I suffer a debilitating chronic illness which has affected my high school academics. I have low attendance and start my school day at 9:30. I won’t have as much trouble with the morning classes or academics in college because I can choose later classes and get accommodations. I am looking to apply to highly selective schools and I was wondering how this would affect me, in your opinion. I am a high achieving student with a 4.23 gpa (3.85 unweighted) and have high scores on SAT. I haven’t taken any AP yet but plan to take 2 or 3 my senior year. I could have taken much harder classes if I didn’t have my illness and I don’t want that to affect my admission. I also have not been in too many extracurriculars though I am increasing my participation and have leadership positions. My sophomore year I was not in school but homebound and had one semester medically excused which I am assuming will be on my transcript. I also have a 504 for accommodations so I can come to school late and get extensions if I am out for an extended period of time. I’m sure I can get teachers/counselors/doctors who can attest to my work ethic despite a disability. How do you think my condition will affect my admission prospects at highly selective schools?
Because this is an integral part of my life, I need to put it in my application. Would there be a spot to do that? I also plan on meeting with disability offices to make sure they will accomodate me and provide what I need before deciding on a school.
Thanks for your input!
1 Like
3.85 is not bad at all, and rather amazing considering what you’ve faced down. You should make sure your guidance counselor understands the situation and will explain it in the letter (s)he includes with your transcript.
1 Like
Yes, in the Common App. Of course, something like this is such a big part of your life that it might also find its way into a personal statement essay.
1 Like
No offense OP, but I don’t really think highly selective institutions would be the best for you as your health. If you have a debilitating illness, you should aim for something a bit less rigorous, especially seeing that you have no experience in college level courses. Not taking hard classes will affect your admissions. And not electing to take them shows you are not ready for a competitive, rigorous academic environment. Don’t bite off more than you can chew.
@CaliCash : it is insensitive and inappropriate to suggest that a student with a documented disability would not be eligible, or preferable for highly selective institutions. Let the adcoms and disability offices of the respective institutions decide that, along with the OP and his family. His commendable grades and achievements may very well be commensurate with what some institutions are looking for, and also for what it takes to succeed. Not all students will be measured by the same metrics, and he is very likely one of them. And adcoms of very selective institutions are astute enough to know the difference.
To the OP: even though it may seem a bit daunting in your position to attempt the best schools, they may not be out of reach. It will be important for you to continue with the best treatment you can, and to try to be as flexible as possible both with your high school and your ultimate college destination. Some schools will have better policies and accommodations than others, but I don’t really know which right now. Official documentation is essential in your case, of your medical conditions and associated challenges. Try as best you can to keep the communication lines open to see what kind of accommodations can be made. Taking advantage of some online opportunities, as well as developing good relationships with faculty, can also help.
Also, I do not disagree that you may also want to consider other types of institutions as well, and some that may be less competitive. Then again, there are some highly selective institutions that do not emphasize competition as much. For example, Reed’s grading policy could be one. And there are many others that will have varying institutional requirements and atmospheres.
1 Like
There is a place on the common app where you can add additional information about yourself… this would be a good place to discuss your illness and how the effect it has had on your life and your HS experience. A few years ago a student at my D’s HS had a similar issue and did well with her college placement.
Your grades and accomplishments are impressive given the fact that you do have a chronic illness. I would think carefully about what kind of environment you want, and what kind of stress level (some selective schools have a more stressful vibe than others, and schools that operate of the quarter system may not be a good choice since if you do miss a week of class there is less time to catch up).
1 Like
I don’t believe that @Calicash is saying that this student should not have the chance to attend a competitive school…I believe that he/she is saying that this student - who has a chronic and ongoing illness -may find that a really competitive school might worsen that condition. Doesn’t mean that he can’t attend a great college but it feels like common sense to consider the environment and the demands before attending.
CaliCash made a clearly biased presumption with the following statements: “Not taking hard classes will affect your admissions. And not electing to take them shows you are not ready for a competitive, rigorous academic environment.” He cannot know what the admissions committees will consider challenging or rigorous for this particular individual, nor subjectively, what may be challenging and rigorous for the OP.
While I also recommended the OP consider a range of institutional types, it may also be possible that a selective institution may provide the resources and support to help his condition, rather than worsen it. We do not know, and to dissuade him at this stage is neither kind nor helpful. Consider that major research institutions of high caliber often have very fine associated hospitals, medical schools, research facilities and service providers that lesser institutions simply cannot offer. He may benefit from these.
