Should my D take medical leave or should give a try

Parents Forum
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My daughter got serious mental health sickness and is having treatment in an off campus facility for more than a month. She will return to the campus and continue out patient treatment this week.

The school is very supportive on her treatment and told her that she can make up her assignments and finals within two months.

We are not sure if she can catch up within two months as she is focusing on her treatment. Should she take medical leave or give a try and may get incomplete on her transcript? Will incomplete on her transcript affect her future in certain way? Thanks!

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Her school is very accommodating. Some schools do not offer extensions or incompletes, even with documentation for the Office for Disabilities. (Speaking of which, is she registered now with that office? That brings legal rights.)

The catch up within two months is also alongside other work? Or is she taking next semester off? How long is Christmas break?

How many classes, how many projects, is it very rigorous, and does she have tutoring or other help or is she expected to teach herself?

There is a difference between extensions (extra time) and incompletes. Either one, however, affords the chance to finish classes outside of the usual time frame, and incompletes should not show up on the transcript if the work is finished. If the work is not finished, they tend to convert to F’s.

If her mental health challenges were serious enough to merit treatment in an inpatient facility, I would talk to her and then talk to the school about a medical leave which should wipe her grades clean. Yes this means no grades for all the work she has done so far, but it avoids the stress of making up work, which is so important right now, and avoids the transcript having lots of W’s or F’s.

Measures short of that might include withdrawing from a few or most of her classes and finishing one or two. Again, with documentation, the school should not put W’s on her transcript.

I don’t know if she is on meds or in therapy. Sometimes meds can cause a quick turnaround but more often it takes time. Only you and your daughter know what she is up to in terms of stress and work. An argument can be made that returning to normalcy can be part of healing, so it is really a question of timing. Some kids go right back to college after a hospitalization like that.

And sometimes schools require a medical leave with interviews for reentry.

Good luck!

ps do you have tuition refund insurance?

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I have navigated this space with my daughter, it is very challenging. Good luck to both of you - there is light at the end of the tunnel. We got through it.

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I don’t have much more to add, but hugs to you. My son was hospitalized shortly before finals one year. He took his textbooks with him to the hospital and studied! One of his classes was psychology, and he told me they were studying the illness he was diagnosed with. He did take finals and got on the Dean’s list. After that, though, college got to be too much and he moved home. Every case is different. My main advice is to be very careful. Moving slowly is MUCH better than pushing your child. It’s not a race.

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Thank you so much! Really appreciate your inputs.

The Christmas/winter break is pretty long (over 6 weeks). My daughter has three classes. That is why I was thinking she should give a try. She doesn’t have high confidence to herself. If she can make through this difficult time, it might help her boost her confidence. One the other hand, I agree her health is most important. “Moving slowly is MUCH better than pushing your child. It’s not a race”

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If she has 6 weeks and IF her treatment has restored an ability to focus and IF she really wants to, she could certainly try to finish. Three classes, or she could drop one and do two (but make sure no W).

She can make a list of what that entails. Three papers? Are they long? Shorter assignments? Reading?

If she is registered with the Office of Disabilities she should be able to get notes from classes, perhaps. If it is reading and papers, with no exams, it is possible with support.

Did her mental health challenge affect her grades before she went into the facility? That might mean a leave with transcript wiped clean would be smart.

I had one kid push on i that manner and one who went on leave. Can’t really say which path was better, just different personalities and different issues.

It is true there is no rush and it is not a race. However it is also true that it may be important to protect her transcript and academic record by avoiding W’s and F’s.

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Thanks, compmom!

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Her grades were about average in the class from what she told me even though her illness made her really struggling. The grades actually is pass/nonpass. That is one of reasons I was hoping she can get over it. She will be discharged next week, but will continue extensive out patient treatment (5 hours a day). Don’t know how long that will last. I will check with my daughter if she feels ready. If she feels not quite ready, it will be better take medical leave. Thanks again!

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Oh that’s great that the grades are pass.no pass. Good luck. Her doctor and therapist may have an opinion that is a lot better informed than us here on the forum :slight_smile: Yes a lot of us have been there and treatment can really help.

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@my_dragonfly , we were in a similar situation last year. My daughter also has mental health issues, and in late November of her senior, she ended up in the ICU with a life-threatening blood clot. She tried to return to school when she was released from the hospital, but was exhausted from the illness and required another operation, so the school sent her home two weeks early and gave her extensions for her school work. This seemed like a good idea, but in reality, she had no break at all from school because she had to complete it while recovering from two major surgical procedures. She had two exams and two papers to complete in the 6 weeks that she was home.

This led to a return of her severe depression. Her spring semester was dreadful. I had to drive down to her school every week and stay on an air mattress in her room (at the recommendation of her psychiatrist) almost every week just to try to avoid a mental hospital stay. Miraculously, she did graduate on time, but this experience really colored her thinking about her college experience.

I don’t know what, if anything, we could have done differently, but I do know that mental health is the most important thing. There are years to finish college, but it is so important to be healthy and whole first!

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Thanks, Compmom! Thanks, Massmomm! Wish you all have Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Wish all of our kids the best!

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My kiddo had a major health issue requiring two surgeries…and it was too late to withdraw without a W on her transcript. But that’s what she did…and it’s what her school advised. She was able to complete three courses… ur the fourth one would have been nearly impossible with the three weeks of classes she missed.

That W on her transcript has caused her NO difficulties at all. She did complete that same course the following term.

Honestly…having one W on her transcript isn’t that big a deal…especially if it could make or break completing the other two courses.

But really…her health should be the first priority. Way first!!

We were very prepared to have our kid take a leave of absence if needed…

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Thank you, thumper1, for your good advice.

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Having one W is never a problem. Having three at the same time might not either, since it is clear there was a reason for it, even just looking at the transcript. However, some schools will wipe the W’s for a medical reason. For chronic illness, the W’s can be a possible problem because there is a risk of it happening again. When W’s sprinkle the transcript it looks bad, but more importantly, the government may not give financial aid if less than 75% of courses taken are not completed.

This info may not apply to this thread, but just for others…

Incompletes convert to F’s after a certain period of time.