Wait, It's Already Time to Start Thinking About College? Here's Where to Start.
Guest Blog Writer: Amy Kopelman, founder and CEO of Pathlitics
One minute you’re navigating middle school transitions, and the next, high school graduation is on the horizon. For students with learning differences or ADHD who benefit from accommodations, that college runway starts sooner than you think. Preparing for this next chapter doesn't have to feel overwhelming, but it is helpful to move past a few common misconceptions so you can focus on what truly matters.
Myth #1: Your student's high school supports automatically follow them to college.
The biggest surprise for many families is discovering that high school plans do not carry over into college. To get accommodations like extra time or a distraction-reduced testing environment, many universities require recently updated, adult-normed testing (assessments designed for ages 16+). While policies vary by school, it is always worth checking specific requirements early.
Taking care of this testing ahead of time provides a fresh, accurate blueprint of how your student learns right now, which helps guide your college search. Disability offices use these results, often alongside a discussion with the student, to determine which accommodations they will extend.
A simple rule of thumb: since most colleges want testing from within the last three years, junior year of high school is often the sweet spot. That way, the results are current when your student applies and registers for accommodations as an incoming freshman.
Myth #2: All college disability offices are created equal.
In reality, the culture, responsiveness, and approach of these offices vary wildly from campus to campus, and it can completely shape your student's daily college experience.
Look at how differently two college students described their experiences:
A supportive office: "They were kind, cared about student success and wanted to level the playing field. They understood learning differences. They were accessible, even on the weekends. They recommended assistive technology resources I hadn't heard of. They worked with professors on my behalf to get my accommodations met."
A rigid office: "It felt like I was just a number to them. The process was so rigid that if your needs didn't fit into their pre-set boxes, they didn't know what to do with you."
Whether your teen needs a comprehensive support program with weekly sessions with a learning specialist or only minimal accommodations, the university's support culture is a critical piece of the puzzle.
Myth #3: Once your student is approved, accommodations just happen.
In college, your student is the one who has to register with the disability office, share their documentation, and request accommodations (often at the start of each term, for each course). No one comes looking for them the way a case manager might in high school. That shift is a big one, and it is why helping your student build self-advocacy skills before freshman year makes such a massive difference.
The Golden Rule: Know Your Student
There is no universal "Best Colleges for Learning Differences, ADHD or Autism" list because a college isn't right or wrong based on a single program. A successful search depends entirely on the individual student's unique strengths, interests (like their major, the setting, location, and campus size), and specific areas of need.
Consider a classic example. Your student might love the idea of a massive university where Saturday football games anchor the campus culture. However, if that university's disability office is hands-off and bureaucratic, it can be incredibly difficult for a student to navigate accessing support entirely on their own while trying to self-advocate with multiple professors.
To find a true, individualized fit, look at how a college aligns with your student across the 5 Pillars of College Success for Students who Learn Differently. These pillars come straight from Pathlitics’ analysis of over 600 reviews from real college students who learn differently:
Academic alignment: Does the school's pace (like a fast quarter system versus a deeper semester system), teaching style, and class size match how your student learns?
Professor culture: Are professors accessible outside of class? Do they consistently honor accommodations?
Sense of belonging: Would your student feel most at home in a small, tight-knit community or a larger campus with many micro-communities? Setting, size, culture, and distance from home all shape whether they can feel like themselves.
Social connection: What kind of social life fits your student, from big parties to smaller hangouts, and what helps them build friendships?
Supportive disability services: Does the office's style, responsiveness, and overall support offerings (from basic compliance to proactive coaching) match what your student actually needs to thrive?
Your Next Steps
You don't have to guess which environment will support your student best. Work with your teen to map out what matters most to them, and combine that with clear data and real student experiences.
Get an updated picture: Don't wait until the summer before freshman move-in day to get testing done. Getting updated, adult-normed testing from the team at Diagnostic Learning gives you the answers you need before you even finish your college list.
Learn from real students: College counselors often recommend sitting in the cafeteria to get the “real feel” of a campus, but it’s not exactly easy to spot the students who have learning differences or ADHD. At Pathlitics, we provide a platform that protects student privacy while allowing families to read real, unfiltered experiences about everything from campus culture and accessing supports to the social scene. You can also send direct messages to get your specific questions answered.
Determine the level of support that your student needs: Once you have a more complete picture of your student's learning profile, interests and preferences, head over to Pathlitics to explore college profiles and narrow down the schools that match your specific student’s needs. If you aren’t sure where to start, you can take a quick quiz at pathlitics.com/quiz. It is a great way for you and your student to gauge the level of support that will help them thrive.
Guest Blog Writer: Amy Kopelman
Amy Kopelman is the founder and CEO of Pathlitics, the complete college planning hub for families of students with learning differences, ADHD, and autism. By capturing over 600 verified neurodivergent student reviews and detailing 700+ colleges and programs by support level, Pathlitics helps families bypass the guesswork and discover the environments where their students will truly thrive.
