Need advice for my D

Parents Forum
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<p>Background:
D finished freshman year with a 3.8. Multiple EC's, mostly leadership. Honors classes mostly
Sophomore year was 3.8 as well. Same EC's. Honors and AP classes. Represented her HS at HOBY state and represented the state at HOBY international.
Junior year begins with a letter from Robertson Scholars program saying she is the type they look for and to 'consider Duke in your college search...stop by...yada yada' (actually visited and she crossed it off her list due to the environmental allergic responses she was having)
Second semester of her Junior year brought MULTIPLE health issues and significant absences. I was in near constant contact with the teachers, administrators and county to keep her school work up. Sadly, the school dropped the ball. D took most of her final exams after the school year was over-a few without any instruction over the fourth quarter material. At this point, we still do not know her Junior year GPA.
She just began her Senior year with the same courseload-all honors and AP courses-and the same EC's, although she is taking it a step up and starting a new school club. She's also running for secretary in the NEHS.</p>

<p>My question's:
How much will the bottoming out second semester of her Junior year effect her chances with college apps?
Should she address this in her essays?
If it will effect her, is there any counter-effect she could try?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

2

<p>I think she absolutely needs to address this in her essays. If there is a serious change in her grades, which it sounds like there will be, it’s not like they’re going to see it and not wonder what happened.</p>

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<p>“Second semester of her Junior year brought MULTIPLE health issues and significant absences.”</p>

<p>Her GC needs to address this. Your D should focus her essays on other subjects, things that highlight her strengths that would make her an appealing applicant.</p>

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<p>Thank you both!
I am actually still battling the school…turns out my D does not have allergies, she has ALLERGIES and we are struggling with allowing D to go to MD to get her shots twice/week during her study hall. Her GC has allergies and has not been very helpful thus far (example:when D turned in her last final exam, GC responded ‘finally!’), so I question her assistance in this situation. D has even thought she would ask a different GC to write her recs. Not sure if that’s even possible. Her principal on the other hand, seems the most sympathetic and recognizes my D’s abilities.</p>

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<p>Has your D taken any SAT or ACT exams? If so, how did she do?</p>

<p>Did she take the PSAT? </p>

<p>Her illness can be addressed in her essays and (hopefully) by her GC. Her GC may have allergies, but may not yet understand the severity of your daughter’s.</p>

<p>Do you think your D’s first semester senior year grades will be a better reflection of her abilities?</p>

<p>Junior year grades are important to colleges.</p>

<p>Does anyone know if admission officers eliminate applicants before getting to their essays? </p>

<p>What schools is your D considering? Is she including some good match and safeties just in case the top schools don’t admit her? </p>

<p>Would top schools be concerned that this student’s health issues would present obstacles to success? Or, would that not be a concern?</p>

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<p>Missed the ACT due to her reaction effects, but they project 30-34 and she is scheduled to take it in 3 weeks.</p>

<p>I think we anticipate her first semester this year will better reflect, yes.</p>

<p>As for the schools…we are still narrowing the list. Although, we are finding what was a match beginning Junior year is now a low reach. Schools that were low reaches are now high reach and all but removed from her list. She is looking mostly at LAS because she likes the average sizes. Does not want something the size of most public U’s and wants to be in the northern/mid-Atlantic states mostly. No southern schools because of the heat. On our road trip we visited: CM (too engineering); PSU (too big); Bennington (too small); Dartmouth (couldn’t find parking and gave up); BC (D’s new first pick); Brown (liked it, but not on her final list); Duke (was first pick going into the trip but eliminated due to allergies). Has kept GWU on her list, although she is concerned about enough ‘stuff’ to do in her off time. Colorado College, Evergreen, McDaniel, East TN State U, Fort Lewis, UC-Boulder, Lawrence, UVermont, U of I (U/C), Whitman all remain on her list (plus a few other LAS). </p>

<p>Incidentally, her English AP score was a 3, but she left one essay off because she was reacting to something and unable to finish. She did not end up taking her USH AP because she was ‘down for the count’.</p>

<p>As for the GC, not sure she is willing to entertain the severity of D’s reactions. One of her teachers last year presented D as a ‘slacker’ who was intentionally skipping class (in fact told her fellow classmates that) and has a few administrators following the same vein. I’m afraid her GC has fallen into that.</p>

<p>We are attempting a meeting with admin and teachers within the next two weeks to iron out accommodations should we end up with a repeat.</p>

<p>Her health is improving due to receiving allergy shots. My experience observing her is that her low-health points push her to work harder however, when the reactions/meds knock her down, she has to somewhat recover before tackling even the required work. </p>

<p>Thank you for bringing further issues to light so we can make sure they get addressed as well!</p>

