Colleges that change lives near DMV

[Anonymous]

Randolph in VA has a similar program called take 2. It was on my daughter's list for a short while, but I think it is just too small. https://www.randolphcollege.edu/take2/

[Anonymous]

OP- updated list. Thanks all. I know rankings can miss a lot of important qualities when searching for good matches but they serve a purpose for overall perspectives. Most of these seem solid although it will friend on relative strengths in areas of interest to our children.

Colleges/ uni recommended as good options for students with ADHD, dyslexia and anxiety, and mostly fairly close to DMV

1. Juanita College
https://www.juniata.edu/academics/
Juniata College is a private liberal arts college in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania.
Juniata College's ranking in the 2022-2023 edition of Best Colleges is National Liberal Arts Colleges, #89. Its tuition and fees are $54,336.

2. MacDaniel College
https://www.mcdaniel.edu
McDaniel College is a private college in Westminster, Maryland
McDaniel College is ranked #40 out of 181 Regional Universities North.
School type: Liberal arts college; Private university

3. Washington college
https://www.washcoll.edu/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gmb
Washington College is a liberal arts college in Chestertown, MD.
Washington College is ranked #85 out of 210 National Liberal Arts Colleges. Schools are ranked according to their performance across a set of widely accepted indicators of excellence.
School type: Private school; Liberal arts college

4. Washington and Jefferson College
https://www.washjeff.edu
Washington & Jefferson College is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania.
Washington & Jefferson College's ranking in the 2022-2023 edition of Best Colleges is National Liberal Arts Colleges, #94.

5. Chatham University
https://www.chatham.edu
Chatham University is a private university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Chatham University's 2022-2023 Rankings
Chatham University is ranked #194 out of 443 National Universities.

6. Goucher College
https://www.goucher.edu
Goucher College is a private liberal arts college in Towson, Maryland.
Goucher College is ranked #111 out of 210 National Liberal Arts Colleges.
School type: Liberal arts college; Private university

7. University of Mary Washington
https://www.umw.edu
The University of Mary Washington is a public liberal arts university in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
University of Mary Washington is ranked #149 out of 210 National Liberal Arts Colleges.

8. Franklin and Marshall College
https://www.fandm.edu/
Franklin & Marshall College is a private liberal arts college in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
Franklin & Marshall College's ranking in the 2022-2023 edition of Best Colleges is National Liberal Arts Colleges, #39.

9. Shenandoah University
https://www.su.edu/?utm_source=+google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gbp
Shenandoah University is a private university in Winchester, Virginia.
Shenandoah University is ranked #299 out of 443 National Universities.

10. Slippery Rock university
https://www.sru.edu
Slippery Rock University, formally Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, is a public university in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania's 2022-2023 Rankings. Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania is ranked #85 out of 181 Regional Universities North.

11. St Johns College
https://www.sjc.edu/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=gmb&utm_campaign=annapolis
St. John's College is a private liberal arts college with dual campuses in Annapolis, Maryland, and Santa Fe, New Mexico.
St. John's College (MD) is ranked #61 out of 210 National Liberal Arts Colleges.

12. St Mary’s College of Maryland
https://www.smcm.edu/
St. Mary's College of Maryland is a public liberal arts college in St. Mary's City, Maryland. St. Mary's College of Maryland, the National Public Honors College, is ranked sixth best public liberal arts college in the nation in U.S. The College also ranks 89 on the national liberal arts colleges list, public and private.

13. Mercyhurst University
https://www.mercyhurst.edu/
Mercyhurst University, formerly Mercyhurst College, is a private Roman Catholic university in Erie, Pennsylvania.
Mercyhurst University is ranked #70 out of 181 Regional Universities North

14. Rider university
https://www.rider.edu/
Rider University is a private university in Lawrence Township, New Jersey.
Rider University is ranked #22 out of 181 Regional Universities North.

15. Meredith College
https://www.meredith.edu
Meredith College is a private women's liberal arts college and coeducational graduate school in Raleigh,
Meredith College's ranking in the 2022-2023 edition of Best Colleges is National Liberal Arts Colleges, #130.

16, Marymount university
https://marymount.edu/
Marymount University is a private Catholic university with its main campus in Arlington, Virginia.
Marymount University is ranked #299 out of 443 National Universities.

17. University of Lynchburg
https://www.lynchburg.edu/
The University of Lynchburg, formerly Lynchburg College, is a private university associated with the Christian Church and located in Lynchburg, Virginia.
The university ranked nationally: 219th overall, 45th for Best Value, 209th in Top Performers on Social Mobility, and 413th in Nursing.

18. Notredam of Maryland university
https://www.ndm.edu
Notre Dame of Maryland University is a private Catholic university in Baltimore, Maryland
Notre Dame of Maryland University is ranked #68 out of 181 Regional Universities North.

19. Clark University
https://www.clarku.edu
Clark University is a private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts
Clark University is ranked #97 out of 443 National Universities.

21. Saint Joseph's University - Hawk Hill Campus
Saint Joseph's University is a private Jesuit university in Philadelphia and Lower Merion, Pennsylvania.
Saint Joseph's University is ranked #10 out of 181 Regional Universities North.
https://www.sju.edu/

22. Allegheny College
Allegheny College is a private liberal arts college in Meadville, Pennsylvania
https://allegheny.edu/
Allegheny College's ranking in the 2022-2023 edition of Best Colleges is National Liberal Arts Colleges, #76.

