<p>Hi there, I have been lurking this forum for years but am newly registered and appreciate the wealth of information provided by this forum. Right now I am possibly the saddest I have ever been. I worked my butt off during high school to get into my dream college, which is private and happens to be ranked in the top ten and constantly in the top five</p>
<p>My first semester to college was an adjustment, and I didn't do stellar, but I was able to maintain a B+ average. Second semester, I became very depressed and left on a medical leave of absence. I came back a semester later, but was still not ready to return so I left again. After my second medical leave, I decided that this time I would take more time off - I left in 2009 and just applied for the fall 2011 semester. During that time, I moved out of my parents house and began living independently, aqcuiring a full time job. I've been working full time since November 2010. Today I got a letter saying that they committee had decided not to approve my re-admission to the school and basically wished me on my way. My sister goes to the school and has been doing very well, and now she's distraught about this too since we're very close. I feel numb right now... I don't even know how to respond! I didn't see this coming because I really tried to do my best to prove that I had taken a proactive, aggressive approach to getting my medical issues under control. So my questions are:</p>
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<li><p>Is there ANYthing that I can possibly do to change the committee's mind or to make them reconsider? Anything at all?</p></li>
<li><p>Are there any legal grounds that will help me to be able to get back in? Or any advocate groups that might be able to provide helpful resources?
I'm so crushed right now.... I've spent the last almost two years working in order to prove myself instead of just transferring because I've already invested so much into my education there.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I guess I don’t understand how one semester of credits is a large enough investment of time & energy to spend more time & energy trying to get back into the original school after they have declined.</p>
<p>Wouldn’t the true test of the worth of the counseling be that you can see what is a more fruitful use of your efforts?</p>
<p>Every time you have withdrawn from that school, you have affected their numbers for attrition. Something that is important. Now, granted, you are only one person, but the numbers add up, and if they let you come back and leave again, they have to do it for other students too. I was involved in a school for adults, where attrition was watched really carefully, and it killed when the same student “quit” a couple times. After that, if they wanted to come back, it sort of became like a slap we just weren’t going to accept any more. It’s just natural it becomes a little personal feeling through the process of readmitting a student, and then having them leave again, even for medical reasons. You only invested one semester. I would say start fresh, with a new school, and it will quickly become “your school” where you can thrive. Good luck.</p>
<p>I would talk to a lawyer. PM me if you like. Read up on the Americans with Disabilities Act, but also on the difference between required accommodations in high school versus college.</p>
<p>Did the school write you a letter when you went on leave, specifying what conditions needed to be met for readmission (for example, 6 months of full-time work for a non-family member).</p>
<p>To compare, how does the college treat a student in the same situation who left for a “medical” health leave. I know that mental health is classified as “medical” for the purposes of a leave, but are students with mental health issues treated the same as students with health conditions?</p>
<p>I would think mental health issues are more complex- hard to say when someone is cured or even stable compared to someone with a broken leg or whooping cough.</p>
<p>( My school didn’t let me back in either- or even allow me to drop my courses for a medical leave)</p>
<p>You certainly could check and see if you have any legal avenues. I’m guessing this is a private college and not a public college so not sure if legal protections vary from public to private. But the bottom line is you don’t really have “alot” of time invested in this college…really only one semester and two attempted returns and this is over the course of what sounds like two or three years. It might be far more productive and healthier to move on.</p>
<p>Mental health issues/disabilities have the same protection under the law as medical health conditions/disabilities. At the college level, case law is accumulating on these issues. If everyone just “moved on,” there would be no progress with these legal rights for anyone. That said, each individual needs to do what works best for his or her life.</p>
<p>I am not sure why, but top colleges react this way to leaves taken in the first year (attrition rate is affected by leaves). But it seems that once a student is there for a couple of years, the top colleges extend themselves a lot to help the student graduate (must affect some other statistic in the rankings, like graduation rate or something.)</p>
<p>It’s August 2011 and you’ve just applied for the fall 2011 semester? After only having one semester of credit and not having finished a semester in 3 years?</p>
<p>I think that the only thing that they would consider favorably would be a record of your finishing classes at another school (CC? another 4 year college) and doing well.</p>
<p>I do not think it is an ADA issue at all. I think it is a ‘not academically viable candidate’ issue. I know a student who was in similar circumstances (perhaps at the same school) and she was allowed back in AFTER she did a full semester at another uni and got a 3.5+ average. You are not being discriminated against due to a mental health issue, but rather as you have not proven you are ready to return. It is great that you are working full time and have taken care of your mental health issue, but that is not the same as showing you can do well in school.</p>
<p>Just adding to all the good advice offered.
