he wins, that's impressive. If he doesn't, it will still raise his confidence and increase his ability to deal with stressful situations. Also, have him take additional courses in his field of interest. If he has some curricular flexibility and loves math and technology, have him double up on courses, taking math, computer science, intro to engineering. Based on his robotics interest, I would say if he's good at math and if he can just take one honors/ AP class, have it be math. If he takes two, just have him aim for AP English. Also, let him get involved in activities outside of school so he really identifies what he wants to study. It is very motivating to have a career goal and not just go to college because it's expected. And last - don't worry. There are lots of colleges and most accept most kids. What are your goals for him? The top colleges are very competitive (my daughter had a brilliant friend with ASD at Carnegie Mellon) but there are excellent schools where admissions isn't as hard. Look at Rochester Institute of Technology. They have a lot of support and a lot of tech majors, if that's his interest. Just start saving now because if you need financial aid, that can be trickier than just getting accepted at an appropriate college. |
Anonymous
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My kid had no honors classes and a 3.8. Great ECs too. Bad SAT score but a few years ago she had to submit. Wanted big state school with games, greek life, social scene. Rejected from Penn State, Indiana, Delaware (basically all of the close-ish higher acceptance state schools.) I suppose she could have gone to West Virginia... But ended up at Towson, and barely she got accepted - got in through the Freshman Transition Program with CC of Baltimore County. Senior now, did great! She would never have thrived at state flagship anyway. Oh wait she did get into U of Arizona.
Course rigor really matters if you want top 100 school. 1 AP class junior year won't cut it. |
Anonymous
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Good options for a 3.8 kid with no honors and average-ish SATs might be:
Univ of Indiana Univ of Arizona one of the SUNYs College of Charleston Univ of Tennessee VCU Catholic if staying close to home |
Anonymous
No to Indiana, sorry. Maybe university of New Hampshire or university of Maine. |
Anonymous
| Loyola Maryland? |
Anonymous
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Op, check out this list.
https://collegeautismspectrum.com/collegeprograms/ There are several programs that you can pay an additional cost for specialized support. Good luck! |
Anonymous
Indiana is a far shot, it's very competitive. |
Anonymous
The SALT Center at the University of Arizona might be very helpful for your son. https://www.arizona.edu/news/2018/04/salt-center-model What are his interests? What does he want to major in? |
Anonymous
Btw, my other kid with 3.3 and all honors/3 AP and 1300 got into all of those state schools that older daughter was rejected. OP, do you think he can get decent SAT or ACT to show that he is college ready? That would certainly help. |
Anonymous
OP: he is terrible at standardized testing due to anxiety. |
Anonymous
Hopefully due to his disability he gets extra time. Make sure you get that in place now if he is a sophomore. |
Anonymous
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"Just start saving now because if you need financial aid, that can be trickier than just getting accepted at an appropriate college."
I keep shouting this out to everyone who will listen. It's hard enough to find a school that's the right fit for a kid, even without the ASD or ADD issues. Then they have to get accepted. To then have to worry about paying for it is pure hell. Pour everything you have into making it possible to send them to the best place you can help them find. Don't spend money on private high school! Don't do any discretionary spending until you've got them squared away at the right college. |
Anonymous
| As one poster mentioned there are a lot of schools now with specific programs to help ASD kids transition to college and then thrive while there. George Mason, Drexel, Marshall U (in WV), ect. |