University of Denver LEP; career choices

[hsmom]

We visited most of the colleges that my son applied to, but DU was not one of them. At first I thought he would have a harder time with the quarter system and we were not even considering DU. Also, they were not test optional and my son did not do well on his ACT. I was not sure he would be accepted. However, my son had done research and presentation on DU in his junior year and decided to apply anyway. He was accepted and we will be going to DU next week. 

To get through DU, he will need the services offered by their fee-based Learning Effectiveness Program. Does anyone know a student who has used their LEP? Do you know what its reputation is? 

Thanks,

hsmom

[healthy11]

I don't remember anyone on Millermom's posting negative comments about University of Denver's programs, other than the expense. I recall empeg's daughter applying there, and I know dwolen's daughter was accepted to University of Denver, but in both cases, I think money was a limiting factor, so they each went elsewhere.

In 2008, I attended a day of the Learning Disabilities Association Annual Conference, and one of the sessions I listened to was about "successful transisitons to college." The presenters from University of Denver talked about their "Learning Effectiveness Program (LEP)" and I thought their program sounded VERY good. Among things they talked about were students getting enough regulated SLEEP (8-9 hours), exercise, and proper nutrition. They even teach Yoga for stress relief sessions, since all of these elements of good health come into play when it comes to being able to learn effectively.

[hsmom]

Thank you, Healthy. Yes, expense is under consideration.

[michellea]

I haven't visited in a very long time - glad to hear things are moving forward for you and your son hsmom. Good luck whatever path you choose!!

[healthy11]

Michellea, I've lost track ~ what year is your son in college? How is he doing, as well as your daughter?

[shawbridge]

There was a mother on College Confidential whose bright dyslexic daughter went to DU and it worked very well for her D. She didn't mention the LEP in particular.

[dw]

HI, HSMOM,
It wasn't money that ruled out DU. DU was an attractive option because my niece lives in Denver. My dd decided to go to an east coast transfer college,Lesley, she says, based on what a psychic told her! Fortunately, it was a very good experience at Lesley with very good support services. Also, fortunately, I was not told about the psychic until well after graduation.

My dd's good Landmark friend did transfer from Landmark to DU. According to my dd, the friend did not get as much help as dd did. One big obstacle for the friend was that she had to negotiate with each professor for her accommodations, and this was very hard for her to do, and the professors were not as understanding. Even though she was coached and prepared at Landmark about how to advocate for herself, she found the process of having to deal with each professor so stressful that she ended up dropping out.
In contrast, my dd did not have to do that, as she said she felt the professors at Lesley were so used to accommodations and working with the learning coordinator, she had no difficulties. It took a lot of stress off her to get that support, and graduated in 2 years, with a GPA of 3.55. (She had 2 years left when she transferred.) This was in 2011-2013.

[michellea]

Update on son - he is finishing up his second year at UMass Amherst and will be graduating in May with his AS - he has been on Deans list each semester! He will return to UMass in the fall as a Junior in the Conservation Management Major with a concentration in Urban Forestry. He had a great internship last summer and will be returning to the same company. He is still dating his HS girlfriend and she is a freshman at UMass.

DD graduated from Elon last year and has been living in Boston and working at Oracle. She's made a nice adjustment, but is not thrilled with working for such a large company. She says she feels like a "speck". So, she is currently deciding if she wants to stay awhile for the good money and to take advantage of tuition reimbursement benefits or if she wants to find something more fulfilling. She's still dating her college boyfriend - he also works and lives in the Boston area.

I'm still advocating. I am also on the School Committee and getting involved with more of the political scene in response to the changes flowing down from the current administration. Hub is still working, but figuring out his exit plan once DS's tuition is paid for.

[healthy11]

Michellea, it's wonderful to hear how well your kids are doing! My son is also a "speck" at a large company, but doesn't mind that as much as wishing he could somehow work on a product he's passionate about (cars) instead of aircraft components and test equipment. Unfortunately, it seems like most of the automotive companies prefer to deal with contract employees, and giving up good benefits to relocate for a job that isn't permanent seems like a very risky decision. (His girlfriend isn't keen on that idea, either... I wrote more about it at millermom.proboards.com/thread/14076/applying-jobs )

[shawbridge]

Congratulations michellea. My D is working as a nurse practitioner in Easthampton and living in Northampton for a company that owns a few clinics. Seems like the docs/NPs own it so if she stayed she would get a stake. I'm not sure she will stay. Loves the job but has a BF in Boston and friends and family in Boston and isn't adjusting to being in Western Mass. Our son went to Amherst College and loved it and the area. Great place for LDs if you are bright and driven as they were very accommodating, but I think some of that was because they quickly came to understand that he was unusually bright for Amherst. But, as a driven kid with LDs, he is going to be an entrepreneur. His fall-back career is probably business school professor.

healthy11, are there companies that make stuff located in other areas that aren't on the verge of shutting down? Does Raytheon need mechanical engineers? I suspect that most of Silicon Valley doesn't need MEs because they don't make anything. Nest? Google's car division?

