Search
Davidson Institute for Talent Development
  • Davidson Institute Home
  • Young Scholars
    • Application Process
      • Testing Requirements
      • Supplemental Information
    • Program Benefits
      • Consulting Services
      • Online Community
      • Ambassador Program
      • Summer Events
      • Alumni Program
    • Success Stories
    • Resource Support for Families During COVID19
    • Free Guidebooks
    • Davidson Young Scholars FAQs
  • Fellows Scholarship
    • 2020 Davidson Fellows
    • How to Apply
    • Fellows Ceremony
    • Past Fellows
      • 2018 Davidson Fellows
      • 2017
      • 2016
      • 2015
      • 2014
      • 2013
      • 2012
      • 2011
      • 2010
      • 2009
      • 2008
      • 2007
      • 2006
      • 2005
      • 2004
      • 2003
      • 2002
      • 2001
    • Davidson Fellows FAQs
    • Davidson Fellows Press Room
    • Scholarship Rules & Regulations
  • THINK Summer
    • Overview
      • Student Profiles
      • Staff
    • Admissions
      • Eligibility
      • Tips for Applying
      • Tuition and Fees
    • Academics
      • Instructors
      • Past Courses
    • Student Life
      • Living on Campus
      • Activities
    • Resources
    • FAQs
    • 2021 Online
  • Search Database
    • Browse Resources
    • Browse Articles
    • Browse State Policies
    • View Federal Policies
  • Davidson: Explore
    • Application
    • Fee Details & Qualification Criteria
    • Course Descriptions
    • Class Schedule
    • Core Values
    • FAQs
    • Infographic
  • About Us
    • Programs
    • Our Founders
    • Press Room
      • Press Kit
    • eNews-Updates
    • Davidson Gifted Blog
    • Davidson Academy
    • Genius Denied
    • Contact Us
    • Donate
    • Program Outreach
  • Davidson Institute Home
  • Young Scholars
    • Application Process
      • Testing Requirements
      • Supplemental Information
    • Program Benefits
      • Consulting Services
      • Online Community
      • Ambassador Program
      • Summer Events
      • Alumni Program
    • Success Stories
    • Resource Support for Families During COVID19
    • Free Guidebooks
    • Davidson Young Scholars FAQs
  • Fellows Scholarship
    • 2020 Davidson Fellows
    • How to Apply
    • Fellows Ceremony
    • Past Fellows
      • 2018 Davidson Fellows
      • 2017
      • 2016
      • 2015
      • 2014
      • 2013
      • 2012
      • 2011
      • 2010
      • 2009
      • 2008
      • 2007
      • 2006
      • 2005
      • 2004
      • 2003
      • 2002
      • 2001
    • Davidson Fellows FAQs
    • Davidson Fellows Press Room
    • Scholarship Rules & Regulations
  • THINK Summer
    • Overview
      • Student Profiles
      • Staff
    • Admissions
      • Eligibility
      • Tips for Applying
      • Tuition and Fees
    • Academics
      • Instructors
      • Past Courses
    • Student Life
      • Living on Campus
      • Activities
    • Resources
    • FAQs
    • 2021 Online
  • Search Database
    • Browse Resources
    • Browse Articles
    • Browse State Policies
    • View Federal Policies
  • Davidson: Explore
    • Application
    • Fee Details & Qualification Criteria
    • Course Descriptions
    • Class Schedule
    • Core Values
    • FAQs
    • Infographic
  • About Us
    • Programs
    • Our Founders
    • Press Room
      • Press Kit
    • eNews-Updates
    • Davidson Gifted Blog
    • Davidson Academy
    • Genius Denied
    • Contact Us
    • Donate
    • Program Outreach

Search Database

  • Search Database
  • Browse Resources
  • Browse Articles
  • Browse State Policies
  • View Federal Policies

The college search process for GT/LD students

This article walks students and parents through a process of how to select the best college matched to the individual student's needs, particularly if the student is twice exceptional. A table outlines the levels of support available in college.
  • Topics
    • Support: College Planning
    • Twice Exceptional: Learning Disabilities
  • Author
    Rosenberg, Nancy - M.A., M.Ed., CEP
  • Publisher
    2e Newsletter
  • Year
    July 2006
Standard Advice to College-bound Students
 
  • Visit the college before choosing to attend. Each college has its own environment, instructors, and students associated with it.