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<p>What about all the wonderful LAC’s in the area? Certainly in crafting a class, admissions will look at all the wonderful activities that she does and consider the issues she has had with her junior year.</p>

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<p>“My experience observing her is that her low-health points push her to work harder however, when the reactions/meds knock her down, she has to somewhat recover before tackling even the required work.” </p>

<p>And how is she going to function at college with these ongoing health problems? It sounds like she is still trying to get all of this under control. Have you considered identifying a local college and letting her live at home? Because if you are constantly having to go to bat for her while she is in high school, things aren’t likely to get better when she is living off on her own. Some professors can be unaccomodating, as well.</p>

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<p>Givings…Great point! Allergies can very so much from city to city and certainly building to building that exposing a child with severe reactions (which they have to be to have this effect of OP’s D) to these changes can force an alteration in treatment and coping. Plants not generally used in Op’s town, but maybe used 100 miles away can be huge trigger to a fragile child. OP will not have the environmental control over who comes into contact with her D. What if D’s roommate comes from a house of animals…just because the animals aren’t in the room does not mean their allergens are not all over roommates stuff. Until the doctors get these allergies under control, maybe a gap year or a year in Op’s town would be in the best interest of D’s health.</p>

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<p><a href=“actually%20visited%20and%20she%20crossed%20it%20off%20her%20list%20due%20to%20the%20environmental%20allergic%20responses%20she%20was%20having”>I</a>*</p>

<p>Will she have this problem at most schools? Colleges tend to have lots of trees and flowers. It may be hard to discern from a visit, since the visit may be during a month when certain bothersome trees/flowers are not pollinating. What season did you visit Duke? In Spring/early summer?</p>

<p>One of her teachers last year presented D as a ‘slacker’ who was intentionally skipping class (in fact told her fellow classmates that) and has a few administrators following the same vein. I’m afraid her GC has fallen into that.</p>

<p>This is a huge violation of your D’s privacy and the principal should be made aware of this. The principal needs to tell all faculty that they are to never discuss anything about a student to other students. </p>

<p>Can you get some kind of letter from her doctor stating the level of severity and its effects on your daughter? I would then meet with each teacher, go over the letter, and remind them of confidentiality.</p>

<p>Missed the ACT due to her reaction effects, but they project 30-34 and she is scheduled to take it in 3 weeks.</p>

<p>Since your D’s projected scores range from “having a good chance” to “not having a good chance” for admittance to top schools, you need to have a range of schools to apply to. An ACT 30-32 would be lowish for top schools.</p>

<p>for instance…if she got an ACT 31, then for Vanderbilt she’d be towards the bottom of the class. See below…</p>

<p>Vanderbilt</p>

<p>Test Scores Middle 50% of First-Year Students</p>

<p>ACT Composite: 30 - 34 </p>

<p>So, an ACT 31 would be about the bottom 30% of the class. To be within the top 25% scores need to be an ACT 35 or 36 or similar SAT.</p>

<p>I’m not sure from your first post (mentioning Duke Scholars) if you’re interested in merit scholarships. Do you intend to be a “full pay,” do you want/need merit scholarships, or will you qualify for financial aid? If money is no object, then awesome, but if money will be an issue, you’ll need to take that into concern as well when picking colleges. Most colleges do not meet need. </p>

<p>If you’re interested in good sized merit scholarships, then your D’s stats need to be in the top 5-10% of the applicant pool. Of course some schools don’t give merit scholarships, so if desired, then carefully select schools that give scholarships.</p>

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<p>I seem to recall the common app has an optional essay where the applicant can address special reasons why your GPA is not representative, with this kind of thing exactly in mind.</p>

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<p>@givings & collegeshopping: I get where you are both coming from. Parent involement is required at these meetings otherwise I would not be there and D would be handling it. My involvement came about predominately due to her USH teacher and his HEPPA & HIPPA violations. D is still a minor. Can she handle this on her own? You bet! She has been a huge rock over the past few years going through losing her brother and almost losing me, so I know this is a minor hurdle for her. Although I do believe she places a higher value on her education than on her brother or I!!</p>

<p>@GTalum: She is keeping 2 schools in TN (where we are) on her list, but she is not a warm-weather girl. She HATED moving down here from northern IL after my son passed away and is itching to get back to a location where figure skating is a common activity rather than a scarcity.</p>

<p>@mom2collegekids: The Duke thing came about more because of her HOBY involvement I think. Probably qualify for federal aid; looking at student loans; she also has a trust fund. So while it is never really a ‘money is no object’ thing, private pay is a viable option.</p>

