<p>I've always been a A and B+ student but this year (my junior year) I got really depressed and missed a lot of school. (My attendance is 62%) All of my grades dropped a lot to C's and D's and I might have to repeat my junior year. I have attended an IB school since my freshman year but I'm moving to Montana this summer and I'll have to go to public school for my senior year so I won't even be able to sit for ib exams. My question is, would It be more wise for me to go into my new school as a junior or as a senior with a very poor gpa (if I can even pass this year). How will colleges view me taking junior year twice? Would I still be able to get accepted to good state schools? Or would it look bad to be in high school for 5 years and I'm better off just going to cc and then transferring after my senior year?
I need advice please I have no idea what to do. I always thought id go straight to college after high school but I never saw myself almost failing a year. </p>
<p>If you don’t mind me asking; why is it that you became so depressed? College admissions officers are human beings - they can understand difficult circumstances when they come across them. Did you undergo some serious ordeal as the result of personal or familial trauma? Something along those lines? </p>
<p>The reason I ask is that colleges might be more forgiving if your depression came about as the result of some serious issue or situation; like you had to take care of siblings as the result of a parent/guardian who was dying or you yourself became ill and missed some school, fell behind, and triggered a downhill descent. If you were depressed because, say, your girlfriend/boyfriend broke up with you - thats far less legitimate and won’t stand to help you.</p>
<p>In terms of repeating a year - you should do whatever you believe will best suit you in preparing for college (not what will “look better” in college admissions) – having missed so much of your Junior year, do you think you’re academically prepared to go onto senior year? Does your current performance indicate future success as a senior? Or do you believe you’d be better of repeating the year and ensuring that you’ll be more successful as both a junior and a senior, even if it means taking on another year and delaying graduation?</p>
<p>I don’t think that any cause for depression is any less “legitimate” than another. It’s possible to be depressed even if you don’t have any huge external problems. And anyway, I doubt that college admissions officers are really going to pry into your life to figure out the exact “cause”- they may understand that people are going through personal problems that they don’t really want to share with others, and they probably aren’t going to want to violate your privacy. Other than that I pretty much agree with what preamble1776 said. If you do repeat junior year, it won’t reflect too badly on you, especially since you might be able to do much better the second time around. I think that going right to senior year from such a poor junior year might not be the best decision academically. I hope you’re able to succeed whatever you do, though.</p>
<p>@preamble1776 my dad passed away during my freshman year and then I developed an eating disorder and was hospitalized for awhile at the end of my sophomore year. I’m doing a lot better now, recovery has just been hard and the depression is sticking. </p>
<p>Also, thanks for the advice preamble and @puellamagi. I really appreciate it and I think i’m just going to repeat the year. I think if I continued to my senior year it’d be too overwhelming and make matters worse. I’d rather make it right my junior year than proceed to mess up my senior year too. </p>
<p>In addition, although my reasons for depression are legitimate, do you think I should even mention it in my apps? I’m afraid they might take my mental health into account when making their decision. </p>