College Choise - Learning Disabilities

Other important information

In addition to gathering general college information, as a student with a disability, you can also find out about the following...

* Waivers and substitutions: Are there written policies and procedures for course waivers and substitutions? If so, what kind of documentation is required?
* Course load and graduation time: Is priority registration available for students with disabilities? Is it possible to maintain a reduced course load?
* Student groups: Are there specific groups that are designed to assist students with disabilities to network with other students on campus? Are there student leadership/mentoring programs to help students feel connected with other students on campus?
* Supports services: What support services are available to all students? Does the campus have support services specifically for students with your disability?
* Orientation: Are there orientation sessions designed to address disability specific needs of students before entering college? Are these sessions primarily held during the summer, or at the beginning of each semester for new students?

For students with learning disabilities, consider reviewing the books Peterson’s Colleges with Programs for Students With Learning Disabilities or Attention Deficit Disorders and The K & W Guide to Colleges for the Learning Disabled for additional information on support services and specialized programs.

A Better Way: Part 1

Here's my vision for what colleges should do.

Use Virtual “Teachers”

Today, in most of the nation's 3,500 colleges, introductory courses, for example, Introduction to Biology, are taught primarily by an instructor, good, bad, or indifferent, lecturing to students umpteen rows away. You can often get a decent grade just by cramming for a midterm and a final, even though you'll have forgotten 3/4 of what you learned within days of semester's end.

Imagine that instead, you logged onto your home computer to find one of the nation's best biology instructors teaching Intro to Biology, using simulation and demonstration equipment far too expensive for most colleges to afford. You could replay any parts of the lecture you wanted, and at any point, you could click on words that would provide a fuller explanation of what the professor was saying.

After each 30-minute instructional unit, you would take an interactive quiz. You'd participate in simulations and other experiments online, using equipment for free that you couldn't possibly access in the real world. Even the classic frog dissection could be done online. Think of all the hassle, blood and gore that would be saved--not to mention the millions of frogs lives. Another benefit: the nation wrings its collective hands about the lack of minority instructors. Choose a minority instructor for the program and many thousands of students derive the benefits of having a minority biology instructor.

Using interactive teachers wouldn't completely replace the human instructor. Small classes and office hours would still be provided in person. But the large lecture, that boring vestige of the Middle Ages, so often blown-off by students who download lecture notes, would be replaced by interactive and virtual teachers, an approach that would enable every college student, rich or poor, to receive world-class education at a fraction of the cost.

Step #3: Making the Grade

Education needs to be a priority in your teen's life. Colleges pay very close attention not only to your teen's grades in school, but also to the attitude your teenager has about school. Promoting a positive school experience in high school benefits your teen. They will have a great attitude about learning and it will show through on their college application and in the college interview. So remember, while good grades help, an A+ attitude toward learning will get your teen into the college of his choice.

Ode to the Tutor

Let’s be honest for just a moment. With the current state of affairs in each state and at most colleges, even community colleges where class sizes are traditionally smaller, classes are getting bigger. Lectures halls are built to hold hundreds. And unless you’re a grad student or a special honors student you may never see a class with less than 30 people. That being said, taking a class is a terribly inefficient way to learn.


Think about it: You learn what the professor wants you to learn rather than what you want to learn. The class proceeds at the pace the professor chooses, which may well be too fast or slow for you. By the time you need to apply the knowledge in the workplace (if you ever do), you’ll probably have forgotten it.

Besides, unless it’s an online course, your body must be in that classroom Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12 to 2 PM. What if you can’t focus? What if you are kinesthetic learner and not a visual or auditory learner? That lecture class might not help you understand or “learn” a subject at all.

In contrast, consider the tutor. You learn precisely what you need, at the pace you need to learn it, with all the feedback you need, at a time convenient for you, in the comfort of your home (or dorm, library, etc), and at a cost typically less than that of a college course. You get to ask the questions, you decide what to study, you get to progress into areas you want and decide when to study them.