High School Medical Leave of Absence

Applying to College
1

My son is a high school freshman. His doctor is recommending that he take a 6 month medical leave of absence. Do you have any suggestions for how to handle this situation? The prospects are good that my son will return within 6 months and he will repeat the classes that he is unable to complete.

How do most high schools treat grades for students in this situation? Do students receive a W, I or F for their incomplete classes? When they repeat these classes do the grades for the repeat classes serve as the final grade for the class or do they average the grades for the original and repeat class?

How do college admissions boards treat students who take a medical leave of absence during high school? Do they ignore grades assigned by high schools when students are out on medical leave? Or do they make any adjustments to the student’s high school GPA for admissions purposes?

I would love to hear your thoughts about this. I want to do whatever can be done to minimize any negative impact this might have on my son’s admission to college.

Thanks. I hope that you and yours are surviving during this difficult economic time.

2

I was in a similar situation in 7th grade. My parents found out from a friend that our county provided home instructors to teach me at home on my schedule while I was on medical leave so I would not miss anything. My illness was much longer term than it sounds like your son’s is. The downside to this was that at the time I was in private school, and they would not accept the home instruction lessons. After middle school I had to transfer to the local public high school where it was no problem.
I would check with your school district and see if they provide a similar program, especially if he is in a public school.
Hope this helps.