<p>The daughter of a friend developed an unusual medical condition in high school that caused chronic pain, which in turn was treated with medication that induced an overlay of fatigue, which in combination produced frustration, stress, and [idiomatically] depression.</p>
<p>The daughter is very bright but her grades suffered, as did test scores (though she qualified for extra time for the latter). Based on indirect measures, one would expect that without the medical problems she would have been top 5-10 percent (at demanding, "known" private school) with commensurate test scores. </p>
<p>She is going to be a senior this year and defining an application pool appears problematic. I know that some colleges are more holistic and elastic than others in considering extraordinary situations. </p>
<p>Does anyone have some informed suggestions of schools to look at?</p>
<p>If it helps, as of now she'd be looking for a major/minor combo along the lines of History (British India) and Theater (Writing).</p>
<p>Probably has outstanding recs. Bright girl from a bright family, etc. etc. etc.</p>
<p>How much did her grades and test scores suffer?<br>
If the recs are going to be outstanding, I'm assuming that they will address her health issues and their effect on her performance.</p>
<p>Friend of mine has a D who went to Uof C and majored in the Classics but her main EC was in theater. She has stayed in the Chicago area after graduation to continue being involved in theater. U of C is one of the top schools for South Asian studies. Columbia, Princeton, Brown, Cornell also have strong programs. Among public universities, I would suggest UCLA, UW-Madison and Michigan.</p>
<p>I'm guessing that her grades were B to B+ instead of A- to A. </p>
<p>I was relayed the story and did not want to be more intrusive, though I realize hard data would be helpful.</p>
<p>My sense, a priori without specific knowledge, is that most of the Ivies won't take a chance and make allowances for a student based on this kind of situation. I'd be happy to be knowledgeably informed otherwise.</p>
<p>TheDad, no cost or geo restraints? And are we to assume that the crisis has passed and she is fully back up to pre-health crisis speed? </p>
<p>Obviously my brain went straight to the test optional schools who can be very creative in admissions for a full payor. How low is low on the standardized tests? If significantly lower than the college profile , I think it's best to let rec's and GC handle the GPA drop and omit test scores all together. It is my belief that they will look more kindly on a crisis impacted GPA then a crisis impacted one day test that can be re-taken now, after the crisis. IOW, the college might say "we understand that the crisis impacted last November's SAT and her last year's grades, but what about the SAT she could have taken in May or the one this September? Is the crisis still impacting her ability to do college level work? " </p>
<p>Im sure you know all this, but if her crisis is resolved and she is stable and her grades are back to normal, is going to be a different scenario than if it will be an ongoing concern</p>
<p>Schools do make allowances if the lapse is explained and it isn't reoccuring.
BUt I imagine with the increase in students with emotional/physical health problems- and the costs to support those students- some schools are going to be more wary.</p>
<p>I agree with Curmudgeon about the SATs. If they are not disastrous, they can be submitted with explanation. But it would be better still to retake. Most schools ask for only two SAT-IIs and only a few ask for SAT-IIs to begin with, so even for EA/ED, she could retake both SAT and SAT-IIs and be okay time-wise. If the health problem is over and her grades go back up in senior year, she should be in good shape.</p>
<p>If the health issue has not been resolved, is likely to occur, or if this girl may need further regular medical attention (perhaps from her doctors at home), then she will have a different set of search criteria when it comes to colleges than most. In that case, the priority may be identifying schools that are located in areas where she can get the medical attention she needs - or may need - in a timely and convenient basis.</p>
<p>Additionally, if the condition is on-going, then another priority should be investigating which schools have the most flexible policies about working with students with medical conditions that may interfer with schoolwork. Unfortunately, not all schools are equally understanding, even though the student may have a confirmed "disability." These schools are also the ones that are most likely to make some allowances for her medically-caused academic weaknesses.</p>
<p>Which leads me to my last point: if there is any chance that this condition will be recurring or require special accomodations in the academic setting (i.e., allowances for missed classes, etc.), then another priority needs to be getting up to speed on her rights under the ADA and making sure that she has the proper documentation to protect those rights.</p>
