Questions about College Admissions and Class Work

Pre-College Topics High School Life
1

This year has been really bad for me. I attend an online school because I struggle from a severe case of IBS. Ever since I was a small kid, I have always wanted to attend the best college I possibly could. I am a really smart kid (I got a 35 on my ACT), and I never wanted to waste my gift. I have always tried to be involved with extracurricular activities as much as possible. I sing in our professional city choir, I take voice lessons, play lacrosse, exercise, volunteer, sing at church, attend 2 clubs through my school, etc. I have always tried to stay on top of things. This semester, however, threw me off course and I am really worried about it.

Ever since January, I have been having a lot of problems with severe stress, anxiety, and mild depression. It has caused me to get extremely far behind in my classes that I am taking. My school does not offer honors classes, just normal and AP classes. I was only able to take 2 APs this semester (AP Calculus and AP US History), and the rest of my classes are normal classes. I have been very far behind in my courses for quite some time, and my school ends on June 9th. I am trying to get my work done, and I am really pressed for time, which only increases my stress. I was having so many problems this semester and I am so behind in classes that I had to opt out of my 2 AP exams so I didn’t get any further behind.

My major question is this. Will I be able to succeed in the future? Even I am able to admit that Ivies and top 20s are out of my range (even if I could get in, the stress would destroy me). If I can get these mental problems under control, will colleges still accept me, even though I had a ton of problems my junior year of high school? My main goal, if I can get my stress and anxiety under wraps, is medical school. My dad is an anesthesiologist, and he has had a big influence on me. Will I be able to get into a decent enough college to eventually get into medical school if I keep my grades up? Thanks for the answers, I have just been really worried about this, and getting this off my mind might help me focus more on just getting caught up on my school work for the semester.

2

You have a pretty good resume so don’t worry about acceptances (unless you have failing grades / a clear and unexplained downward trend).

But in order to succeed in any college, or even without college, you’re going to have to manage stress and anxiety. I’m guessing that Ivies are probably more collaborative than most think, because even though schools like UPenn get a bad rep for being really cutthroat, student testimonies seem to say otherwise.

Any student who does well will have some kind of stress, and an ideal stress level serves as motivation. An excess in stress has less to do with the college you go to than the emphasis you PERSONALLY put on getting high grades and mastering everything (not to mention parents!). I used to have a lot of panic attacks too, but my mental condition got better after a lot of emotional support from close friends, and a change of mindset. Instead of playing out each possibility of failure, I started going, “Okay. I’m going to learn because learning is cool, and do my best because I want to learn more. If I don’t do as well as I wanted, at least I enjoyed it and got something out of it.” Hopefully, thinking about high school as less of a bridge to medical school, and more of an experience you should live out to the fullest, will help you relax!

3

The first thing I would do is see a psychologist and.or psychiatrist to be evaluated for if you need medication for severe stress, anxiety, and mild depression. These are treatable conditions.

Then when picking colleges I would consider one not that far from home, that has a good orientation program (like a week before school), and start off with easier courses/lighter load.

Your GC can mention your health issues in their recommendations…if you get your health issues under control and do well in your AP classes you will be fine for college.

It willproabbly be best if you are a big fish in a small pond, that is, not a top tier school.