How do top colleges view med leave?

Parents Forum
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<p>(I posted this in "College admissions" as well, but as this is a fairly big decision to make, I'm posting this here as well because I'd like as many opinions as possible.)</p>

<p>Hi, I'm a high school senior who is currently seriously considering taking the rest of the school year off on medical leave and coming back and re-applying to colleges next year due to mental illness. While my family and I think this is best for my health, I'm wondering how top colleges (i.e, HYPSMC) would view such a situation. With the exception of my senior year grades which were not very good due to my health, I'm an extremely strong candidate, and I'm wondering if taking the rest of the year off will completely destroy any chances I have at top colleges next year, given my stats. (Ask me to PM stats as I would like to maintain anonymity.)</p>

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<p>If you need a leave to get treatment for a mental illness, what colleges might think needs to not be a concern. You need to take care of yourself NOW or you might be dealing with a more serious situation when you get to college. You and your counselor can explain the situation when it comes time to apply next year.</p>

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<p>Bump, and thank you for the advice.</p>

4

<p>Actually, we were in the same boat with our S who already submitted college aps two years ago. He barely got out of high school, ended up at HYPSM and bombed. Withdrew and is finally back. </p>

<p>By all means you need to stop school and take care of yourself.
You also need to get a high school diploma and finish your aps now while you are not a mystery that will need disclosing if you wait to apply in a year.</p>

<p>With the pending deadlines-- didn’t you already start applications? Aren’t teacher recommendations and transcripts and test scores already in so you would need to withdraw the applications already in progress.</p>

<p>I have abetter idea!</p>

<p>Finish the applications.</p>

<p>Get Incompletes in all your courses and have your family work with your school to get a Intervention plan. Essentially, as long as these are not classes needed for graduation (and I’m assuming not since if you are HYPSM material, probably already have all you need perhaps except the unit in English).
You should focus on only completing the bare minimum of courses LATER that you need to graduate by the end of the summer.</p>

<p>By all means, get your high school diploma even it means self study at home with unlmited time, yadaa yadaa.</p>

<p>When you GC/School sends the mid-year report, the grades will all be Incompletes and your counselor will attach a non-specific note. No college will suspect anything -it could be mental illness and for goodness sakes – it could be mono, or even a broken leg from a sports accident! It doesn’t matter- and no one will ask because they are precluded from doing so by law and your GC is precluded by FERPA from releasing your health issues as well.</p>

<p>If you are accepted anywhere, take a one year deferral - and continue to focus on your good health.</p>

<p>In 18 months you will be in a better position!</p>

<p>Best of luck to you!</p>

5

<p>I think it is hard to answer this without knowing what you mean by “mental illness,” but I realize the demands of anonymity prevent you from offering more details.</p>

<p>If your illness is sufficiently severe to require withdrawal from school, you can either finish applications now so that you have the option of going in the fall, or you can wait and do applications for spring or fall 2013. I think that depends on whether you are feeling up to doing the applications, essays, getting the recommendations and so on.</p>

<p>You could finish high school at home, via tutoring or some other method.m (One of my kids had a chronic illness in high school, and teacher filled out sheets every day for her with what was done in class, homework, notes, any tests or quizzes, grades missing, and so on. It worked great, but she did the work completely on her own.)</p>

<p>You could finish high school in other ways. Dual enrollment at a community college, extension or continuing ed or online courses at other colleges/universities; you can get a GED (and if you are waiting to apply, you could get a head start by taking classes after the GED if you like); there are also schools that will compile all your classes and activities and grant a diploma from afar, based on requirements that are sufficiently rigorous (not diploma mills). There are also schools affiliated with mental health facilities, that might serve your purpose.</p>

<p>There seem to be quite a few students at top colleges with mental health issues. Many are revealed after admission. You or your guidance counselor may have to present some sort of explanation for withdrawal from school. One advantage to applying next fall would be that you could present the problem as being treated, and would be seen as having overcome an obstacle that is difficult. If you did well in classes/jobs after treatment, that would help a lot. (This is what Harvard asks of students who go on leave for mental health reasons, after matriculating, in order for them to return.)</p>

<p>I wonder why you want to go to an Ivy type school. There are many schools that would be available to you, and I would encourage you to look at many options. Not that you cannot get in, or handle the work, just that there are so many wonderful schools out there “beyond the Ivies.” </p>

<p>In any case, getting into Harvard or Yale is not a priority at the moment. Do what you need to get healthy, then you will have more perspective on your future. Things will work out in many places: the important thing is to get well, or, perhaps more appropriately, get a handle on living with the illness and managing it.</p>