Frankly, I feel it is not irrelevant to point out that there are many students with exceptional physical attributes each year whose grades or academic credentials may not be quite the same as the normative pool of applicants: talented athletes. Logically, another type of candidate with exceptional physical attributes, disabled candidates, may also receive different admission consideration from some institutions. And highly selective institutions are not likely to admit athletes, or other types of candidates, who are not able to succeed in their academics (yes, there are egregious cases, but they are not the rule). It is also not unreasonable to consider a physical disability a type of gift, rather than a deficit.
1 Like
Thank you all so much for your kind words and advice. I am looking at some less strenuous academic programs because I don’t want to fall behind in any classes. I was a big fan of Lehigh (though their extensive stairs aren’t exactly wheelchair friendly) and also really like Bucknell. They are both hard academic programs but I am fairly sure that I can handle them as long as their disability programs are accommodating and let me schedule classes later in the day and don’t require any extensive standing or something ridiculous like that. I definitely have some different priorities including location, weather, accessibility, disability office, access to health services etc. I’m thinking that if I a school would reject me on the basis that I struggled physically, it wouldn’t be worth going there because I would most liky struggle with their administration anyways. I had to fight my high school administrators for EVERYTHING and do not want to do that again. They tried to force me out of all honors classes and I was put in learning support all this year. Not enjoyable!
Thanks again for all the help!!
1 Like
Are you considering engineering? That’s just a guess, based upon Lehigh and Bucknell. I would suggest you investigate some schools that are known for a fairly tolerant atmosphere. That may affect your peers, faculty and administration.
Another suggestion that you may not have considered, but could be helpful: take a look to see which schools are doing some good work in disability studies. That does not mean it would become your academic focus, but simply the existence of some scholars or disability area studies on campus may bode well for some extra understanding, access or programs (even if small) that could assist you along your own path. That particular academic area has gained legitimacy and interest over the years. There was a prominent disability studies researcher at the University of Michigan that comes to mind, but there are many schools now which have some research activity.
It is positive that you stuck through your challenges, even when you met resistance. Chances are you’ll meet more, but if you choose your applications carefully, the extra work you put in now may pay off with a more supportive experience down the road.
1 Like
That’s a good idea! I didn’t think of looking for that. I am a definite science person and am pretty sure I want to go into Biology. Thanks again!
1 Like
If large schools are on your horizon, I would also add University of Wisconsin to the list. It has some of the best bio-sciences in the country, also has some disability research, and is traditionally known for a tolerant and supportive environment. You may also want to look at Reed College per above, because they have good graduate placement for a LAC, and their tolerance and grading could also be helpful.
1 Like
I think you should go for it! Apply for some reach schools and make sure you have match schools and a few safeties.
Your idea to meet with the disability offices of the colleges where you gain acceptances makes sense. In my experience with 504 services in k-12 schools, not all schools nor staff are created equal when it comes to following 504 plans. You need the school that sees you as an asset and that creatively works with you to accomodate you on the campus.
Check out Rice. Flat campus, next to the Houston medical center and strong in the sciences.
1 Like
Rice is another excellent possibility. It has a nice balance of great resources, but not too large to navigate.
1 Like
@anhydrite If the OPs classmates are taking rigorous classes, and he isn’t, it WILL hurt him. His guidance counselor has to rate the rigor of his schedule and if he has ran from hard classes, THAT WILL SHOW. He will be compared to his peers. That’s not me being biased or presumptuous. It’s all in the counselors report. That’s fact. If the OP worries about taking an AP class, then they should not be aiming for elite classes. What one learns in AP Bio in an entire year, that’s less than a semester in college and that pressure and stress will be amplified if the OP attends an elite school. Maybe this topic is sensitive to you and my take offends you, but that doesn’t take away from the reality of it.
“it is insensitive and inappropriate to suggest that a student with a documented disability would not be eligible, or preferable for highly selective institutions”—> What I said was not in response to the OP having a disability. It was in response the OP being afraid of rigor. The same would apply if the OP had no disability.
Did you even read the OP’s response? “I had to fight my high school administrators for EVERYTHING and do not want to do that again. They tried to force me out of all honors classes and I was put in learning support all this year. Not enjoyable!”
Does this sound like he is afraid of rigor? So far as I can tell, that is your pejorative opinion, not his objective experience. Your initial response was presumptuous, CaliCash. And now that he has divulged more info. which you did not bother to absorb, you actually do come off as insensitive and intolerant to a student who may have both the the intelligence and the abilities to gain admission to a highly selective institution.