  • Schedule an appointment with the learning center as well as the admissions office.

  • Be articulate about the type of accommodations that you may need at any point during college in order to be successful and find out if these services exist.

  • If you are visiting several schools, take notes and write down your impressions as soon as you leave each campus. You will be surprised how easily impressions of different colleges blend into each other.

Increasingly, the nation’s higher educational system is awakening to the needs of its special students. Today, gifted students with learning disabilities or AD/HD can choose among colleges that offer a wide array of services and programs designed to meet their unique learning needs. The application process is one that starts months, or even years, before that first day on campus.

Normal teenage procrastination, coupled with organizational problems suggest that this search should start no later than the second semester of junior year to avoid adding unneeded pressures during the fall of senior year. This process is critically important. Choosing the right college will help these unique students make the most of their educational experience.

Psycho-educational assessment, awareness of the student’s learning strengths and weaknesses, and good old-fashioned research are the key components of the application process. As students and their parents make their way through this process, qualified professionals are available to help them make the most of the available resources. The goal is to help these students uncover their greatest potential.

 
Step 1: Psycho-educational Assessment

Psycho-educational assessment should be done as early as possible in a child’s life if parents suspect or know that the child has learning disabilities or AD/HD. It should be done again during high school. The reason is that in order to receive accommodations in entry testing or in college, the assessment must be recent – done no more than three years before the date of the application. Any re-assessment should ideally be done just before or at the beginning of the junior year of high school.

Colleges require documentation as to the areas of educational impact. The documentation should address the severity of the condition and provide justification for requested accommodations. Therefore, the psycho-educational assessment report should include a DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) diagnosis along with a description of the student’s strengths and an indication of how the student compensates for areas of difficulty.

At this point in the student’s life, he or she is old enough to understand the information and diagnosis included in the psycho-educational assessment report. Understanding how one learns is the first step toward making changes, followed by choosing to get assistance and setting realistic goals. Students who are able to articulate their personal learning style, whether it be in the classroom, in setting up a course of study, in personal tutorials, or even in determining a living and study environment, are much further along in becoming their own advocate and succeeding in the college of their choice.

Once psycho-educational testing has been completed, strengths and weaknesses have been identified, effective study habits have been initiated, and a comfort level regarding an individual learning style has been developed, the student will be better able to evaluate the educational options available to him or her.

Step 2: Applying to Take a College Entrance Test

The process of applying to take college entrance tests must begin early enough to allow time to process any requests for accommodations and for responding to any questions that may arise. Your child’s high school guidance counselor or an independent educational consultant can help you in understanding updated guidelines concerning eligibility for extended time testing and in learning what other accommodations are available. Remember that receiving standardized testing accommodations has nothing to do with receiving accommodations at the college level. These are two separate processes.

For information on nonstandard testing for the PSAT or SAT, contact The College Board at https://www.collegeboard.org/students-with-disabilities or at Services for Students with Disabilities, 609-771-7137. For the ACT, contact the American College Testing Program (ACT) at http://www.act.org/content/act/en/products-and-services/the-act/registration/accommodations.html.

Step 3: The College Selection Process

Each student, no matter what his or her social, cultural, or educational background, must select a school that best meets the student’s own needs. For students with LDs or AD/HD, the selection has increased substantially in recent years. Changes as a result of laws have brought about unprecedented accommodations and availability of learning aids. A few of these aids include the use of computer hardware and software, tape recorders, recorded textbooks, and extended time for testing.

Levels of support, shown in the chart below, vary greatly among colleges, ranging from the most basic to individualized, structured programs. Categories of support include minimal, moderate, developmental, and comprehensive. The size or type of college generally has no bearing on the degree of support it offers. While students may not need to use specific accommodations all the time during their college career, it is important to evaluate up front whether an academic setting can provide the range of programs and supports that may be needed to assist a student at a specific point in time.

LEVELS OF SUPPORT AVAILABLE IN COLLEGE
 
Description of Services
Characteristics of Schools Offering these Services
Students Best Served by this Level of Support
Minimal

General services for all students; might include a writing or math center and counseling offices

Usually have none of the following:

  • An active advocacy program for LD/AD/HD students

  • A learning specialist designated to assist with course selection

  • Special tutoring or coaching to meet organizational needs

Those who are:

  • Clear about their own needs

  • Able to advocate for themselves (No one will come looking for students to assist them. A student must self-identify in order to use accommodations.)

