Where to begin looking for scholarships for student with LD, & is that even possible?

[Second Time Around]

As a non-American homeschool mom, this is my first time trying to figure out the US college process by myself, with a homeschooled, LD junior. Please excuse me if this is covered elsewhere. I have done nothing all this week other than read this and College Confidential, and apart from a sense of panic at lost time, my eyes and brain are starting to ache! I do have an older child who went to college, but he wasn't homeschooled at the time, had tons of dual credit (almost an associates worth), and navigated this by himself with the help of his school and teachers.

 

So, first, where do I begin to search for these scholarships outside the colleges my son will be applying to?

 

Son has severe processing speed issues, but is highly motivated and academically successful in terms of grades. SAT scores aren't fabulous enough to earn much in the way of scholarships just yet, but we are hoping that he can improve before next fall (senior year), especially as we believe he will probably receive time and 1/2 accommodations by that time. Right now they are 570R/640M/530W without accommodations. His GPA is good so far, but as you know, that counts for little on a Homeschool transcript.

 

He is exploring careers in Forestry, Hydrology, Geology and Parks and Recreation. There is a strong drive to encourage more students to study forestry in his state, and we were told by a professor at the local public university that there is usually money available to help Forestry majors, since the demand for jobs exceeds the pool of graduates. It is a great program for that, but my fear is that it is a big university and he might not thrive there with LDs. There are also a couple of smaller, private environmental colleges he is looking at, where he would probably do very well, but the price tag would have to come down significantly. One of the admissions officers told him to start looking for scholarships now, but I honestly don't know a reliable place to begin that search. I know there are plenty of 'services' out there, but I have no clue which ones to trust.

 

We are even considering CC for the first two years, at the advice of his NP tester because of his processing speed issues. But something about that doesn't feel right to me, especially as he would miss out on a couple of years of paid internships in the field he wishes to go into (the colleges have great programs to secure these opportunities for their students).

 

Anyway, where do I start, and is this even a realistic process for him? Or is it something only those with perfect SAT scores and academic records pursue? Desperate for some pointers asap.

 

Thank you!

[Nicole M]

I work at a small LAC, and, yes it is expensive, but hardly any students pay the full price. On our campus, there has been a significant increase here in the resources devoted to helping students like your son, and that seems to be a trend across the country at other colleges, too. I guess what I'm saying is that you won't want to rule out those smaller programs you've looked into.

 

As for scholarships, I hope others will have more information. I'm just not aware of outside scholarships. If there are folks you know who are already involved in forestry or environmental jobs or programs, I would talk with them.

 

ETA: Gosh, I wouldn't panic over those SAT scores. My son had scores that were, according to one admission counselor I spoke to, "low for a white male" and he was still accepted into his top choice schools, and he received a National Tuition Exchange scholarship for all four years.