Impact of Large Number of Absenses

Applying to College
1

I was wondering what the impact of a large number of absences has on a student’s admissions chances.

My school reports the number of absences on the transcript, and I’ve missed quite a bit of school. I have excellent grades, no problems with truancy etc, it’s just that it’s a LOT of school missed.

Freshman year it was 14 days, sophomore year 21 days, junior years looks like it will be around 37 to 42. The reason is twofold:
-I suffer from anemia and can procure doctor notes for about 10 of the days per year, more for junior year since I was out for two weeks for illness
-I am a national circuit debater and travel a lot to tournaments, which results in lots of school missed, it also explains why the number increases each year as I go to more national tournaments

This has not impacted my grades, recommendations, or anything else. I have spoken to my counselor and attendance office, and this is not a problem for them. My question is: based solely on the number alone with no other problems, will missing over 20 or 30, or 40 days of school hurt my admissions chance? Should I clarify, and if so how?

2

This really depends on your school’s policy. My school doesn’t allow teachers to lower a student’s grade if they miss a lot of school. I do research and as a result, I travel very often to competitions, conferences, and to give talks around the country. As a result, I’ve also missed a lot of school. I also suffer from anemia and other health conditions and I often have to randomly miss school in the middle of the week for appointments, so I understand your problem.

Unless your teacher has a legitimate reason to give you a lower grade (homework missing, low test scores), then you should be fine. Also, as long as your absences are within the limits of your school (ours is 15 consecutive absences) then you should be fine. Just make sure to talk it over with your teachers before and after your competitions and whatnot.

3

I don’t really think it will be an issue…mostly they look at GPA and SAT.

4

The GC at our school, tells kids to watch their absences, so I do think it is looked at. But is probably is not a huge factor