Moderate

A popular and fast-growing option for most schools and students which includes:

  • A learning center

  • At least one professional on staff with an advanced degree in special ed who may be able to:

    • Act both as a counselor and advocate for the LD students on campus

    • Assist students with class and professorial selection

    • Organize informational workshops for professors and other college personnel

    • Arrange for tutoring or coaching

    • Offer additional support to insure each student’s academic success

Generally show more sensitivity toward LD/ AD/HD students and may offer:

  • Peer support groups and peer/professional tutoring services

  • Special orientation or summer programs to allow students with disabilities to pre-register and become familiar with the campus and academic expectations

Same as above

Comprehensive

Programs exclusively devoted to students with learning disabilities and attentional disorders that embrace the entire psycho-social aspect of learning with disabilities including:

  • Time management and organizational tools

  • Academic programs, coaching, and tutoring sessions designed to help each student reach his or her full academic potential

  • Social problem-solving skills, self-advocacy, and development of the student’s self-confidence

Same as moderate-level schools plus:

  • Are likely to require separate application to the program along with up-to-date documentation

  • Often provide internship opportunities to help choose realistic career goals

Those who require:

  • Individualized instruction

  • Being supported by learning techniques appropriate to their own needs
Developmental
  • Usually defined as a two-year curriculum within a four-year college environment that enables students, upon successful completion, to continue college with junior-year standing in the undergraduate program of their choice

  • Place emphasis on core curriculum, close faculty advising, study skills, and peer support

Same as those of moderate- and comprehensive-level schools

Those who are:

  • Not exclusively LD/AD/HD students

  • Seeking to gain skills needed to succeed within a larger university



With the wide range of options available to GT/LD students, proper research is essential to choosing a suitable academic environment. Students can accomplish much of the initial research through the Internet and specialized college guide books. Many college websites now contain information concerning support services, programs, and appropriate documentation. A high school guidance counselor, college counselor, or independent counselor specializing in colleges with support services and programs can help to identify and evaluate the available options, and to advise the student as to whether he or she meets the admissions standards set by these colleges. A counselor may be able to assist with accommodation requests, testing services, application preparation, and college interview preparation, as well as provide other related services. This process should be helpful in determining whether a given college has the environment the student needs to succeed both academically and socially.

Many students are surprised to discover that the colleges they visit are interested in them as individuals, look positively at their accomplishments, and are equally dedicated to forging a successful match. Students are advised to approach these colleges with confidence in their own strengths and with the knowledge that they will contribute to the college and the campus environment, as well as to their own future. The more students know about themselves, what they want, and what each school offers in terms of academics and support, the easier and more successful the college application and college selection process will be.

Nancy Rosenberg is an independent educational consultant in the Washington, DC area. She holds a M.Ed. from American University in Special Education-Learning Disabilities and a M.A. from New York University in Guidance and Personnel Services. She is a Certified Educational Planner who, for the last 15 years, has worked exclusively with students with AD/HD and learning disabilities. She also specializes in offering workshops and presentations for groups of parents and students at schools or by special arrangement.

Permission Statement

This article is reprinted with permission from the 2e Newsletter and the author.

This article is provided as a service of the Davidson Institute for Talent Development, a 501(c)3 nonprofit operating foundation, which nurtures and supports profoundly intelligent young people and to provide opportunities for them to develop their talents and to make a positive difference. For more information, please visit www.DavidsonGifted.org.

Add a comment to this entry
Suggest an update to this entry
Submit a new article for our database

The appearance of any information in the Davidson Institute's Database does not imply an endorsement by, or any affiliation with, the Davidson Institute. All information presented is for informational purposes only and is solely the opinion of and the responsibility of the author. Although reasonable effort is made to present accurate information, the Davidson Institute makes no guarantees of any kind, including as to accuracy or completeness. Use of such information is at the sole risk of the reader.

Share by email
Davidson Insitute Facebook
Davidson Institute Twitter
Davidson Institute Youtube
Davidson Institute Instagram
Davidson Institute LinkedIn
Davidson Institute Pinterest
Home | Privacy Policy | Programs | Database | Press Room |