[healthy11]

Shawbridge, my son's degree is in electrical engineering, but he prefers hardware rather than software; my co-worker's son is a mechanical engineer who graduated last year, but was just laid off from GM. I recently read an article in Bloomberg Businessweek that describes the American South (Alabama, Georgia, etc.) as "the New Detroit," for its heavy concentration of auto parts manufacturers, operating under terrible working conditions. I doubt the environment is better at foreign auto manufacturing facilities. It seems like my son needs to prioritize what's most important to him (ie, working on cars vs. other products, but also whether he sees his current girlfriend in his future, since she doesn't want to move away from her family.)

[michellea]

Healthy - for dd being a speck is the biggest issue, but she says she really isn't that passionate about the product or the sales process either. Plus, she lives in Boston and commutes to the suburbs and she would love to ditch the car and associated expenses and work in town. She has her feelers out - I just hope she doesn't move on for the sake of change only. She admits she is learning a lot about her self and about business. Your ds seems to have similar struggles - and the gf makes it more complex. I guess it is all part of growing up!!

Shawbridge - I love North Hampton, but I understand how it is when friends and family and BF are not close by. My dd LOVES living in the North End -and her bf is in Southie. They are enjoying all the offerings of the city and do not miss being in suburban NC (other than the weather). I am sure that your daughter would be very marketable in the Boston area, but it sounds like she has a great financial opportunity where she is. Tough decisions for these kids - aren't' they lucky they have choices?

[shawbridge]

michaellea, I've heard that Oracle is a particularly difficult company to work for. Not sure if that is true.

My D will be marketable in Boston in 2-3 years. Almost all primary care jobs at good places in Boston say 2-3 years experience required. They figure you will get experience in the boonies and then come to Boston for work.The salaries are pretty much the same, so she is saving a lot of money at the moment. She'd save a lot less in Boston.

[healthy11]

Talking about saving money, I just saw the following article. It discusses a software engineer with a family in San Francisco who makes $160,000 but is barely able to "make ends meet." www.cnbc.com/2017/04/24/twitter-employee-earning-160000-says-hes-barely-making-ends-meet.html

Truthfully, even with greater job opportunities for engineers in Silicon Valley, not to mention the much higher pay, I don't think my son would be happy with the San Fran lifestyle. I know where he's at is ridiculously underpriced compared to most housing markets, but he really likes having a 3-car garage to tinker with his vehicles and welding equipment, a big yard for his dog to run, etc.

[jisp]

Michellea I think there is an adjustment all kids go through when they transition from "school" to "work". Work is work. And then there is the organizational politics to contend with on top of it all. Sometimes the way a company or corporation is run just doesn't make sense and it can be frustrating to not have any control over it. I know our daughter feels that way about the hospital she works for. Even though she has quite a lot of autonomy in her job there are plenty of things about her job she does not like. In her ideal world she would be her own boss or have her own company. Interestingly when we met with the parents of her fiancee we realized that all four of us are basically self-employed, so it is no wonder that both our daughter and her fiancee are frustrated in their current jobs working for others.

Once she is ready she can use her experience to shop around and find something else. One challenge for young people is the way our employment benefits work as it makes it very risky and difficult to switch employers and even become an independent contractor or set up your own business. Health care has definitely made it considerably harder for young people who do not have the resources to branch out and take risks and innovate.

[healthy11]

Jisp, congrats on your daughter's engagement!
Did she meet him at college, or since then? Is her fiancee also in the medical field? Do they want a "big wedding" or something more intimate? It must be an exciting time for your family. Best wishes to all!

[hsmom]

Thank you to healthy, shawbridge, and dw who answered my questions regarding University of Denver's LEP. Yes, the LEP is known to be very good, but in the end, we decided against DU because of its 10 week quarter system. All the other colleges my son was accepted at were on a semester system. Also, DU gave him the least amount of aid.

My son narrowed his choices to St Lawrence University and Ithaca College, and had to make the tough decision. He chose IC for personal reasons. He also no longer wanted to be at a school in middle of nowhere. SLU is in Canton, NY, a very small town in northern NY - much closer to Canada than anywhere else. 

