<p>So basically my college sent to me to the psych ward for a res hall violation. There's more to the story but I eventually got suspended, am allowed back after mental health treatment (6 months), but I don't know if I should go back. Res Life, DOS, Counseling Services all know I was at the psych ward. In light of NIU and VA tech I don't know if it's a good idea for me to stick around since my rep now must suck. Only problem is I have suspension on my transcript and only a decent GPA, who's going to accept me now? Do hospitalizations happen a lot on college campuses with a big student population or is this really rare? Because if I'm not the only one then maybe my situation isn't so bad but I want to know what you think.</p>
<p>I have several friends who took time off for mental health reasons.</p>
<p>Don’t be concerned about your reputation among the campus offices; they deal with this quite a lot. Their primary concern is your well-being and they are happy if you are feeling better :)</p>
<p>They actually sent you to a psych ward???
Now thats a little over-the-top even for a housing violation.
I honestly think that if you explained it to the other schools well enough to the point that it would seem stupid to them, then maybe they’ll consider you more</p>
<p>They forced you to get treatment or you’re not allowed back in?
Wow, I’ve never heard of a case like that before.</p>
<p>It’s unlikely that as many people will be concerned about it as you think they would.
People tend to think that others are paying more attention to them, than others really are.
I think you’ll be fine staying at the school.
I don’t know if confidentiality is applicable in your situation – but it seems like it would be poor practice for them to sit around gossiping about you.</p>
<p>Your school must have had a valid concern for your own safety as well as those around you to warrant such a reaction. Work with your counselor and focus of rejoining the campus community.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Psychiatric hospitalizations happen fairly often on college campuses.</p>
<p>Psychiatric hospitalizations followed by suspension with counseling as a condition for readmittance happen less often, but they’re hardly unheard of, especially in recent years because of exactly the same kinds of cases as you mention.</p>
<p>You are almost certainly on the radar of whatever committee on campus keeps track of “students of concern” if they have one; and if you are reported to them again, your past will probably be considered. (I am not sure whether you’d end up on the radar of the same committee at a school you transferred to.) So you probably wouldn’t be cut the same slack as a student with no disciplinary history would if you were to get caught breaking minor – especially if whatever it was that you were doing reminded them of whatever it is that you’ve done before.</p>
<p>If I were in your position, and I intended to go back to the same school, I would make sure that I was familiar with disability rights law (whether or not you identify as a student with a disability, colleges are not allowed to discriminate against people because they believe them to have psychiatric disabilities; they are, on the other hand, allowed to punish violations of the student code of conduct whether or not the violator has a disability) and the steps to take if I believed I were being discriminated against (how to file a complaint with the school, how to file a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights, what was the local Protection & Advocacy organization, and how to find a lawyer and sue). That doesn’t mean, though, that I would expect to need to use that knowledge. I’d just want to be prepared.</p>
<p>If, after you spend time in treatment (with or without medication), you believe you can finish school while complying with the code of conduct, though, I wouldn’t assume you’d need to transfer. (If it were me, though, I’d want to live off campus.)</p>
<p>Since you mention NIU and VA Tech, consider for moment that those incidents took place at the hands of students who did not get the help/support they needed. Instead of worrying about your rep at your current school, why not assume you actually will benefit from the mental health treatment and make peace with the fact that you need the help and you are in a community that does offer it? You may learn something about yourself that’s important to your future. You’re young and have plenty of time to build a good reputation.</p>