Having worked in a residential treatment center where many of the girls were college students, we communicated with the college personnel involved (USC,UCLA, Stanford, Redlands, etc) regarding timing of reentering the college. No one I know was denied, but then again, they had not been out of school for 2+ years.</p>
<p>Most important is that you are doing well. Move forward with classes at a CC, explore if any other local schools have openings for 2011 year. Emotionally, you seem to feel attached to this college, and your sister attends there, but one semester there is not a huge investment of your education. As Robyrm2 suggests, do well elsewhere and try to transfer. Who knows, you make make friends and find good opportunities at another school and leave the earlier dream /college behind.</p>
<p>Several factors that may have led to the college’s decision: 1) Twice you have not finished a semester you’ve started 2) This seems very late to be applying for readmission, they may view this as not as well thought out as it should be 3) The college may feel that you need a less rigorous educational enviorment & the enviorment itself may have initiated your symptoms in the first place.
Knee-jerk reaction by some posters to defend someone who is “being wronged” and suggest legal action. Perhaps the college knows much more about this situation than we do & feel that it is in THE STUDENTS best interest that they attend somewhere else.</p>
<p>Nowhere have you mentioned that you received treatment for the disorder that led to your leave, nor have you indicated that you have been evaluated by a licensed practitioner who is recommending your return. These are often required by colleges before they will consider readmission.</p>
<p>As unfair as it feels, I agree that the school may feel that they and you are not a good fit. Are they obligated to allow you to return? What is the school policy? Were you on any kind of probation, or simply medical leave? And if their fall 2011 class has been filled, the timing may be off as well. Sorry.</p>
<p>I’ll add that it seems unwise to me for you to return to “the scene of the crime”, so to speak. You must have some very unhappy memories associated with this school. You’ll be reminded of your past problems whenever you see those who started freshman year with you getting closer to graduation. You’ll find yourself having to explain your absence to those who remember you. Why not a truly fresh start elsewhere?</p>
<p>Thank you everyonfor your answers and advice. I just want to say that I actually applied April 1st, because I wanted to go back during the summer in order to be re-acclimated. Somehow, they never recieved my application, although even though I tried to follow up they didn’t make me aware of that until it was already too late to go back during the summer, so I re-applied July 1st, which is the deadline for the fall semester.</p>
<p>Sorry to point out that April 1 is past the deadline for many schools for FALL admission. The late app is probably part of the reason. Also, unless they need to solicit students, the responsibility to follow up is on YOU, not them. I agree that you should try another school and if you are set on this school that you might have to show them how you do at a Comm. College. Just watch your deadlines and apply earlier. Since your CC classes will be “in progress” when you apply you might want to write a letter or schedule a meeting with admissions when you apply. Good luck.</p>
<p>It would seem that this student is certainly “academically viable” since she had a B+ average in her first semester. She has done what many here on CC recommend for kids in her original situation: took time off, got a job, and apartment, took responsibility for herself (himself?), and matured.</p>
<p>It is hard to tell whether the depression played a role in her being turned down. Often, a record of f/t employment over a period of 6+ months is enough proof of recovery.</p>
<p>Students with chronic illnesses of all kinds are always an iffy bet for colleges, in terms of money and stats, but more colleges are betting on these students in recent years, and I hope this student, who has worked really hard on her health, can find a way to get back in.</p>
<p>Fighting the system can be draining. I would meet with the college and see what else they might want (get it in writing) in order for the student to get back in. Perhaps, as some say, taking a few courses elsewhere is on their list of requirements.</p>
<p>If continued denial seems based on previous depressions, then it might be worth looking into finding an advocate. A history of depression in an 18 or 19 year-old (in the midst of one of life’s biggest transitions) is not a good reason to consider a person to be not “academically viable,” especially one who is clearly capable and who has shown such maturity and self-awareness in the two years following her departure from the school.</p>
<p>The list of accomplished individuals who suffered from depression at one time or another is a very long one.</p>