toledo

A cute story from a neighbor, who's son has ADD....His essay was about how he pays "too much attention" to everything and used examples of the benefits of ADD. It must have worked, as he got into a pretty good school.

wildchartermage

I'm a HS junior planning to apply ivy leagues, such as HYPMS, and I was just wondering..how do those schools look at LD and some of other disabilities? Is it ok to disclose to those schools or not?

bessie

I'm pretty sure that those schools see and admit plenty of students with disabilities. If you have the grades and test scores and EC's it takes to get into the ivy league, then your accomplishment is all the more impressive, in my opinion. One way to gage how they look at disabilities is to see what type of help they offer for LD kids at the school. If they have a comprehensive program, then you can bet there is a part of their population that is admitted with LD's.

gospades

I wouldn't disclose your l/d to the school on the application - that should be something dealt with after applications - most schools (I believe public schools are required to) make proper concessions to people with legitimate l/d... it seems like it's something that could play against you and makes it seem more likely that you're a student who won't succeed in a college environment - if you do bring it up, I agree that essays are the place - and you should focus on how you have managed to succeed despite your l/d.

bessie

Some schools, like UC Berkeley for example, automatically give students who disclose an LD in their application the opportunity to re-route their applications through the disability office, along with an invitation to submit a supplemental application, a letter of recommendation (or two), and a short explanation of how the LD has impacted the student. They state that participating in this augmented review process CANNOT hurt the applicant, and can only help with admissions. You may want to choose whether or not to disclose on a school by school basis depending on how each school handles the situation.

UCLA77

As a proud parent of a student who just finished his first year at UC Berkeley with a 3.5 gpa, I echo everything Bessie said. That is precisely what happened in my son's case. And the services they offer to LD students is outstanding.