EDs, hospitalization, falling grades, etc.

<p>I've already committed to UChicago for the class of 2018. Until now, I have been a straight A student. This semester, however, I have been struggling a lot with my eating disorder, and now I have a C and two B's. I've just been admitted to an inpatient program and will be out of school for at least a week, and I expect that my grades will tank as I fall even more behind.</p>

<p>Should I explain to my regional admissions rep about the C and B's, or should I only report my eating disorder if my grades drop even more? Should I wait for them to ask me why my grades are slipping? I'm worried that they'll rescind my acceptance if the know about my ED because I'll be seen as a liability to the school.</p>

<p>As long as you don’t get any D’s or F’s, I doubt they will revoke your admissions. Have you talked to your teachers about extended time to complete your work since you are being hospitalized? I would wait until final grades, and if you feel they put you at risk for a rescission, contact U of C and tell them you were ill without mentioning the ED. It’s hard to predict how the U will react to the ED. Have you thought about deferring your admission until you have the ED better under control? I would be concerned that the added pressure of college might exacerbate your health issues.</p>

<p>My D also has health issues that have impacted her grades this year. She contacted her college because she had to make some late changes to her course schedule as a result of her illness, missing school, and falling behind. The school was very understanding, but it isn’t an ED issue. Unfortunately, because of liability EDs sometimes frighten schools. </p>

<p>Thanks for the feedback. I agree that it would be good to wait until my final grades come out to say anything. If the grades are a problem to UoC, I’ll try telling them about the illness without mentioning that it’s an ED.</p>

<p>I can’t really contact my teachers until tomorrow because they don’t check their email and stuff over the weekend, but I’m definitely going to be asking them about what I need to do for their classes. Thankfully, APs are all over!</p>

<p>I haven’t seriously thought about deferring my admission, but I’ve been doing research on their student counseling services. I really don’t want to stay at home for another year, so I think that will be a pretty strong motivation for me to recover. I know it’s going to be hard every single day, but I want to try.</p>

<p>I hope your daughter is doing better. Thanks again for your response!</p>

<p>You could call them, or you could ask your GC to talk to them. U of C is a very intense environment, you need to be sure you have this under control by fall or consider deferring. You should probably register for a fairly light load if you can – stick with subjects you are strong in and don’t take a ton of credits while you settle in.</p>

<p>Thanks for the advice, @intparent. I’m aware of UChicago’s rigorous environment, and I am determined to be part of the Class of 2018. That’s pretty much going to be my motivation for recovery this summer. I’ll look through their course catalog for classes I think I’d be strong in and classes that would leave me some time to do whatever ED/mental health student services UChicago offers.</p>

<p>Hope it goes well… U of Chicago is a great school in a lot of ways, but is not well known for being the most supportive of struggling students. A bit Darwinian… so take care of yourself first.</p>

<p>Thanks. I’ll do my best.</p>

<p>OP, you should contact the school’s office for students with disabilities. If you get a letter from a doctor, you can receive accommodations. That way, if something happens, you have options (turning in a project late, for example). And if you should have to withdraw for medical reasons, it will be easier to get a refund. Last spring, my son had to drop out in March, and his university refunded all of his tuition! He lives at home, so there weren’t any housing costs involved.</p>

<p>And if you never need the office, that’s OK, too! It’s just good to have a backup plan. Good luck to you!</p>

<p>Good idea. Maybe I’ll add some information about this in my housing application form and see what they can do.</p>

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<p>When we went to accepted student days at U of C last year, the admissions people were COMPLETELY baffled when asked about the office for students with disabilities. It took them half a day to come up with an email address for someone, but they said we would need to email (not possible to go see them in person apparently). Don’t count on a lot of help there…</p>

<p>Seaswallowed, I wish you the best of luck and I hope you check in and let us know how you’re doing. EDs are so difficult to manage. From intparent’s post, it doesn’t sound like the school has many supports (though I would explore all possibilities.) Perhaps over the summer you can find a doctor near Uof C and a support group so you have resources in place when you arrive. </p>