<p>In the end, I wouldn't start by worrying about which schools she can get into, but by figuring out which schools will have the support and medical services she may need.</p>
<p>Of course, I'm assuming that this is an on-going medical situation. If it is not, then Marite and Curmudgeon's suggestions are good places to start. For a list of SAT optional schools, see <a href="http://www.fairtest.org%5B/url%5D">www.fairtest.org</a> However, most SAT optional schools place greater emphasis on grades if test scores are not submitted, so that may also be problematic if both are low. </p>
<p>Please remind the family that there are MANY excellent schools out there where a bright student can be challenged that would be willing to overlook a temporary dip in grades or so-so test scores.</p>
<p>I think the pain issues still remain but that the capacity to do college level work is being demonstrated, albeit probably not at the level without the medical condition. My sense is that while rare on one hand, the condition does not require particularly exotic treatment on the other.</p>
<p>But the second paragraph of Carolyn's post is on point. I just haven't a clue as to how to determine from scratch what schools would be a) good admissions bets and b) good about making accommodations as necessary during schooling.</p>
<p>I commend you for trying to help your friend's daughter. If her disability is medical, it might actually help her chances for admission to some colleges if she is able to demonstrate through her essays how it changed her as a person. Young people who face illness often have a maturity beyond their years.</p>
<p>Almost every college (in fact, I suspect every college) has an office that helps disabled students, typically through the student services office. Any accommodation due to a medical condition would be handled through that office. It is a good idea to identify colleges that appeal to the applicant and to contact the disability office early in the application process for information about the requirements for disability status and available accommodations. If the disability would prevent the college from accepting the applicant (a possibility that I think is remote, unless the disability causes the applicant to be suicidal or dangerous), then I think the student probably wouldn't be happy there anyway. A disabled student needs willing assistance from the college, and it doesn't help to be coy about what is needed. </p>
<p>Some colleges offer excellent accommodations and assistance, while some are mediocre in their support for disabled students. It's better for an applicant to inquire early and often so s/he can take that into account in deciding where to apply, just as an applicant would check out the academic quality, dorms, location, food, etc.</p>
<p>Finally, you might look in the Learning Differences Forum. There are a few threads in that Forum that deal with medical disabilities.</p>
<p>My inclination (not an informed opinion) would be to look at smaller schools where she would be unlikely to fall through the cracks if medical issues arose. Skidmore, Centre, Bryn Mawr come to mind. I am not familiar with Catholic women's schools (only have one kid - a son), but this also might be a good venue.</p>
<p>Marite mentioned U of C - although it is larger, it does have a residential house system that includes <em>resident</em> masters and heads, as well as the more usual ra's. At least at my son's house, there's plenty of support when needed. </p>
<p>Best wishes to your friends, TheDad. I think better times will be coming for them.</p>
<p>I agree with Carolyn about the importance for the young lady and her family to find a school that would be comfortable for them. I know that I am grateful that my kids attended schools that were on major air routes so that direct flights were available. Their schools were about a half hour from the respective airports, so it was easy to just get a cab to and from the airports. For someone who has health issues that include fatigue, this could be an important consideration. When I think about some of the schools we visited that were not so accessible, during our college searches, I feel fortunate that they did not end up at one of those. I am getting old and tired, and too many hours of travel takes a lot out of me. Also some campuses are built on hills, do not have a good internal transportation system, are spread out, etc. Some have old buildings that do not have airconditioning, old dorms without elevators, and other physcal conditions that can make life difficult on a daily basis. The health center and accessibility to a hospital and doctors that can treat her condition in the event of a crisis are also important factors. </p>
<p>I am a great fan of LACs for most kids, but for kids who need a little extra attention, the smaller schools tend to be more like family with faculty caring and paying attention to the students' individual situations. </p>
<p>A good education can be found at many schools, so a school that can support her personally should be the main criterion. This family definitely should visit the school and talk to administrator there about the resources available for a student like this young lady.</p>