On January 24th, join the counselors for some morning refreshments and a discussion on the college application process for students with disabilities. From 7:30am-9:00am, counselors will address the differences between services at the high school and college level, along with information on testing, the types of accommodations available, and the importance of campus visits. Ferne Bork of Landmark College will present from the college perspective.
In case you can't attend the session, HHS counselors recognize that the transition from high school to college can be
a confusing time for students with learning disabilities
and their families; in addition to the challenges that all
students face when transitioning to college, other obstacles confront students who need extra academic
support. Complicating the process even further is the fact that there is not a standard model of how special
education services must be conducted at the college
level. At a minimum, all colleges are required to offer
disability services, and thus all schools are required to
designate an institutional contact person who ensures
that students with disabilities receive accommodations
such as extended test time, a separate exam location, or
access to assistive technology. However, this person is not
required to have training in special education, and s/he
may have additional responsibilities on campus. As such, institutions are not allowed to charge families
fees for providing these basic accommodations.
Nonetheless, many institutions go beyond this
minimum standard and offer a disability program, which
has a full-time coordinator or director. Although the
nature of these programs still varies from college to
college, they may provide support in study skills,
instruction in writing strategies or individual tutoring.
In these cases, the college may require that families pay
a fee for these more comprehensive programs since the institution will need money to fund additional staff
members who run the extra support groups. If you are a parent who is planning to visit a college in the near future, check out these questions you could ask of the disability service office.
It is also essential for families to know that any
special education services, as well as modifications
outlined in a student’s IEP, are terminated when the
student graduates from high school. At the college level,
institutions are not required to change admission
standards, course content, or programs of study for a
student because of his/her disability; for an applicant to
be admitted, the college or university must consider
him/her to be “otherwise qualified” despite the
existence of a disability. Furthermore, the student is
responsible for self-identifying to the college and
providing adequate documentation of the disability. If
the student chooses not to disclose this information,
accommodations will not be made, and they also cannot be granted retroactively to a student who struggled
because s/he had not identified him/herself as learning
disabled.
If a particular college does not allow for formal self-disclosure on the application, applicants might consider including information about his/her disability in a supplemental statement. Describing how a learning disability affected a particular class, or what techniques the student learned to compensate for his/her weakness can be helpful information for a college to have. Bear in mind that this disclosure will not guarantee admission, but it may give committee members better insight into inconsistencies in his/her transcript, or inconsistencies between grades and standardized test scores. The statement should be carefully and thoughtfully prepared, and counselors are more than happy to help their students work on these disclosures. As always, starting conversations with counselors early in the process is helpful, so please reach out if you're not able to attend our coffee but still need personal advice for you or your child.
Resources: Madaus, J.W. (2005). Navigating the college transition maze. Council for Exceptional Children, Jan/Feb, 32-37.
