My son is considering Bucknell and Lafayette for Mechanical Engineering. He had a IEP and tutoring support in High School which really helped him succeed. He doesn’t need the IEP anymore, but will need tutoring/advising help in college.
Any experience or advice on tutoring/learning support/advising for Bucknell or Lafayette?
Thank you!
My S is at Lafayette also in engineering. For accommodations, he needed to get Lafayette’s form signed by a doctor regarding the diagnosis and send his high school plan. He had a virtual interview last summer with the academic support folks. Since the neuropsych doc declined to sign a form four years after testing, he got his pediatrician to sign (after seeing the write up from the earlier neuropsych) and that was all he needed. He contacts the profs at the beginning of the semester to discuss the accommodations. Some don’t want to be recorded in class but otherwise all have been supportive. He takes tests in the academic hub when he wants to use extra time. He emails the profs with questions about problem sets and assignments and is very proactive. They are very responsive from what I can tell. Classes are small and the profs know you and seem to want that interaction. He has not needed tutoring at this point so I can’t help you there. But the profs definitely want to see students succeed. The engineering advising has been really good too. My older kid is at a large state flagship and while there is support available, you would need to really go find it and insist on it. This is one reason I really like the academic environment at this smaller college. Maybe someone can weigh in on Bucknell!
Thank you! @chardonMN Could you tell me what form you had to fill out or who you had to contact for help?
Your student needs to consider carefully, not be too hasty giving up accommodations. Can be difficult to regain.
Consider extra time for tests, note taking, preferential seating…
However , student must advocate and utilize.
The form was called “Health related Disability Accommodation Form.” It asks for Diagnoses, Symptom/Impact and then there are three sections for Academic, Housing and Dining Accommodations requests. He only needed Academic. I believe my son filled it out and the doctor signed it.
The Accessibility services are housed in the Academic Resource Hub whose phone number is 610-330-5098 if you want to call them with questions. They probably know about tutoring services as well.
There are not IEPs in college. However students who qualify for (he will need similar testing, diagnosis etc. that was required to get an IEP) accommodations can get a 504 plan – so consider if your S would be a candidate for and benefit from having such a plan in place.
Has he contacted the Academic Support Centers at each school? My son was able to call and find out exactly what was needed and what the process was at each school. Some needed current testing, some would take any testing done at any time. Some responded that they couldn’t let him know about accommodations before school started and some told him he’d get what he had listed as they were “reasonable accommodations”. He got a good sense of the centers that would be easy to work with and what additional supports they offered by having those conversations with them. If he is considering these schools for next year, I recommend that he does that ASAP.
For my S we also visited the Office of Disability Services at the final couple of colleges he considered.
And FWIW my D graduated from Lafayette and had a fantastic experience…but she did not require academic support so I can’t comment on your question.
Most DSS for college is extra time for exams and/or quiet room.
I would ask more about tutoring. Tutoring in college is not the same as HS. There are so many professors and they may teach differently and often the tutors may not know the material well from one professor and things get confusing.
And usually college professors will have office hours, but they don’t tutor.
Also, tutoring is not an accommodation. In most schools, the Disability Center is different than the Tutoring Center. All students have access to the tutoring center, but your son may or may not connect with the student tutors. At DSs school, there is an extensive list on the parent FB page of online tutors that students have had success with.
Just toured Bucknell a few weeks ago. They have a structured tutoring support program in the Carnegie Library where an upperclassman who took and did well in a class (taught by that same professor) hosts study groups for underclassmen. Once class assignments are finalized, the tutor sends out invites to all students in that class/section taught by the same professor. It was unclear if they offer this for EVERY class. In the same building they also have the writing center. I would like to inquire with current and past students how effective and reliable the program is, and how easy it is to secure writing help. My son attends a different school and has accommodations, but access to tutoring and writing is difficult to secure because there are too many students for too little staff. Bucknell’s structured program seems more accessible.
While students who did well in a class doing the tutoring may work for some students, I worried about that being the only option for my kid who learns “differently”. I preferred a support center with dedicated tutors in addition to the “recitations” (TA lead sessions).
LACs do not always have recitations as class sizes are generally small and there are no grad students.
Yes, but you also have to check the credentials of the tutors. Peer tutors? Or dedicated tutors with a bigger tool box? Then, you also have to balance if it’s more beneficial to have someone that is very subject specific (and even professor specific) or someone that more experience with your student’s learning type.
All of this to say the what schools see as “tutoring” really varies from school to school which is why incoming students need to make the calls and ask the questions.
Also, don’t forget that many students end up paying for additional/outside tutoring. I think it’s the norm at DS school to do that for at least 1 class. Especially in STEM classes.
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