<p>I hope that I am posting this in the correct forum. Here is my situation. I am a senior. I have had health issues that have plagued me for most of high school and have cut into my ability to reach as high of a GPA that I feel I am capable of because of how much class I've missed. This year has been no different and I am so behind at this point that I feel an option would be for me to just drop out, get GED and then focus on my health without the added stress of staying caught up in school. If I did this, I still plan on applying to college in spring and hopefully start fresh in fall of 2014. I know that a GED is considered the equivalent of a high school diploma and that 98% or so of colleges and universities treat it as such. I also have good enough SAT scores that I feel I have a good chance at being considered for the colleges I am looking at. But I still of course do not know if this is the best choice. Can anyone give me insight or advice on what I should do? Would I even be accepted to any colleges with a GED? this is not the case where its some 25 year old who just got his GED and now he wants to go to college. I would still be entering college with my age group.</p>
<p>Thanks.</p>
<p>and I am talking about 4 year colleges and universities here</p>
<p>I have a daughter who had to quit public school because of chronic illness. She just got her GED.</p>
<p>Compared to not getting sick and having to leave school, getting a GED is somewhat limiting. As you’ve noted, there are some colleges and universities (I think it’s probably more than 2%, but it’s still a clear minority) that won’t accept a GED in lieu of a traditional high school diploma. More than that, there’s a kind of practical limitation in your own application. Your chronic poor health has affected your school performance for years, and it’s causing you to consider leaving high school prematurely now. (And please don’t misunderstand me, I think that may well be the best course of action for you.) You think that if you focus on your health this spring, you’ll be poised to succeed in college. But a lot of colleges will want some basis for believing that. Unless you have a period of sustained academic success, during which either your health is not a concern or you manage both your course load and your health issues, I don’t know what that basis would be. What are you going to be able to show them that your chronic ill health won’t interfere with your academic performance in the future?</p>
<p>There are certainly colleges that you can attend with your GED. My daughter began attending community college even before she got her GED, so certainly community college is an option. Besides that, you can attend a great many four-year colleges. In my limited experience, I have found that most colleges aren’t particularly snooty (or, honestly, all that choosy), and they’ll be happy to get your application. In addition, I’ve found some really selective colleges and universities (e.g., Harvard, Oberlin) that will take your application with or without a GED. When I was looking around, I found that it was most often the not-quite-HYP colleges and universities that were most prickly about accepting GEDs. But there are some well known, well respected colleges and universities that won’t take it, and you’ll just have to know that if you go the GED route, you’re giving up the option of going to these schools. (If it was an option in the first place. If your health really has taken a toll on your high school grades, maybe that’s a moot point.)</p>
<p>Do you think I should contact the schools I am hopefully going to be applying to and explain my situation? I would like to have a 4 year college experience. But yes, the point you made about what basis there will be to prove I am better has crossed my mind as well. I dont want them to say, “well how do we know things will be different in college?”.</p>
<p>I don’t know how you get around that, honestly, without going to school somewhere and making good grades.</p>
<p>And because I don’t know you, but I do know my daughter, even I keep wondering, are you well enough to go to school full time? </p>
<p>Before calling, though, I’d start by scoring their Web sites. But I must say, I did have a very useful and encouraging conversation about my daughter with an admissions representative at our in-state public’s second-best campus. Based on that, I guess I’d say yes, read the wen sites and then call, because yours really is an unusual case. </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>
Er…scouring. I should really learn to proofread before posting from my phone.</p>