<p>Before you start, I would strongly recommend that you make connections with community-based providers for on-going treatment for your eating disorder in Chicago/Hyde Park. Ditto for peer support groups. I would not leave your treatment or monitoring up to UChicago. Of course, make sure to register with the office for services for students with disabilities, so if a crisis or even a common need arises you are in their system. You also might want to consider tuition insurance (a policy that does not exclude ED). </p>

<p>Thanks, everyone. The ED specialist and I actually talked about this a little yesterday, and it sounds like they’ll help me to find a team in the Hyde Park area for my eating disorder. They also recommended not going through the school, but I agree that I should probably make the school aware of this problem in case of a crisis. It’s a lot to remember, but I really want to try to go to University of Chicago.</p>

<p>I went through the same exact thing recently. I was luck to have a very caring therapist who contacted my counselor and I ended up getting a lot of my missing work excused and extended due dates. If you don’t have a therapist who can vouch for you then maybe speak to a doctor or someone at your treatment center. </p>

<p>Thanks, Kayla. It’s good to hear from people who’ve gone through the same thing. My parents contacted my counselor and I’ve been contacting teachers about making up tests and work, but some of the teachers haven’t exactly been responsive. I’ll talk to a doctor here about getting a note written for my teachers, especially because they don’t want me to go to school for a few days after I get discharged.</p>

<p>I think it’s important that you or your parents provide documentation to your HS school about your “hospitalization for a serious medical condition” so that the HS will be required to make accommodations for you and give you extended time to make up assignments. This happens with concussions all the time. This way you can eventually graduate and go to UChicago. As long as everything is done official, you likely can’t be rescinded for a “serious, documented, medical condition”. No need to specify ED, just “needed to be hospitalized for a serious medical condition” should suffice. </p>

<p>commenting a little late, but i just want to say first that you have my support as a fellow Uchicago 2018er and second that my communications with the disability office there have been very helpful. The assistant director really knows her stuff so I’d recommend contacting her and seeing what she can do for you. I can’t speak for mental health services or accommodations, and I’d recommend getting your ED completely in order before you enroll. Good luck and congrats on admission, btw :)</p>

<p>@ironchariot - Woah congrats on getting in! I thought my journey from deferred to accepted was long, but I seriously applaud you for sticking it out and I’m so glad it worked out in the end! You definitely deserved it.</p>

<p>I’m out of inpatient now, and I’m going to be doing an intensive outpatient program (half day sessions 3 days a week) until I leave for Chicago. I’m now physically stable but mentally more unstable than ever, so I’m hoping that 3 months of IOP will get me to where I need to be to stay in school.</p>

<p>We’ve been in contact with the ED program at the UoC hospital, which is covered in the tuition. I’m don’t really know anything about the program, but at least it’s a starting point. I can’t see myself needing accommodations for my eating disorder (though my self-image probably isn’t all that reliable…), so I haven’t contacted the disability office, but if you thought she was really helpful, maybe I should talk to her anyway.</p>

<p>Can’t wait to see you in Hyde Park!</p>

<p>You should not have bad grades due to a medical issue, at your high school. You need to get documentation from a professional and you or your parents should get a 504 plan established at your school. This can mean wiping the slate clean in terms of grades, for the time being, or giving you extended time on everything, postponements of tests and exams, notes from classes, etc. etc. If I were you, I would worry less about high school grades and college entrance and concentrate on getting well. Does academic stress contribute to you ED? Is leaving home an issue for you? </p>

<p>It is July now and your post was in May. If I had been your parent I would have had you withdraw from high school that term, and do classes at community college in the summer and/or fall. Hope you are doing well now. Recovering from an ED is a long and complex process for some.</p>

<p>I only had a question about whether I should contact University of Chicago about grades or not, and it turned out okay, anyway. My grades dropped, but not as much as I expected they would. My parents recognized that there were only 2 weeks of school left when I got discharged and that I was still passing all of my classes, so withdrawing would have been more of a hassle than helpful. Obviously recovery will be a painful process, but the prospect of attending my dream school in the fall is enough motivation for me to recover at least to the point where that is possible.</p>

<p>Thank you for your input.</p>