Just how much experience do you have with disabled students? For a person with a documented disability, all of those instances of struggle, misdirection, or neglect may be documented by those qualified to assist. They could play in his favor. I think you are doing a disservice to this student, and potentially others, by harping in all caps about the status and qualifications of candidates with whom you seem to have very little experience. His performance actually scans very highly for a student who has faced such significant challenges.
1 Like
CaliCash I appreciate your opinion and response as I am sure there are admission offices and colleges out there who have that mindset. I am not afraid of the rigor of college courses, but more the explanation for the lack of rigor in high school classes. I believe if my guidance counselor writes a letter explaining the circumstances and how I could not take these AP classes at their scheduled 7 am time as suggested above, that should serve to compensate for the lack of rigor. Although I don’t have experience with college level classes and don’t know their real difficulty, I am confident that it would be manageable for me as I am highly motivated and am very capable of learning on my own as most of my high school was essentially an “independent study”. If a school doesn’t think that I worked hard enough in high school, that’s not a place I want to spend 4 years of my life.
The one thing that I do really regret and believe will hurt me is that I only have 1 year of a language as my language class was also scheduled at 7 and I signed up for it every year but couldn’t make the start time. Next year I will take the class so I will graduate with 2 years, but I really hope that I can get oppurtunities to keep learning languages in college because I think that it is very important and it is something that I enjoy. Do you know if colleges typically offer introductory level language courses or intermediate courses? Or do they only typically offer courses that extend from a 4 year language program in highschool?
1 Like
@bronzehorse11 I have had a chronic illness since I was 8 years old, and throughout high school (I’m a senior currently) I missed a lot of days, had to come in late, similar things to what you have described. While I get the impression that your illness is a bit more severe than mine has been, I wanted to let you know that it doesn’t need to stop you from going to any college you want. I ended up writing my personal essay about how my illness has influenced my life, but not defined who I am as a person (ie. I am not my illness, even though it has influenced my world view a little bit). I was accepted to my first choice college, a top 20 highly selective LAC in December.
I would encourage you to write about your illness/disability in your essay, but be sure to write it in a way that does not sound like a sob-story. Instead, focus on how you have worked to overcome the challenge of it, how it has made you stronger (emotionally), or how it has changed your worldview. Or a combination of any of those, or something else, as long as it doesn’t end up sounding very “woe is me”, it can be a very strong addition to your application (think: this student will add a new perspective to our campus and we want him/her). If your counselor can also talk about your illness in his/her LOR, that would be very helpful.
I wish you the best of luck in your college process!
1 Like
Major colleges and universities will offer instruction in many languages, from beginner level to advanced. A personal example: somehow, I took Spanish through high school, and decided that the language I was really passionate about was German. I consequently began German as a college freshmen in an honors sequence, and took it all four years of college (and it became a secondary reading language for my major). This is not uncommon; even PhD students or faculty at major universities will want to pick up additional languages for many reasons from the beginning, and there should be plenty of opportunity to start anew. Part of the learning process in any field is starting from the beginning, and universities from Harvard all the way down understand that. Many top students display a love of learning, and it is not uncommon for such students to pick up new and different subject areas from the beginning while at university.
Also, regarding the discussion above: if there was documented obstruction, or documented inability to access specific or advanced classes (in this case, classes that were scheduled at physically impossible times in your school district), astute admissions committees will take these impediments into consideration. A person cannot do what a person cannot do, and adcoms at top universities aren’t dumb. As I said upthread: official documentation is paramount. It will be your ally in the application process to competitive institutions.
1 Like
@anhydrite The OP struggles to get to class and has poor attendance and I misinterpreted what he said. But perhaps he was put in those classes because the administrators know what they are doing and don’t want to overwhelm him. I’m not being insensitive. Dare I say you are being overly sensitive. I never said the OP cannot get into a highly selective institution. BUT if he was been put in easier classes for HIS WELL BEING and has been advised AGAINST taking honors classes, it was done for a reason. And that will be taken into account by colleges. That wouldn’t be discrimination, it would be making sure he finds himself in the best school for him. No, I do not work with disabled students. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that the OP would struggle at a highly selective institution given his condition. If anything, you are doing more of a disservice by encouraging the OP to go somewhere where he would not be successful.
OP, colleges do have introductory classes in foreign language. Lehigh would likely be a bad fit for you if you struggle walking. I visited and the campus is very hilly. Lots of uphill (and downhill) walking and stairs.