<p>Any thoughts on this? My kid is well and ready to go off to college but wonder what your thoughts are on how colleges view this kind of thing. She did write openly about it in her supplemental essay which I can see as a positive and also a negative. She applied to some pretty good schools. Do you think she will be penalized? Do you think schools might be afraid of the liability?</p>
<p>--exceptional student in very competitive high school
--hospitalized for a month sophomore spring. "finished" school year in summer school but was not very comprehensive and didn't follow curriculum. Given passes
--junior year okay but could not finish last quarter. Was given passes
--GPA messed up due to passes etc. SAT near 2000
--senior year was independent study and 3 community college courses (A's)
--explained lapses in record very honestly in supplemental essay
--very stable, no recurrence of illness
--loved by teachers and counselors who wrote very strong recommendations
--has done very interesting things on own
--on a gap year</p>
<p>applied to some pretty competitive private colleges and state schools as well. Thoughts?</p>
<p>Some schools may be concerned about liability, but I doubt this will be a big factor either way. I would expect her to have results similar to any other student with the same record and scores.</p>
<p>No reason why she cannot go to a competitive school. However, I would look at the schools she applied to, and see if any of them have programs to help/mentor/monitor or whatever you want to call it for students with mental health problems. Or a proactive counseling program for students with mental health history. If they have a program, they may be more open about her application than others. </p>
<p>Or maybe not…</p>
<p>I am sure that this is one more of the unknown aspects of applying to colleges that keeps parents up at night. So many things for us to think/worry about! And not many have great answers for us.</p>
<p>I would just make sure she isn’t applying to schools that are more competitive and cut throat on campus. </p>
<p>The way I look at it - and I have a son with learning disabilities - if they don’t want him because of it, he’s better off not to be accepted in the first place. </p>
<p>Good for her for doing so well, moving forward and making plans for the future. I’d hate to have every bobble along the way be held against me forever. I hope the same holds true for her.</p>
<p>Thanks for your messages. She applied to pretty arty colleges where the competitiveness seems to come from within. She is not a competitive person by nature, except within herself of course. She is coming out of an extremely competitive school which is a real turn off for her. She is one of those kids who loves to learn for learning sake. I tried to stay out of things too much, and now I realize I made a mistake. Fortunately, she has applied to schools pretty close to home. We have tried to treat her illness as any other, but wonder if the stigma will chase her into college since she disclosed it in her essay about why her transcripts were a little unusual.</p>
<p>She is in a good place, and both her therapist and psychiatrist have no reservations about her plans. I am guessing her school counselor’s recommendation will address it?</p>
<p>Yes, I have. The key is to have a lot of options. Make sure she’s got a real safety where she is a guaranteed admit or very close. If she does well in her first year or two, she may have transfer possibilities at schools that are wary right now.</p>
<p>Why would she apply to very competitive schools where she found such unhappiness in a very competitive school? Sounds counter intuitive to me. However, this said, I would sincerely hope her honesty would work to her benefit vs it being held against her. As long as she also included how she handles current stresses in her life with success, I think writing about it shows a growing sense of maturity.</p>
<p>Hi Modadun: I think all colleges are competitive to get INTO these days. We are looking for a place that is academically high quality but more collaborative/supportive than her very competitive high school. </p>
<p>Point well taken on your part though, and has made me pause for thought a bit. While she is back to her old self again, it is of course possible for her to experience difficulties in the wrong environment (or even the right one I guess) but she and her family prefer to be optimistic that her troubles were part of her adolescent struggle, and we are grateful the problems she had didn’t rear their head once she was away at college.</p>
<p>Our daughter illness didn’t present itself fully until her freshman year at school. She was also at an extremely competitive school (yeah i know everyone says their HS is competitive). At the time when she was applying to schools, we didn’t really have any reason to consider her future mental health needs but here are the things we would have considered if we knew then what we know now:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>On campus mental health resources, trained in treating your daughter’s condition. If she’s currently seeing a therapist and psychopharm at home, how will her therapy be managed when she is away at school.</p></li>
<li><p>What is the school’s policy for accomodations to her studies. Will she need to have a smaller room to take exams? Will she need a note taker if she is too anxious in large classes to take adequate notes. Does the school allow for therapy pets on campus. Can she record her classes. Do most of the classes have mandatory attendance. Are there a good selection of classes at different times of the day in case she is more of a late night person rather than 8:00am. Can she take a reduced study load and or elect classes as pass/fail in case the work load becomes to taxing?</p></li>
<li><p>How close will she be to home? She may need to have more frequent trips home during the weekends to recharge. Is the size of the school suitable for her needs</p></li>
<li><p>What are the policies for leaves of absences, and what if any are the impacts to scholarships/financial aid. Also is the fin aid dependent on a certain GPA?</p></li>
<li><p>If she needs to take a semester off, will she be out of synch with the rest of her degree program or are the same classes offered in both spring and fall. Some smaller schools only offer classes in a sequence with the fall classes a prereq for the spring ones. What is the policy for transfer credits in the event she may want to take some classes over the summer to lighten the load.</p></li>
<li><p>Not knowing your financial situation, you might want to imagine what it would be like for your family if you end up paying a full 1-2 semesters of tuition where she could potentially drop out mid-way through or fail all her classes. If you can afford to eat that cost with zero resentment toward her, then hey Id say money isnt an issue. However if the very thought of paying a years worth of tuition for naught has you squirming, Id say finances should be way ahead of the ranking of the school. If the worst happens and she needs to take time off, shell likely feel awful but having a huge monetary issue hanging over the her and you will make things so much worse Id imagine.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I know this doesnt specifically answer your question about how her illness might impact her admission process but thought Id share with you some other considerations. At the end of the day, no one, not you, your daughter, nor her doctors know exactly what it will be like for her. My advice would be to stack the deck as much in her favour as possible from the beginning. Getting into competitive school wont make one bit of difference if she ends up leaving after a semester or 2 or 4 because it doesnt work for her. Have an honest discussion about her vulnerabilities and look for the school that best meets those needs and as well as any needs she might have, rather than look at specific programs, rankings, and the like. Shes got all the time in the world to figure it out. Theres always grad school!</p>
<p>Caymandriver07; you have given me much to think about, and I appreciate your thoughtful and smart reply. Divorced so money a big issue. I giess in my simple mind she is “cured” but suspect that is magical thinking on my part.</p>
<p>How about thinking of it this way, instead of “cured”: she has recovered from an illness and is now well. In her state of wellness, she can head off to college. The important thing will be to keep her well there. If anything should trigger or derail her while there, she should have some tools to get herself back on track as quickly as possible. Perhaps she should write a WRAP plan, “Wellness Recovery Action Plan” while at home with you, so she can recognize for herself, and quickly, when things are going awry and know what to do quickly to regain her balance.</p>
<p>As for caymandriver07’s point #6, you may want to look into tuition insurance policies. Somewhere here in Parents there is a thread about them. I have good friends whose daughter lost multiple semesters of college because of mental health issues. The tuition insurance policy that they eventually bought helped ease some of the financial issues that arose from her withdrawing from school so many times.</p>