<p>And I am extremely worried that he might not get into any of the schools he applied to. His teachers describe him as an exceptionally bright kid, and his ACT is in the top one percent of the score range. Unfortunately, his grades are on the lower side. He is a typical teenager, except for the fact that he has been in recovery since age fifteen.</p>
<p>At age fifteen he was legitimately close to death, with his bod weakened by heavy consumption of various narcotics. My husband and I sent him to what we believed to be the best treatment center in the US for adolescent substance abuse. He stayed in treatment for four months, and since then he has continued to make positive choices. My son does not shy away from the fact that he spent time in treatment, and many people in our community know. He is so unashamed that he even disclosed his time in treatment on many of his applications.</p>
<p>I personally tried to dissuade him from revealing this, worried that it could affect him negatively during the admissions process. However, he was determined to write about it, so in the end my husband and I allowed him to. </p>
<p>Does anybody else on this site have a child with a similar issue? How did that issue affect their college acceptances? (In this case, it is important to note that my son is applying to very highly ranked universities in liberal arts colleges.)</p>
<p>That’s what my son said, saying that it will make him stand it. While I agree, I just hope it will be in a positive way. He seems to have researched the topic well, but I have yet to find another parents who has been through a similar experience. Most 15 year olds don’t have a need to get sober, so even in the AlAnon groups I have had a hard time finding similarities between the stories shared by other parents, since most of them had much older children. </p>
<p>My son is also applying to some more liberal institutions, which will hopefully be more accepting. For instance, I assume that Brown will be much more understanding that, say, Vandebilt would be. Of course, it would depend on the admissions officer reading his application as well.</p>
<p>worried, congrats to you and your family for his recovery.
it must be worrying to you BUT one word of caution…if he has applied to highly ranked universities etc…he may also have actually applied to some that are very selective with acceptances rates of 20% or less…some may be 10%. you will never know why he wasnt accepted if he isnt…just remind yourself that 9 out of 10 kids werent either and it may have nothing to do with his history! please stay strong for him if he gets denials and be sure he has some strong safeties on his list with safe acceptance rates that match his scores etc, then he will have schools he likes that he can go to and do well.</p>
<p>Thanks, parent56. I have been telling myself that as well. it just can be so difficult because I feel as if I am always quick to jump to the conclusion that my son is being discriminated against on that facet of his character alone. He does have some safeties on his list, as well as some schools with strong family legacies. </p>
<p>It is just very difficult to predict where he will get in. His grades dropped significantly sophomore year due to the time he spent in treatment. Because of this, most of his schools on the “Naviance” (sp?) list his test scores as being green and his gpa as being red. (Green=above red=below). He is lucky in that his school does not report GPA or test scores, it is just a bit difficult because his unique circumstances make it difficult to decipher which schools would qualify as safeties. He is the first of my children to apply to college, so that also has made the process a bit more difficult.</p>
<p>colleges will require his gpa… there are some schools/colleges that dont require test scores though.</p>
<p>what does he want to major in? what area of the country, what can you handle financially etc. if you feel comfortable posting his scores…maybe some here can help with a few ideas for safeties… you can pm me if you like also…</p>
<p>It is a sign of his strength and commitment to sobriety that your son has been open and unashamed of his time in treatment. This is excellent news, and is a strong sign that he takes his addiction problem seriously. He should be very proud of himself. He will need to keep this attitude if he wants a chance to stay sober in college. The peer pressure to drink and/or use drugs could be very intense, so I hope he continues to be proud of what he has accomplished, and continues to be vocal about his intention to stay clean. Without that, he could relapse very quickly away at school. Addiction is very difficult to overcome, and the fact that he has done so (so far) is fantastic. He may want to look into schools that have special programs for students in recovery. (He will always be “in recovery.”) Here is a good article:
[Colleges</a> reach out to recovering addicts - Chicago Tribune](<a href=“Colleges reach out to recovering addicts”>Colleges reach out to recovering addicts)
and another:
[More</a> Colleges Institute Recovery Programs | The Partnership at Drugfree.org](<a href=“Drug and Alcohol News Archive - Partnership to End Addiction”>Drug and Alcohol News Archive - Partnership to End Addiction)
And here is a list of colleges that have recovery programs. I have no idea if it is complete:
[College</a> Members](<a href=“http://www.recoveryschools.org/schools_college.html]College”>http://www.recoveryschools.org/schools_college.html)</p>
<p>Again, you and your son should be very proud. Good luck in the future. Where he ends up going to college is FAR less important than his ability to stay strong in the midst of the peer pressure to party. So, if he IS rejected at any school, he can realize that he has other options available, and that he may ultimately consider any rejection to be a blessing. He needs to control his environment to lessen the temptation to fall. He may or may not have the maturity to stay straight at this time. Many “recovered” addicts fail after years of sobriety and thousands spent on rehab. It’s not easy, and again, your son must be an awesome kid to have succeeded thus far. I have a feeling he’ll be one of those who continues to succeed. But he might need more support than he currently thinks that he does. All the very best to you both!</p>
<p>Well his school is a small independent school, so on the common app he reported N/A per direction of his guidance counselor. He submitted his test scores to all of his schools though (he has a 34 ACT and a high SAT/SAT Subject tests, although I’m not sure of the breakdown). </p>
<p>He wants to major in psychology, and is determined to become a clinical psychologist. He wants to work with teenagers with substance abuse issues. </p>
