<p>Hi all, I am in need of some good advice. Long story short I have been chronically ill for about 4 years, although I am at my worst point now (on homebound schooling for first time). I am a junior , and I am really starting to worry about colleges. Prior to being this sick I was involved in alot of clubs,sports,and charities. My grades have always been excellent as well. At this point in time, it is still unclear how I will be in terms of health next year. I could make a full recovery, or not, there is just no certainty. </p>
<p>My question is; What options are there for people like me? My parents and grandparents and older siblings have all attended great colleges and I do not want to be the exception. College is something that will open many many doors for me later in life and I do not want to miss this opportunity because I am sick.</p>
<p>Is it possible to get a "complete" degree through online distance learning?</p>
<p>Has anyone done BU's distance learning programs? What other colleges offer something like this?</p>
<p>Has anyone gone through something similar? Success stories?</p>
<p>Thanks for any help, it is much appreciated.</p>
<p>I'm so sorry that you have had to go through something like this. It must be awful. I knew one girl who had surgery and was homebound for a year. Her rank dropped from top of the class to out of the top 10% and then she ended up switching schools. But she worked extra hard and made a really good recovery, and either ended up graduating either 1st or 2nd in her class, I'm not sure exactly which one. Don't let your illness get you down. Perservere. With that said though, you are wise to start investigating your options now so that you will know exactly where you stand next year.</p>
<p>Some ideas:</p>
<p>You could try to attend a school really close to home so you could commute if you wanted and keep the same doctors.</p>
<p>If you're doing well, maybe try to find a college that is close to the top professionals in the field of your illness, so you can have them keep tabs on you.</p>
<p>I would also look into the distance learning program. I don't know much about it, but it sounds like a viable plan. Investigate BU and see if you can find others so you have options.</p>
<p>At worst, you could take a year off and do something productive that didn't require too much physical effort, like teaching yourself a language or some other academic pursuit. I think colleges would understand your reasons for a gap year, especially if you did your best to challenge yourself during it.</p>
<p>You have many options--and others will probably come up with more. Good luck!</p>
<p>I am sorry to hear that you are going through such a hard time. I had a friend (he died, so it is had) who missed quite a bit of school because of his cancer. He ended up commuting to Washu. My guess is that most colleges will understand your situation and won't make such a big deal about the recs, because that is what happened to my friend. Where do you live? Are there any good schools in the area you could commute to?</p>
<p>There are many options now for online learning, and yes it is possible to earn a full undergraduate degree entirely by distance. For some ideas, you could visit the Online Degrees forum here at CC. You can get to it by clicking on "Discussion Home" in the upper left of this screen and then scrolling downward.</p>
<p><a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/online-degrees/%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/online-degrees/</a></p>
<p>Two fully accredited online programs that I know of are:
Ashford</a> University – Top Accredited Online Degrees, Online Colleges, Online University, Campus Education College Degrees & Certificates-A.A, B.A, and M.A programs.
[url=<a href="http://www.umuc.edu%5DUMUC%5B/url">http://www.umuc.edu]UMUC[/url</a>]</p>
<p>Wishing you all the best!</p>