<p>(I’ll probably say this again and again) Thank you so much!!!</p>

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<p>Like others I am concerned about whether her health is stable. I also agree it’s hard to know what you’ll be allergic to in a particular area. My dh did his PhD with a prof at Caltech who didn’t find out he was allergic to desert grasses until after he’d moved out to California.</p>

<p>That said. While normally the GC is the ideal person to address the junior year grades, in this case I’m not sure I would trust her. The Common App allows you to submit supplemental materials and I would write a short statement that explains the drop in grades. I’d also see if you can get a letter from the doctor - especially if there is any danger that the GC will insinuate that the allergies are bogus.</p>

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<p>OP, I am so sorry for your loss. I agree with BrooklynDad about addressing these issues in the Common App’s optional question:</p>

<p>“If there is any additional information that you’d like to provide regarding special circumstances, additional qualifications, etc., please do so…”</p>

<p>I would think that addressing her health issues (and perhaps her brother’s death, if she feels comfortable) would have a place in this section. These really do sound like unusual circumstances.</p>

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<p>Actually, her health has been on a steady rise since starting on 3 injections twice per week! (insert ‘sigh’ here)</p>

<p>The passing of her brother occurred prior to high school however, since he had lifelong major health issues she is stronger through him which may be an essay point. I tend to think it’s a little too ‘sympathy fishing’ for me, but her apps are HER apps. My foundation has been and will always be “Your education belongs to you. It’s the only thing no one can ever take away from you. Take ownership of it and the pride in the sacrifices will follow.”</p>

<p>Thank you all for your advice, I think it has helped ME feel better that she will have some options.</p>

<p>@givings: Thank you. This Sunday will be 5 years and this has been a most challenging time for me. I appreciate your comfort.</p>

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<p>belive,</p>

<p>Wow do I understand! We went through a very similar situation. College admissions did not prove to be a problem. The gc addressed it and, despite a hit the semester kiddo was hospitalized twice (including emergency surgery 3 weeks before finals) ended up at some very good schools. </p>

<p>A suggestion: unless your dd’s junior grades are strong, do not apply ED. Your daughter will want to show strong senior grades. </p>

<p>The truth is the degree to which this affects your daughter depends on how hard her gpa was hit. Also, you haven’t listed scores and that will definitely affect where to aim. My advice is to get your kid out of pollen area. College has been more of a challenge than admissions was. Kiddo had one case in which the health center sent kid to the hospital and a teacher still gave a 0 on the test missed that day. The dean said the prof couldn’t do that-- but no one did anything to help. All this at a small lac known for taking care of students.</p>

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<p>Our D had a lot of health issues as well. She left HS after junior year & got a GED & started CC. After her 1st semester of CC, she applied & was accepted as a transfer at her 1st choice U, which she started after her 3rd semester of CC. This is another possible route and it allowed her to have her health issues stabilize while we were there to do any needed rescuing. We were concerned about her health, moving a 5 hour plane ride from home but she’s been very healthy & the allergens have been LESS in the big city where her school is than home where we have more trees. Go figure! Good luck in sorting all of this out with your D for her apps. She did mention this in her apps, but I never got to read her essays, so I am not sure how prominently she mentioned it. Visiting the Us she is seriously considering and having her meet docs wherever she decides to attend school so she can get medical help beyond whatever is available to students will be an important measure for everyone’s peace of mind.</p>

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<p>@2collegewego: simillar with USH last year…teacher even told her class he was giving her all 0’s (he did, btw)</p>

<p>European History AP was very low, I think the final class grade was 88…? Lowest of all her grades in Sophomore year.
English AP-3 (she left off one essay having sat for the exam in the midst of her strongest reactions)
USH AP-omitted. Took the EOC in extended semester time, so we don’t have grade on that yet.
She was actually nursing a sprained writing hand when ACT’s came around and will be sitting for that in 2 weeks. Expect score (per ACT classes) is 30-34.
She was in a car accident this afternoon (she was slammed from the rear)…she’s very sore, but thankfully not hurt.
Glad to hear all worked out with admissions for your kiddo…sorry still having to go through more :frowning:
ED has never really been in the mix yet, although she has considered EA. Since that can be just as early, should she only consider regular deadlines?</p>

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<p>@HImom: you are right about visiting the schools - that’s how/why she eliminated Duke. Although with her current course of treatment, she may fair better there now than before.</p>

<p>She is shooting for < 10 absences for final exemption (personally, I think that’s a poor reward choice) and they include college visits in that, so I am glad we got some pretty rugged ones out of the way already. </p>

<p>We have discussed both a gap year and starting at the local CC. The decision is hers on that note, but I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks that’s a darn good option!</p>

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<p>I think the advice to wait until RD so that strong senior year grade show that the 2nd term jr grades were a short lived dip is very sound.</p>