Not sure if these exist, but if they do, I am sure the posters here will be the ones to know them. Thanks in advance for your replies.
Our situation: S27, 3.8uw freshman year
Ec: track and field, cross country, travel competitive ultimate frisbee, theater tech program, that leads backstage set building, and lighting and electrics, participates in leading peer conversation about difficult topics (lgbtq, mental health, racism, privilege, honesty, character)
No test scores yet - hope to do TO and explain how his LD impacts testing. But he will take the practice test first to see what he can expect
Challenge: dysgraphia and adhd
This is managed fairly well right now, with medication and accommodations. His executive functioning continues to develop, and I am hopeful that over the next three years, it will be leaves and bounds above where it is now. That said, we know that he needs a school that Allows accommodations for time to test and crowded rooms for testing, as well as some tutoring to help with the dysgraphia
Other: sensitive kid, prefers kids that are kind, work hard, and follow the rules. Would love to be at a small school when he can be known and the student body is perceived as kind. Not focused on partying right now. Open to programs that incorporate service/ hands on/ outdoors/ etc
Region: live in south, would look anywhere
Ok hit me:
Do we need more details?
Cost not a factor
Would be interested in playing frisbee. Probably d3 material. He’s still only 5’8” but he hasn’t really started growing so if he grabs a couple of inches, D1 may be an option
I wonder if you might be interested in “block schedule” colleges where you do one class (edit: or maybe two) at a time. The two small colleges I know of with that schedule are Colorado College and Cornell College (in Iowa).
A variation on that would be schools with quarter/trimester systems, like Kalamazoo, Lawrence, and Carleton (legendary Ultimate college, by the way).
I am not sure, though–I have seen them recommended for kids with ADHD, not so sure if they make as much sense with dysgraphia. But you have a lot of time to explore these options.
By “unique core”, what in particular is desired?
For example, St. John’s College has a “great books” core that is the entire curriculum. In contrast, The Evergreen State College has no core or general education requirements or even a requirement for a major.
At the same time, I will say that it’s still quite early to be looking. There are some very serious athletes I’ve known who had the potential of going on to play in college (and potentially beyond) who then got burned out during the high school phase and ended up wanting to do something new in college (or play at a lower level, like intramurals).
If that does end up being the case, your son might want to look into Eastern Mennonite in Virginia. It’s located in Harrisonburg (same city as James Madison U), it has both recreational and competitive leagues for ultimate frisbee, and I think that the values and ethos of the school might be a fit for your son.
Thank you! This is a great start. Yes we know it’s early but we waited a little long with his older sibling so just trying to get some
Ideas in pencil. Thanks!
My two cents is it is a great idea in your case to start thinking seriously about what sort of academic environment would work, identifying colleges that are a potential fit, and exploring them in depth.
I personally would not so much focus on the frisbee yet. It (mostly) isn’t a recruited sport so it isn’t really something you need to be doing early in the process. The most I know of people commonly doing is reaching out to talk to the student captains and such before applying, and even then they may have very little real influence on admissions.
And so I think even if you do use this as a factor eventually, for now it might make more sense just to fully explore the different academic options and how different colleges might handle your situation without frisbee being a constraint.
I have a (short) ultimate player, and I wouldn’t assume D1 is out of the question, especially if your kid is a handler…which I think goes to the point @NiceUnparticularMan made above about focusing on school fit first. Most schools have frisbee these days, the top schools have A, B, and sometimes C teams, and there are so many options outside of college play for competitive players (club, pro, etc) that I’d want to make sure academic/social fit was right first. My kid plays with one of the top HS players in the country, and this kid is not focusing on ultimate in his college selection process, in part because he knows he’ll have many other playing options.
All of that said, Carleton is a great place to check out; it has D1 and D3 teams—crazy for a school of 2,000!—as well as Macalester, where I understand frisbee culture is very strong. Wesleyan has a storied frisbee tradition, and Vassar is also known for frisbee culture; both are very TO-friendly, and my understanding is that Wesleyan’s accommodations office is excellent.
You just reminded me I have also heard good things about Vassar and kids with ADHD. Again I would not want to make any promises about dysgraphia, which seems to me like it could potentially lead to different schools in the end. But supposedly the people in the relevant office at Vassar are quite nice, and I would hope they would give the OP honest advice on issues like that:
We are an ultimate frisbee family with both kids playing competitively, one currently D1, one will be D3. It’s such a big part of their lives that both wanted schools with a strong ultimate programs/communities, and it did figure into their searches. You might want to check out current college ultimate rankings for ideas of schools - D1 vs D3, as well as locations. Most LACs with competitive teams play in D3 (with the exception of Carleton as mentioned above, who fields teams in both divisions). A search on some of these school’s websites for adhd/dysgraphia/learning support could be your next filter.
I’d also weigh-in on Wesleyan University as a possibility. It’s a Reach school that sits pretty high in the LAC rankings, but as soon as I saw the word, “unique” in the subject line, it immediately came to mind. It’s unique, IMO, in being excellent across the board in terms of STEM, the Humanities, as well as in “hands-on”, experiential fields like the performing arts. In fact, I looked it up and the phrase, “hands-on” is repeated about 5,000 times in its official search engine.
One recent addition to the curriculum which may have some resonance for the OP’s family is the so-called, linked major, Integrated Design Engineering Arts and Society (IDEAS) program:
From the outset, IDEAS students develop a sophisticated understanding of the making and designing process through hands-on, collaborative, project-based work. It’s an intentional departure from traditional engineering training, with practical experiences unfolding at the same time as theoretical learning. IDEAS, Wesleyan University - Wesleyan University
Lots of great suggestions on this list. I will add Warren Wilson College–definitely a school where students are known by their peers/faculty. Opportunity to be part of a work crew in different areas of campus, ultimate team, excellent outdoor pursuits.
To get a sense of rigor, what classes did your son take this past year? In terms of grades 10-12, will he likely be taking the hardest classes offered at his school or will he likely be more selective about which classes he will take? For schools like Carleton, Wesleyan, and Vassar, he would probably need to be on the most rigorous track.