A quick correction to my post above: 300 points (neurons) in a conventional computer would need 2^300=10^90 units of storage, not 10^90 possible connections. The C-elegans with 300 neurons has only 7,000 connections (not all of 300! ~ 10^600 possible connections) https://www.ted.com/talks/sebastian_seung?language=en
Spaceship, did you live on campus? I went to a relatively large school for undergraduate and made very close friends, but I made most of them in my dorm. I worry that when commuting to a large school, he won’t have classmates that he sees regularly (e.g. the students in his classes won’t overlap) and it will be harder for him to have that connection. Even if he lives at home, in a small school he’s likely to see the same students around campus, and in class, and at extracurricular activities, making it a little easier to connect.
Phoenixmom, I worry about the process being stressful too. It’s one of the reasons why we’re starting looking now, so we can take breaks if he needs them. Also, it’s why I’m asking one hundred questions. My experience is that it’s easier for him if I can confidently answer him when he asks questions, so I want to anticipate and have answers ready.
I think you are asking good questions and on the right track. These things are so tough to predict though, aren’t they?
I suggest making sure that access to care is a priority wherever he goes. It can be surprisingly difficult to find providers, even in some cities (we spent over 6 months getting my daughter set up with care in Seattle, and even after that have had to make a few psychiatrist changes for reasons beyond our control.)
My daughter realizes now that therapy/medical care comes first, classes second, and everything else is after that.
My DD has anxiety and she was diagnosed in HS. She got on medication and that helped alot. But she didn’t want tto go too far away for college…her max was 2 hours but she ended up at a good smaller in-state public only an hour away…close enough that she can come home in necessary/we can go out there and far enough where she is gaining some independence.
Also read this post about keeping up with medications…it can be an ordeal for them to keep up with:
Bopper, we will almost certainly limit our search to schools within a close radius. We live within an easy commute of 4 small schools that accept kids with stats, within 90 minutes of about 10 more, and within a 3 hour drive of 30 or so. So, unless something in application signals a red flag, then he should have some choices.
“I don’t know what other think and it may not matter, but I would think it might be better to have his transcript reflect W’s but not F’s.”
It matters. Ws beat Fs all day long and twice on Sunday. There can be college options even if the Fs stay put, but if they can be revised, that’s better.
In our district, when you withdraw from a class you get either WP, which indicates you had a passing grade on the day you withdrew or WF which indicates you had a failing grade on the day you withdrew. Neither is figured into your GPA.
There are no W’s. My son’s transcript for that semester has, I think 3 WF’s and 4 WP’s or maybe the other way around. He hadn’t been in school for about six weeks at the point I officially withdrew him, so in some subjects he had accrued enough missing assignments that he was failing.
I do think that compmom’s cancer analogy is a good one. If my kid missed six weeks of school for chemo, and then I withdrew him, I think colleges would accept that as a reason. In my mind this is no different, as he was too sick to attend school.
Maybe folks on this thread are interested in this new DARPA initiative: “DARPA devotes $60M to making an implantable, wideband brain-computer interface” http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/221994-darpa-devotes-60m-to-making-an-implantable-wideband-brain-computer-interface
Some interesting quotes:
Potentially this will greatly facilitate medical research in mental illness, if patients willingly participate [great risks, no doubt]. Combined with progress in the human connectome project, the NESD initiative has a serious potential to produce new understanding/treatment/cure of mental illness over the next decade.
Some very nice tools for college students … if they can use and acquaint themselves with these at home before they go off to college, these may bring additional assurance and become a nice companion in the new college environment … http://www.forbes.com/sites/toriutley/2016/01/25/4-technologies-innovating-mental-health-in-2016/#2e915c402cc2
The 4th one may be covered by insurance, depending on your carrier.
Rhiannydd, are the WP’s and WF’s for students who remain in school? That was one thing I was wondering. Since your son withdrew entirely, should those be on his transcript? Can guidance just indicate he withdrew?
And for cancer, would a kid get WF’s at all?
I once spent an hour with a lawyer, for $150 (prices may have gone up!). Best money spent ever. I just have a feeling there are other possibilities here for repairing the record, so to speak.
I know your original question was how to present and explain the record, but I still think some of the record could be improved retroactively with an advocate’s help.
Compmom,
Our school’s policy is that if a student stays in a class for more than 30 days, it’s noted on their transcript. He attended longer than that, and then had another 6 or so weeks when he was not attending but was still enrolled, before we made the decision to withdraw him. Even if the transcript doesn’t say that he was withdrew, or that he hadn’t been attending when he withdrew (and thus was not passing, the failing grades were due to assignments that he didn’t complete and tests that he didn’t take because he wasn’t present), he’s still going to have to explain why he went to the school for 9th grade, and then didn’t start at the new school until January, and only earned 4 credits, and then attended a combination of both schools in 11th. I’m not sure I think that an unexplained gap of 6 months, would be better than the truth.
He’s come a long way, but we are still at a point where we are putting a lot of effort into supporting his mental health. I feel as though we need to keep an eye on the prize of his stability, and enhancing the support he gets now, not divert resources to fight with the school system about transcripts.
Does that make sense?
You and your child will find you way. To prepare for college, make sure to research tuition insurance, each school’s drop and withdrawal polices with their financial aid implications, and how well profs comply with approved accommodations. Make sure son is excellent in self-advocacy, negotiation, and understanding of his ADA rights and of college policy on student behavior and on satisfactory academic progress. Depression, anxiety, and panic disorders are a bear for students, as colleges assume and require that students be highly functioning every single week of the semester.
Adcoms seem to disfavor applicants that indicate any emotional or social difficulties. They’re concerned about fit as well as potential for academic success. And self-harm.
So, please consider that he might be most successful if he focuses on his positive social self and other interests and achievements outside of overcoming MI. His GC can simply explain his sophomore year by reporting the onset of a medical condition that required a long period of treatment. MI is best masked in admissions, imho.
Would that the world was different.
" Senate Judiciary hearing on Mental Health and the Justice System"
http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/meetings/breaking-the-cycle-mental-health-and-the-justice-system
going on right now —
Full Judiciary Committee
Date: Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Time: 10:00 AM