HELP! What should I do?

Applying to College
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<p>I'm currently a junior at an online academy. I was in a very good public school getting straight As, but had to change to the online school due to my diagnosis of Lyme Disease. The online school, though, is not at all what I was expecting. I wanted to make up my work from the time I was sick, but instead I feel further behind because of the school. The curriculum is laughably easy, and it is surprisingly constricting. There is also an extreme lack of communication between the staff there, and some of my teachers only answer the emails I give them weeks later! I've been sick of the school for a long time, but after they lost an entire semester of my work . . . I'm through!!! But now I don't know what to do. </p>

<p>Now that I'm done with my rant, I think I have three options. First, stay with the school that I hate and stick it out. Second, get my GED and move on with my life. Or third, go back to the public school in my area. I hate the online school, so I just don't know if I could handle sticking it out. At the same time, the local public school would hold me back because of what I missed when I was sick. The GED sounds okay, but then again I've heard that it's not as accepted when it comes to colleges.</p>

<p>I need your help. I WILL go to college, and I am very intelligent. But if I have to take two years of community college before transferring to university I guess I could live through it. I also live with an anxiety disorder, OCD, and many other assorted mental health issues, so public school would be VERY taxing. Ughh. . . . I just really need to figure out my next step, and I'd like you guys to weigh in. What do ya say? Help a girl out?</p>

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<p>bumpedy bump bump</p>

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<p>Don’t you take any medications? If you’re going to go to college, you might as well accustom yourself with a school environment.</p>

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<p>I agree, and yes I take many medications. They help a lot but don’t take care of the whole problem. I agree that being in a school setting would help me; it would just be extremely difficult to catch up and difficult due to anxiety. Though, the online method isn’t working at all. I also worry about transferring my grades. I’ve heard that other students of my online school have trouble getting their credits to transfer between schools. But I’ll be held back either way, so I don’t know if it matters to me. Does anyone else have any thoughts?</p>

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<p>Are you working with a counselor? I hope that person can help you with your choices. It’s hard to deal with anxiety and feeling lousy.
The online program seems to be the most flexible, but it’s isolating, and that’s probably not helping.
If you return to your high school and they hold you back, you will be with a different peer group, but that’s not a problem if you enjoy them.</p>

<p>If you get your GED and go on to CC, then you will be with people a little bit older than you, in a different situation than high school.</p>

<p>In high school, you will have to be in school the whole day, but in a CC, you can pick classes and a schedule (to some extent). Depending on your health, you could enrol in as many classes as you can handle physically and emotionally. It may be less stressful to start with even one class, to see how you handle it. </p>

<p>You might qualify for some accomodations/reduced workload, or whatever your school arranges for “other health impaired” - students with illness- in order to get through.</p>

<p>Beyond academics, I’m thinking about your social and developmental needs. Being isolated from peers, friends, and the things people your age do for fun is not fun for you. Online may give you academics, but without face to face contact with teachers and peers, it can be lonely.</p>

<p>Our local CC has school clubs, sports and other ways for students to get together. It’s not high school though. Do you want to have the school clubs, activities, prom- those high school events? If so, returning, even with kids a year younger is fine if you will make friends. Your CC may offer some opportunities too. </p>

<p>I am not suggesting you don’t have friends, but still being in an online class does not give you the same opportunity to meet new people. If you choose the CC route, you will have to take the initiative to join clubs and student groups. Anxiety may make this harder, but not having social experiences leads to isolation and that can make it feel worse. </p>

<p>The right choice for you is the one that meets your needs and the one you can succeed in. I hope you are working with a counselor. You’ve experienced the loss of your school environment, an illness, and now an online classes that you hate. That’s frustrating. A plan that you can succeed at would be more gratifying, and the counselor may also be able to communicate with the school on your behalf. Colleges will want to see you succeed, but more than that, you need a plan you can succeed at too. Graduating a year or so later is frustrating right now, but not a problem in the grand scheme of things as long as you have some successes. When you get to college, some students will be different ages, having taken a year off, worked first, or any other reason. </p>

<p>A counselor will help you make that plan, and it should include making new friends at whatever you pick.</p>

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<p>What advice have the people at your old school given you? If it is a public school system, they should be able to provide you with home or hospital tutoring. The quality of that dies vary from community to community, but it is your legal right.</p>

<p>You also could ask for advice in the Homeschooling and Parents forums. Change the title of your thread to something a bit more descriptive so that you get the attention of people who can advise you.</p>

<p>Wishing you all the best!</p>