<p>We can handle anything financially, and he wants to stay on the east coast.</p>
<p>So far he has already applied to Brown, UVA, Colgate, Haverford, Vanderbilt, Cornell, Northwestern, Swarthmore, Davidson, Georgetown, and a few others. I personally think he needs more safeties; he doesn’t.</p>
<p>He has already applied to his schools though, this thread is more just to see if anyone else has had a similar experience, in the hopes of quelling my anxiety in the weeks leading up to April 1.</p>
<p>As of now, he thinks Colgate should be a safety for him (He loves it though, and would go over some other schools on his list.) I forgot to mention that he also applied to Trinity and St. Lawrence, and even though his stats are good enough, they seemed to me to be a bit conservative and therefore might be apprehensive about accepting a student like him. He also was deferred from UChicago, although he was pressured to apply by his guidance counselor, who said that UChicago would be open to his experiences. He doesn’t like the school, he thinks the kids won’t be social enough.</p>
<p>Also, its important to mention that the reason he says he considers Colgate to be a school he can probably get into is because virtually every family member on his fathers side of the family has gone there for generations.</p>
<p>his act score is good for them, acceptance rate is only 29% though. i’m going to cross my fingers and think good thoughts for him!! after what he has gone through and succeeded at, it would be wonderful for him to be at the school he really wants!</p>
<p>He told me that allegedly the legacy admit rate is 46.5%, which is think is what he used to stand by his assumption that he will get in. My father-in-law also has close ties with the head of admissions which should help.</p>
<p>And I hope he will be happy as well. He actually most wants to attend my school, UVA, partially because they have a hoos in recovery program. (Which I noticed again on a link above, thanks Sopranomom92!) Unfortunately, this school relies heavily on GPA, and I do not have multiple family members that have attended the school and nor have I donated large amounts of money. We are also out of state.</p>
<p>I have to agree that most colleges will look at him very favorably. He had a HUGE hurdle to overcome (and is still overcoming) and excelled. These are the things that “set a kid apart” from the rest of the kids. Many schools also have substance free dorms, etc. to help promote a safe environment for kids that can’t or don’t want to be around drugs and alcohol too. While I would agree, as a mom, that it would be nice to have ONE school that is a SURE thing. Good luck to him!!</p>
<p>i hope to read in few months that he was accepted to his top pick!!! have you asked about admission rates etc, on the uva forum? they may have insight…</p>
<p>I haven’t asked, but I’ve talked extensively with my friends from UVA who have children applying this year. Through what I have learned through my friends and through the admissions officers, UVA tends to place a great emphasis on GPA. I have encouraged him to e-mail the director of recovery services, although he has yet to do so, I believe.</p>
<p>Chemical dependency is a crafty nemesis. A hallmark of this disease is relapsing. A big change, ie going off to college–is a time to be extra vigilant. Stack the deck in your son’s favor.</p>
<p>I would have your son’s ability to maintain his sobriety trump all other considerations. I would do everything possible to determine if a college’s culture is amenable to staying sober. I would take anything a college tells you with a grain of salt. All of them say they have plenty of students who don’t party excessively, and that a sober person will be able to find like minded people to hang with. In many cases, this is wishful thinking. Have your son talk to a number of students who are in recovery at each college he is considering.</p>
<p>How about checking with your son’s treatment center? They may have some practical suggestions in this regard.</p>
<p>That said, I’m sending empathy your way, imagining what you’ve gone through thus far with your son. And kudos to your son for turning his life around. (And BTW, a 34 ACT–awesome!) Best wishes.</p>
<p>Your son went through treatment at age 15 and has had a couple of years since then to show sustained improvement. Hopefully he has an upward trend in GPA and progressive involvement in ECs. If so, that upward trend should demonstrate that he has turned himself around, and should count in his favor.</p>
<p>Try not to worry too much. Have faith, and let your positive energy support his growth through this process.</p>
<p>OP - I am a Colgate alum also. I agree with MNFlyer, I would focus on your son’s continual recovery. Right or wrong, some adcoms may worry about your son’s possible relapse and their liability. For a school like Colgate, at a remote rural setting, the questions is would there be sufficient support for your son.</p>
<p>As mentioned by mihcal1, your son already has had a couple of years to show sustained improvement, so it would give those schools some comfort that your son will be successful in college. </p>
<p>If you haven’t done so, I am wondering if it would make sense for you to send an email to Colgate (or any school your son is very interested in) to let them how you are going to continue to support your son, local professional services you have looked into, and a letter from your son’s doctor(s). I think schools may feel better if they knew that the parents will continue to monitor the student and be there if there is any issues. As you are aware, Colgate has a big drinking culture. I loved my time there, but it was something we did a lot.</p>
<p>I completely agree about the threat of relapse being a big one. Luckily, his situation is a bit different (substance abuse combined with a mental health disorder), so hopefully keeping the disorder in check will lessen his chances of a relapse. He is nervous about that too, so has tended to research either schools with substance free housing/support networks, or schools where we have family or he has close friends that can act as a support network.</p>
<p>I agree that in this process I have often taken for granted that my son will stay on the “straight and narrow.” Since it was over two years ago, I tend to assume that he is fine, but yet I know that there is always a possibility of something horrible happening, even though my son knows he doesn’t want to deal with it again. Still, I think I would definitely be much more apprehensive had the time he spent in treatment occurred during junior year than sophomore year, as he has had a good amount of time spent clean now, especially compared to the amount of time he was using substances.</p>