23’ Cornell College (Iowa)
Cornell College is a private college in Mount Vernon, Iowa.
Cornell College is ranked #100 out of 210 National Liberal Arts Colleges.
https://www.cornellcollege.edu/

24, Colorado College (Colorado)
Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Colorado College is ranked #27 out of 210 National Liberal Arts Colleges.
https://www.coloradocollege.edu/

25. ODU
Old Dominion University is a public research university in Norfolk, Virginia.
Old Dominion University is ranked #299 out of 443 National Universities.
https://www.odu.edu/

26. Radford
Radford University is a public university in Radford, Virginia.
Radford University is ranked #331-440 out of 443 National Universities.
https://www.radford.edu/content/radfordcore/home.html

27. Randolph
Randolph College is a private liberal arts and sciences college in Lynchburg, Virginia. Randolph College is ranked #124 out of 210 National Liberal Arts Colleges.
https://www.randolphcollege.edu/

[Anonymous]

This is all so random.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is all so random.

Not really - read criteria in OP’s first post.

They are all schools that someone is suggesting have strong supports for ADHD and mental health. They are mostly fairly close to DMV although around 4 are further away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is all so random.

Not really - read criteria in OP’s first post.

They are all schools that someone is suggesting have strong supports for ADHD and mental health. They are mostly fairly close to DMV although around 4 are further away.

And they are mostly liberal arts colleges because one of criteria was strong general curriculum …

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd say that SJC has aspects that make it well suited for a student with ADHD but others that would make it challenging.

The pace of the work is pretty brutal. They read more than I ever did in grad school, and the material is not easy to get through. For freshman math they work through Euclid's Elements and they move through it really quickly. Even the kids who don't have ADHD are challenged by the volume and difficulty of the work. They are evaluated based on their contributions to classroom discussions instead of taking tests, so it's not like they can be accommodated with extra time on tests that don't exist. They are usually ranked among the top 25 schools nationally where students study the most.

On the other hand, the small class size keeps things at a very human level. It's very easy to get extra time with faculty if you're in need of help and they seem to have lots of student tutors paid to help the kids who are having trouble. Bureaucracy is easy to navigate since the various admin offices are a 5-minute walk from anywhere on campus and there's a live human sitting in an office who will help you. The SF campus is very heavy on yoga, meditation, and overall well-being, which I feel makes for a supportive environment for people who can get overwhelmed. They also have several therapists on campus that seem to be easy to book.

From their website: "In the Princeton Review’s 2023 The Best 388 Colleges: 2023 Edition, St. John’s beat every Ivy League school in the “Professors Get High Marks” and “Best Classroom Experience” categories, where it was ranked #6 and #7, respectively. The college ranked highly in the “Most Accessible Professors,” “Students Study the Most,” and “Lots of Race/Class Interaction” categories. The Princeton Review also named St. John’s a “Top 50 Best Value College” among private schools and one of the “Colleges That Pay You Back.” This last classification rates colleges for a combination of factors: academics, admissions, financial aid, fire safety, green, ROI (Return on Investment), and quality of life."

I would also add that while the curriculum may seem daunting, students and tutors study and discuss the primary texts only; bringing in outside sources to the discussion is discouraged. So everyone is literally on the same page and a common vocabulary begins to build among the students and teachers over the semesters. You're following the ongoing inquiry and discussion that happened over centuries. The authors you read reference those who came before them and you can follow along. It's pretty cool. But, yes, lots of *close* reading of these texts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS with ADHD and LDs is looking at St John's College in Annapolis (there's also a campus in Santa Fe). It's not for everyone - they have just one curriculum based on reading original classic texts in French and ancient Greek. The kids have to like to read those

Really?

It’s a fascinating program. But not for everyone.

I would love to do that program now (in my late 50s) but would not have liked in in my late teens/early twenties.

You still can! They have graduate programs, as well as week-long summer programs and individual seminars: https://www.sjc.edu/academic-programs/graduate

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:St. John's College does not require fluency in Greek or French for entering freshman. The first year reading (at least fall semester) includes some English translations of Ancient Greek. So, they read The Iliad but in English. Fall semester of freshman year they take a language class in Greek. This is the first exposure to Ancient Greek that almost all students have. Down the line they are expected to be able to read Ancient Greek texts and discuss and debate the various translations into English that are commonly used in academia. Same thing happens later for French. They also take math (Euclidean Geometry like what Pres. Lincoln self-studied), science lab, and music theory freshman year. They don't just read the classics in literature. The whole curriculum is structured as a "classical" education. The different subjects are connected to one another throughout the semesters and across years. Their college recruitment materials say something like, "Life doesn't have majors, neither does SJC."

Can someone weigh in on student outcomes from this program? Seems like education for the sake of education (which is great) but wondering how that translates into employability, etc.

Many go to grad school. It's not a good choice for someone who sees college as vocational training.

[Anonymous]

OP just want to say thanks for your list. My child is in the same situation and your list helps with the research.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is all so random.

So what’s missing that meets OP’s criteria? Are you discounting the schools because it doesn’t look like your idea of a generic college list?

[Anonymous]

Good list. My DD who also has ADHD applied to 5 schools (plus two not on it) on the list and got good merit offers from all of them, bringing the cost down to around $30k at all of them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good list. My DD who also has ADHD applied to 5 schools (plus two not on it) on the list and got good merit offers from all of them, bringing the cost down to around $30k at all of them.

Can you share which schools?

[Anonymous]

Stevenson University in Baltimore County

[Anonymous]

Curious why people are suggesting Mary Washington as a good school for students with adhd. My daughter toured the school and loved it. She happens to have adhd as well

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Curious why people are suggesting Mary Washington as a good school for students with adhd. My daughter toured the school and loved it. She happens to have adhd as well

Most likely small class sizes and the focus on undergrad teaching. Classes are taught by Ph.D professors, not TA’s, and they will know you by name.

I graduated from the school in the ‘90’s when it was MWC.