<p>How about University of Hartford? Not sure about the LD support, but huge Jewish population and a fit academically I believe? My husband actually went there a 100 years ago, he does have a LD and felt that he actually learned how to learn at Hartford. He had several teachers there that he felt changed his life and how he felt about himself academically, he went on to be a very successful business man who owns an international surgical supply business and he would tell anyone that Hartford saved him… ps. he went to a fancy private school as a child that never even picked up on his LD.</p>
<p>so, a shameless plug for American University. As many on this thread know, my son graduated last spring–but last night he and a bunch of his fraternity brothers who are living and working in DC went back to campus to watch Anderson Cooper receive the Wonk of the Year award. </p>
<p>He loved the school for the unique opportunities there.</p>
<p>It’s also a great school for Jewish kids, who want to be formally involved, or not. Jason Benkendorf does a great job with the Hillel. However, my son was not at all in to Hillel, but still found a cohort of friends for a monthly Shabbat dinner and a large group for annual seders (where he earned quite a reputation for his matzoh ball soup).</p>
<p>Thank you all for suggestions. U of Hartford looked promising on paper but when we drove by it, the surrounding neighborhood (at least on one side of it) scared me because I’m sure DD will venture outside of the campus and contrarily to what she thinks, I don’t think she is savvy enough to navigate the urban environment. Maybe I’m wrong but that’s the reason we’re not looking into schools in urban locations. We visited Goucher, for some reason it didn’t click, it’s a bit further away from home than we want, DD was impressed by the mall near by, it was too close to Baltimore for me. Gettysburg and Dickinson - I thought even more selective (i.e. more of a reach) than Muhlenberg. I think Drew (Jewish enough), McDaniel (LD support) and Susquehanna (good business program) have some elements of what we’re looking for (too bad they can’t be combined into one college :-), so they could be added to DD’s list. I have to look into Quinnipiac.</p>
<p>I was wondering if anybody knows about LD support at Muhlenberg. I don’t have a problem with ED but worried that even if she gets in, would there be enough support for her to succeed? Muhlenberg seems pretty selective, boasting average CR+M sat scores of 1240 or something like that. I’m kind of feel intimidated (for DD) by the quality of student body. They must take some of the academically lesser qualified candidates though, they’ve hinted that some theater major kids would go sat optional route and highlight their achievements in a different way, so does it mean that college has enough of academic support services for them not to drop out later on? Am I over thinking it?
Should I let her apply ED and if (and it’s a big if) she gets in, then worry about LD services?</p>
<p>does the website list their policies? I just looked at one of my son’s top choices a bit of a reach too and their is a whole section about accommodations (it’s listed under student disability services). My son has a 504 plan and is used to extended time on tests and use of a laptop for all written work and he will need that in college to succeed. It seems to me that all most every school we are looking at does accommodate kids if things are documented properly and you go through the right channels - just like in high school. My son has 2 reach schools and I have to believe if they accept him they think he can handle the work. I would check the website and or make a phone call tomorrow and then I would do ED to the Muhlenberg, it sounds like that is the school you are both more excited about and your daughter will rise to the occasion if given the chance especially if she is feeling good about herself having been accepted.</p>
<p>I agree - website has lots of info and you can surely call the Office of Disability Services and speak with someone who is not connected with admissions who can answer all of your questions.</p>
<p>[Muhlenberg</a> College: Disability Services - Transition to College - Overview](<a href=“http://www.muhlenberg.edu/main/aboutus/disabilities/transition/]Muhlenberg”>http://www.muhlenberg.edu/main/aboutus/disabilities/transition/)</p>
<p>Not to change the subject, but I need to share this with someone. For the past several months I have had this small unproductive cough and a feeling of not being able to take a deep enough breath. I was diagnosed with asmtha which was odd, but ok? I did some more research and realized I might have reflux which can cause a cough like this. Went to a GI Dr. who confirmed I have reflux not asthma. I also told him about the breathing and he said that seems more like anxiety (something I also have never had). He asked if there was anything going on in my life to be anxious about and I said well my son is a senior in high school. He laughed and said, say no more…my daughter is also a senior, you have anxiety. I brushed it off until just now. The medicine he gave me for the reflux has worked like a charm and I haven’t coughed in days. My son came into my office to show me his supplemental essays and for my credit card to hit submit on some college apps and all of the sudden I couldn’t breathe. My first thought was this is so strange I have been so good, did I not take that little purple pill this morning? And then it hit me, I am having an anxiety attack. My son leaving for college and this whole process has turned this easygoing, level headed woman into a mess. Hopefully some of you can relate?</p>
