<p>Hello all! Last summer I came down with a severe case of Crohn's. Since then I've been struggling to recover but I'm starting to manage well and according to my doctor I'm doing really well considering how severe my condition was.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, it has affected my school performance. My grades are good- but I know they would have been better if it weren't for this- there have been times when I felt too sick to do assignments and therefore simply didn't. The last two years I've taken pride in my almost perfect attendance, but this year I've got a boatload of excused absences on record.</p>
<p>The colleges I'm considering are NOT known as being easy to get into. Does this stain on my attendance record (and lack of physical extracurriculars) pose a threat to my acceptance? When I'm applying should I mention the fact that I have this chronic disease? I'm not sure whether or not I'll be in remission by the time I start working on my apps...</p>
<p>You should definitely mention it. In fact, try and see if your guidance counselor can mention it when s/he completes the evaluation / transcript. It may or may not hurt your chances of admissions to highly-selective colleges, but think of it like this: to someone who doesn’t have all of the facts, your spotty attendance record makes you look like a undependable truant aka someone who definitely can’t handle college coursework. The fact that the absences were excused and you took the diligence to document them will also help, as will your good grades.</p>
<p>No, do not be the one to mention it. It’ll come off like you’re using Crohn’s as your excuse. Ask your GC to mention it. That’s the perfect person to write about how you had to cope with this problem, that you’ve overcome so many obstacles, and can even report how your issues are stabilizing.</p>
<p>i think it’s up to you. my son came down with Crohn’s just before his senior year. it was terrible for him. . .the pain, the time in the hospital, the surgeries, the healing, the medications, the follow-ups, the catching up with school, the regaining of weight and strength. . .i wish you the best during this time.</p>
<p>he actually used the experience in his essay and when he showed it to me i was impressed with his new insights and sensitivities. the school he applied to accepts less than 20% of it’s applicants and i don’t think it hurt or helped him. it was just an honest observation on a new and painful experience – no more no less. his grades may have suffered a bit, but they were not mentioned at all by him. grades are less important than insights.</p>
<p>i wish you the best in your recovery, with your college applications, and with the presence of this new condition. it is a manageable disease and, at least for my son, has not stopped him from a great college experience. in fact he’s spending the semester in remote parts of Africa and despite our worries, no relapses!!</p>
<p>I agree it’s your call. My son was diagnosed early in HS, and it definitely affected his performance with ECs more than academics, but the latter also. In his case, it was mentioned by his GC in the letter to schools (no one else knew about it, including teachers and coaches- his call), but he chose not to mention it in his own essays. He got into his first choice school.</p>
<p>Best of luck- tough, tough disease- hang in there! My son is doing well on IV Remicade; hopefully you will achieve remission soon. PM me if you have questions!</p>
<p>My son is just 12 years old and a good student but, because of his flair ups he has missed some school Just recently he missed some school because of an illness the teacher gave him 2 days to catch up on his work and than it would only be counted as a 50% no matter what. another words he could get 100% and it would still be a C.Here what you must know that the 504 act protects children from this kind of bad behavior from educators and they can not allow this to effict anyones grade</p>
<p>I didn’t know about that 504 act! I’ve been doing very well this year and I don’t think I’ll have to worry about mistreatment from any of my teachers, but I’ll have to keep that in mind in case I have a bad spell in college.</p>