Gifted and talented with learning differences

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is both very bright and dyslexic. She does have accommodations at High School, she is a junior at a good MCPS high school. Her current unweighted GPA is 3.7 and her weighted GPA is 4.6. Amazing work ethic and extracurriculars. Question: Would you suggest she disclose her dyslexia in her application? Would it be seen as part of her story of being determined and hard worker, or more as a disadvantage in her academic life?

my DC disclosed his dyslexia in his college applications and it did not seem to affect his chances. He was accepted to the Honors program at UMD-CP. He never took a foreign language and needed to explain that (he took a few extra APs in math and science as a result). His dyslexia is very severe as is his dysgraphia. He has received all the accommodations he requested at his college.

[Anonymous]

How selective are the schools she is considering?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have 2 kids who are 2e— ADHD and gifted (one of whom went through TJ). Both kids chose to disclose. And both had their guidance counselor disclose, rather than doing it themselves.

My kids didn’t want their essay to be all about ADHD. And the older kid’s counselor could talk about how well one kid had managed TJ with ADHD and the younger kid’s could discuss how well the kid had done with DL during COVID.

Having the counselor discuss worked well. Both had strong admissions results.

Talk to the counselor and talk to you kid about the pros and cons. It should ultimately be their decision.

NP. Thanks for this advice.
Mine (also adhd at a magnet) was thinking about incorporating it into her essay. Part of the way she worked through it was to do research on diagnosis, brain function and expression, which was not only informative, but also helped her steer the ship. I thought that might make for an interesting essay that doesn't get mired in the challenges of adhd. But, I know there are those out there who say avoid. What are your thoughts, PP? Anyone else? Thanks!

Don’t talk about this in essay.

+1 sounds like a great kid but that would likely be a bad essay

+2. Given the number of kids applying with ADHD and other learning differences, overcoming this isn’t unique. And having a learning difference is a mixed bag. On one hand, the kid had the Grit to overcome it for HS. On the other, accommodations are harder to get in college and the kid is a riskier bet, because how well they will perform when the rigor is stepped up is unknown.

The essay is what sets your kid apart. And what sets your kid apart should be 100% positive.

I call BS on both of these. The point of the essay is to stand out and show your uniqueness and personality. Think of it like a class photo. Be the one kid in a red sweater when everyone else is in shades of blue. They're all just kids. Who will they remember?

Really bad advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My daughter is both very bright and dyslexic. She does have accommodations at High School, she is a junior at a good MCPS high school. Her current unweighted GPA is 3.7 and her weighted GPA is 4.6. Amazing work ethic and extracurriculars. Question: Would you suggest she disclose her dyslexia in her application? Would it be seen as part of her story of being determined and hard worker, or more as a disadvantage in her academic life?

There are 3 ways to disclose. Counselor rec letter, personal statement/essay, Common App "additional info" section on her profile. She can use different methods with different schools.

Legally, a school can't use disability as a reason to deny an application.

If a school does discriminate or has no understanding of modern neuroscience, it's better she go elsewhere anyway.

Everyone's LD presents differently. Dyslexia itself is a broad spectrum. If she feels she's grown or matured from dealing with stigma of LD (as seen in these posts), she may have a compelling personal statement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How selective are the schools she is considering?

OP here.
She wants to apply to quite a selective (but not Ivy) school (top 50). Something to emphasize is that even though her average GPA is good; she struggles A LOT for some Bs and might get As without even trying. This is not related to how difficult the class is (e.g., all A in digital electronics college level) but to her dyslexia.

She has great EC, and I am pretty sure she will be given good letters.

Any suggestions?

[Anonymous]

3.7 unweighted is low coming out of MCPS. What is the SAT/ACT and what is her major? Could be worth it to hire a private college counselor to work on packaging her for applications. They should have some insight about whether this is a compelling story for her application.. Admissions has gotten very hard, but, especially if she ED's somewhere strategically a T50 could be in reach. Honestly I would focus on finding 1 or 2 safeties that she really likes and talk them up.

[Anonymous]

Learning challenges are common and essays about them all tend to sound the same. (Everyone overcomes and learns something valuable in the process). I would advise against writing about it unless there’s a very unusual angle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have 2 kids who are 2e— ADHD and gifted (one of whom went through TJ). Both kids chose to disclose. And both had their guidance counselor disclose, rather than doing it themselves.

My kids didn’t want their essay to be all about ADHD. And the older kid’s counselor could talk about how well one kid had managed TJ with ADHD and the younger kid’s could discuss how well the kid had done with DL during COVID.

Having the counselor discuss worked well. Both had strong admissions results.

Talk to the counselor and talk to you kid about the pros and cons. It should ultimately be their decision.

Thanks! I thought it was cool. But, that might also be because I'm her mom and am super proud of how she worked through what she had perceived as a deficiency to understand it as more of difference through research. Maybe her English teacher will have some guidance.

NP. Thanks for this advice.
Mine (also adhd at a magnet) was thinking about incorporating it into her essay. Part of the way she worked through it was to do research on diagnosis, brain function and expression, which was not only informative, but also helped her steer the ship. I thought that might make for an interesting essay that doesn't get mired in the challenges of adhd. But, I know there are those out there who say avoid. What are your thoughts, PP? Anyone else? Thanks!

Awesome! Great example for common app prompt 1 - neurodiversity, or prompt 5 - personal growth

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have 2 kids who are 2e— ADHD and gifted (one of whom went through TJ). Both kids chose to disclose. And both had their guidance counselor disclose, rather than doing it themselves.

My kids didn’t want their essay to be all about ADHD. And the older kid’s counselor could talk about how well one kid had managed TJ with ADHD and the younger kid’s could discuss how well the kid had done with DL during COVID.

Having the counselor discuss worked well. Both had strong admissions results.

Talk to the counselor and talk to you kid about the pros and cons. It should ultimately be their decision.

NP. Thanks for this advice.
Mine (also adhd at a magnet) was thinking about incorporating it into her essay. Part of the way she worked through it was to do research on diagnosis, brain function and expression, which was not only informative, but also helped her steer the ship. I thought that might make for an interesting essay that doesn't get mired in the challenges of adhd. But, I know there are those out there who say avoid. What are your thoughts, PP? Anyone else? Thanks!

Awesome! Great example for common app prompt 1 - neurodiversity, or prompt 5 - personal growth

Thanks! I thought it was cool. But, that might also be because I'm her mom and am super proud of how she worked through what she had perceived as a deficiency to understand it as more of difference through research. Maybe her English teacher will have some guidance.