<p>Wow! I’m sorry the stress of the process and the thought of him leaving is making you physically ill. After going through the process with my own sons and advising countless hs families, I think we all just need to chill. If I could go back in time and give myself advice, it would be to relax. As long as you have a good college list with adequate safeties, you’ll be fine. Collectively, we stress and agonize way too much, myself certainly included.</p>
<p>And while the child leaving for college may produce anxiety and tears, it also produces a new, more mature relationship with your young adult offspring. I really enjoy the relationship I have with my sons now. While I do miss them and at times do struggle with the empty nest, it is so rewarding to see them grow into reasonably independent adults. I like this stage of life most of the time. So, hang in there. It’s a period of transition - but of joy as well.</p>
<p>Hugs to you, momentscaught ( I love your screen name). Remember that old saying about little children, little worries; bigger children, bigger worries?</p>
<p>Relax. Your student will end up in the right place. When I look back on three college application seasons, and I remember all the anxiety…I realize that I raised three strong children who could thrive in almost any environment in which they chose to plant themselves.</p>
<p>Yes, I can definitely relate! Fortunately though, the anticipation turns out to have been far worse than the reality. I cried at the drop of a pin for most of my son’s senior year…but I redirected my anxiety/sadness into shopping therapy (there is not one thing I did not buy for him “just in case”). Everyone was worried I would be an absolute mess when we dropped him off for the “launch”…as it turned out, the several months of crying served to get it out of my system so that the drop off was actually a fun day of setting things up and looking forward for him to enjoy the best four years of his life. With cell phones/texting, I find it is not nearly as bad as I thought and we keep in touch far more than I ever did with my parents back in the day. In fact, the positives are a new appreciation for my cooking and spending time with the family. So, hang in there…but just stay away from Toy Story 3…still can’t get through that one!</p>
<p>Thanks guys… I have been crying easily too. I didn’t have the most normal childhood or mother, so I have kind of overcompensated with my kids and having a family of my own was really all I ever wanted from the time I was a little girl (I have a career and life too, but having my own family has always been everything to me). I think part of this is that I am not ready to not be a Mom full time yet. I do have another son who is in 10th grade so I still have time, but this just made it all seem like it’s slipping away from me way too fast. I haven’t seen toy story 3 so I will be sure to stay away. I sure hope that happens to me and I get it out of my system or I am going to have one embarrassed child at drop off. Boysx3 - my screen name is also the name of my business I’m a children’s photographer ( trying to freeze time for other families). Rockvillemon, my son did end up applying to Elon even though he hasn’t seen it. We figure if he doesn’t get into his top 2 or 3 (Connecticut College, Colorado College or Union) then we will visit the schools he gets in to and decide. Elon has become very big in our high school, and a cute girl who he kind of likes asked him not to apply because she knows he has a better GPA and SAT’s then she does and it is her top choice school. She batted her eyelashes and said, “please don’t apply there, you don’t even know anything about the school and I really love it and you might take my spot”. He’s so sweet, he asked me if he should? I said, “no way. I like that school”. Too funny! I do appreciate the support ladies, thank you.</p>
<p>
FWIW - My boy is wicked smaht, but he has a unique learning profile and sometimes struggles getting the work done (tho’ the C’s & D’s of freshman year are now B’s). His last cumulative SAT score was 1830 (all 3). He’ll apply to Muhlenberg RD, but probably only if he doesn’t have a school by January. My better half & I both agree that, even tho’ he’s more than up to the task intellectually, our son is best off at a school where he’s in the ~65th-80th percentile, intellectually speaking (taking the school’s SAT Reading score as a very rough guide to overall campus intellect).</p>
