<p>I was chronically ill throughout the second semester of my sophomore year, and my grades suffered pretty badly as a result of that. Unfortunately, my parents are very "alternate," meaning that I didn't see the doctor once during a four month period of illness. (I've never been vaccinated, I'm not allowed to take aspirin/ibuprofen, I've never eaten meat, and I haven't been to the doctor since I was seven.) But that means I have no medical record and therefore no way of proving that I was actually sick. Is there anything I can do to explain this, or should I just take my lumps?</p>
<p>What? Are you a US citizen? How is it even possible that you’ve gone ten years without seeing a pediatrician?</p>
<p>There are lots of people that don’t see doctors regularly. Why would people that are committed to alternative medicine, etc even hae health insurance?
OP, use the space on applications to that allows you to “Tell them something” about your illness. You don’t need a docotr’s excuse, but if they check with guidance office, you could corroborate days off, etc.</p>
<p>Ahh thanks so much! I wasn’t sure if that would work or not, because everything else I have seen has mentioned a doctor’s note. (And yes, I am a U.S. citizen.)</p>
<p>Was your guidance counselor or someone at your school aware of this? I would assume so, and having a recommendation or personal letter sent to schools from someone of authority (as well as a personal statement from you) might be a good idea.</p>
<p>Many (most?) schools don’t allow students to attend without having visited a docutor annually, proof of vaccines, etc – or some proof of the school’s acceptance of the parents’ “alternative” approach. You will want to be very clear in your discussion how this situation came to be.</p>
<p>Yeah, both of my older siblings got some vaccinations once they turned 18 so that it wouldn’t be a problem when they went to college. I’ll do the same once I turn 18 myself!</p>