[hsmom]

michellea,

Congratulations on how well both your son and your daughter have done. Dean's list at UMass Amherst and summer internship that he is returning to for a second year all sound as if your son is working very hard. And, a BA from Elon, a great liberal arts university, and a job with Oracle in Boston right after graduation seem as if your daughter has a good start on her career after college even though she may not be happy working for a large corporation.


shawbridge,

So nice to hear that both your daughter and your son are doing very well, too. Kids with LDs who are willing to work very hard seem to gravitate toward becoming enterpreneurs. I'm not quite sure why.


jisp,

Congratulations to your daughter on her engagement. It must be an exciting time for her and her fiance, and for you and your family.

[healthy11]

hsmom,
It's good that your son was able to express what he desires in the way of a college experience. (I can understand where the socialization aspects are especially important to kids who have come out of smaller high schools.) Hopefully you son's actual experiences at Ithaca will meet, and even exceed his expectations, as well as yours! Best wishes to all!

[shawbridge]

hsmom, my son says that he would be a great CEO but a bad mid-level manager. As a mid-level manager, he would have to synthesize lots of written material and produce nice PowerPoint slides or memos. All of that is hard for him. As CEO or entrepreneur, other people synthesize the material and summarize if for him. He can then apply what he does best -- strategic thinking, decision-making, motivating. My dyslexic father-in-law was a serial entrepreneur and insisted everything people gave to him if in writing would fit on one page.

His first company, started while he was in college, is still running, though it is not growing under the manager who replaced him while he went to grad school at the pace it had been before. He's finished his Computational and Mathematical Engineering degree and one quarter away from finishing his MBA. But, he will march in June for both degrees. He's got the next company started -- he and his team have incubator funding for the summer and are continuing to refine the idea and raise money. He's meeting with many of the best VC firms in Silicon Valley.

[healthy11]

Shawbridge, your son's "vision" and self-awareness are exceptional, and without a doubt, his future is bright! (If only he could come up with a way to "teach" others, like my son, to develop those forward-thinking abilities! )

[shawbridge]

One of the things I've tried to teach my kids is that post-HS, you should play to your strengths. Getting into college was about not having weaknesses and showing one strength. Getting into grad school usually comes from demonstrating strength and professional success comes much more from finding/creating a job for which success matches your strengths. Along the way, you should work to expand your strengths. But, after you are out of school, you don't want to be in the position where you need to remedy weaknesses to succeed. [Strengths can include people/political skills as well as substantive skills]. ShawD is very bright. Her intelligence involves storing all kinds of facts and the conceptual frameworks that make sense of them all. So, being a nurse practitioner (or doctor) is (would be) a great career choice for her. ShawSon's are strategic, vision, persuasive, motivational. He is much less detail or execution-oriented. So, he always needs to have an execution-oriented guy (in one startup, he was CEO with a operator with him; in his current one, he has designated himself Director of Strategy and Analytics and offered the CEO position to another of his team even though all agree the idea for the startup was ShawSon's.

[healthy11]

Excellent advice, Shawbridge! I daresay that my son is still a "work in progress," and he's not very accepting of recommendations or the observations of others, so it's difficult to tell where he will end up. He seems reasonably happy at the moment with his current professional/private life balance, although I have serious doubts about whether his present job or his live-in girlfriend are a good "fit" for the long term. (If he didn't have the latter, I think he'd be able to make better choices about the former. ) I keep reminding myself that he's a different person, living in a different time than I grew up in; for now, all I can do is hope he's making good decisions.

[shawbridge]

We are very fortunate in that both kids seem to listen to my advice. I hope your son will be able to get there, although I never give any indication of discomfort with one of my kids' BFs or GFs. Unless the relationship were really toxic, the downside (telling the kid that his/her partner isn't good and then they get married) would be toxic.

[healthy11]

For the same reason as you express, I have not "dissed" my son's GF to him or her, although some of their differenes are obvious and hard to ignore. (I'll explain in a P.M.)
In the context of these Millermom's discussions, I do feel that their relationship complicates his ability to assess how and where he'd like to get to, career-wise. GF doesn't want to relocate because her family is nearby, but there are few other good engineering companies/job opportunities in that town for him.

[michellea]

hsmom - Congratulations on the college decision. Ithaca is a wonderful school and a wonderful town. I know many from my community as well as my sister in law loved Ithaca and did very well upon graduation.

Best of luck in the next phase - I suspect both of you will be well prepared for the new adventure!!