<p>BTW, I loved Goucher and thought it would be a great school for my boy, but it didn’t click with him. He loved Susquehanna and will be applying. Didn’t care for McDaniel, and something about Drew made me not even included it in our [road</a> trip](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/class-20xx-community/1469626-parents-hs-class-2014-3-0-3-3-gpa-49.html#post16351539"]road”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/class-20xx-community/1469626-parents-hs-class-2014-3-0-3-3-gpa-49.html#post16351539).</p>
<p>expatCanuck, what exactly do you mean by “taking the school’s SAT Reading score as a very rough guide to overall campus intellect”?</p>
<p>What I mean is treating the SAT Reading score as a proxy for the typical student IQ. Far from perfect but, in the aggregate, based on the limited set of colleges I’ve visited (15 or so), it’s the best quick & dirty measure I’ve found. IMHO, it’s far better than GPA, because the SAT factors out grade inflation.</p>
<p>Failing an in-person visit, I’ve found an email and/or phone call to the LD department to be a very effective way to get a feel for whether your child will be able to thrive at a school, from an LD support perspective. You get to describe/discuss your child’s specific strengths & weaknesses. </p>
<p>And I’ve often found that the tenor of the reply is just as (if not more) telling as the content. In many cases, I’ve had the impression that, yes, this is indeed a good candidate school. And, in a few, the feeling that this is a school which my son should not attend.</p>
<p>If in doubt, trust your instincts.</p>
<p>Also, things can change. Where I work, the new director of LD services is significantly less helpful than was her predecessor and more students are falling between the cracks. If you only looked at the web site, you’d never know this.</p>
<p>I tend to be very optimistic, every LD department that I talked to seemed like would meet the needs. I like the idea of emailing with questions though.</p>
<p>expatCanuck, being at the top academically would boost anyone’s self-esteem, but how about social aspect? wouldn’t he want to be around his intellectual peers? wouldn’t you want his college friends (prob. lifelong friends and frequent visitors to your home) be his intellectual peers? Sorry if it sounds harsh…, I’m just trying to see it from all diff. angles.</p>
<p>I don’t equate being solidly in the top half (65-80%) with being at the top.<br>
I think that that target range provides plenty of intellectual peers but also
much to strive for. And we’re also making sure that the 25-50% range falls
in the above-average category.</p>
<p>It’s not about self-esteem – it’s about positioning to increase the likelihood
of success, to make sure that adequate ‘intellectual reserve’ exists, insofar
as that’s possible.</p>
<p>momentscaught: As a new empty-nester, I want to tell you a little about my journey to this point, as I was a complete wreck when my DD was graduating from HS. That entire year was an emotional roller coaster. But I still had my DS at home so I immediately made plans with him for the week after DD started college. This set me up well for the next few years, getting used to the “new normal,” with DD away and just having DS at home. I handled DS’ senior year at HS way better - probably because he has no drama (as opposed to DD!). He went to college this fall and we visited him parents weekend. I was sad coming home because it was clear how independent he was (= he didn’t need me in the same way anymore and neither does his sister). But I was reminded that I should be HAPPY about his independence. So we have another “new normal” here. DH has come with me on biz trips and we’ve had fun. I’m not running around to games on weekends and we are doing fine without the kids’ drama (it’s kind of nice!). DS was home for a few days for fall break (not to see us, but to see his GF who goes to a local college), and all was good. They are still our kids, but the relationship changes. While it’s sad to realize the relationship won’t be the same as it was before, it is still there in a new way and it is very rewarding to see your kids do well at college.</p>
<p>On another note…</p>
<p>Not sure if socaldad posted it here in September because I haven’t been on much, but I just saw that he posted on the UD forum that UD now has rolling admissions. What an excellent change! The long wait till March was brutal for my DD!</p>
<p>For the new people on this thread (I’ve been here since the beginning), my DD is graduating from Delaware in the spring (she was my Jewish B student) and my DS is a freshman at Miami (I stayed here on this thread because, well, it is the best thread on CC!). I hope I can continue to help other parents, about these two schools and perhaps give some insights on any of the 20 other schools we visited.</p>
<p>Hi LINYMOM and thanks for that Delaware tip - rolling admissions is awesome news!</p>
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<p>What great news on UDel! I remember how hard that wait was for DD and in fact, was probably a factor that swayed her to JMU instead. Atleast for DS ('17) we wont have to wait!</p>