Good Student Services- important. Responsive faculty- important. Kid who can stay on top of the paperwork, the face-to-face meetings with each professor and TA, AND remember that college isn’t HS (professors WILL comply with the accommodations when reminded, but most will NOT issue “extra credit” projects to bring up a grade, will only follow the U’s requirements in terms of incompletes, withdrawals, etc, and can only allow “do-overs” according to the U’s academic policies.)
Many parents and students do not understand this. There is nobody at college who will come to your dorm and wake you up in time for your 8 am lab if you are used to parents who do that for you. There is nobody at college who can “wipe the transcript clean” if you are failing every class because your organizational skills are not up to the task of balancing classwork. And there is no parent to tell you to go to bed the night before an exam.
Yes- support services are important but a kid who takes his/her responsibilities seriously is the MOST important piece of the puzzle.