Transferring with a Medical Withdrawal - advice?

Transfer Students
1

<p>Hi Everyone, </p>

<p>I am new to this board (but have been a long time reader); I decided to be a member because I hope to seek honest and helpful advice; I will try to be brief - </p>

<p>I am currently seeking to transfer out of UNC-Chapel Hill (of which I completed 3 years of undergrad work with a 2.9 overall GPA and earned 92 or so credits) - I am a NY State Resident. </p>

<p>The reason: I left UNC in May 2009 (Medical Withdrawal) - my Grandmother (lives in NY) and Step-Dad became ill; I am an only child and my mother is an only child as well who works full-time; prior to withdrawal, I spent a couple of months traveling back and forth between NC and NY to help out with the caregiving - this caused the drop in my GPA - I became physically, mentally and emotionally exhausted and the UNC advising office and UNC Counseling and Wellness Center recommended that I withdraw before I fail my classes (there are some W's on my transcript in the semester prior to my official withdrawal). </p>

<p>Since that time, I have been in NY being my Grandmother's caregiver (the status of her health has been up and down these past 2 years - she is stable at the moment); I have also taken 2 classes as a non-matriculated student at Fordham this past summer (2011) - I received A's (I also took 2 classes at Fordham in 2007 - I performed well). </p>

<p>I have also been in individual and group counseling for the past two years - I have established a strong relationship with my therapist. </p>

<p>I want to go back to school full-time for Fall 2012 - but going back to UNC is not an option - I need to be around the NY Metro Area so that I can be successful as a student and continue my caregiving responsibilities. </p>

<p>I have sent in applications to CUNY City College, CUNY Hunter College, Fordham, SUNY Purchase and Manhattan College. </p>

<p>I am encountering some anxiety - Fordham and Manhattan want specific information concerning my gap in education - since I have a medical withdrawal (psychological reasons) - how can I handle this situation?? I am thinking about having my therapist writing a letter of recommendation that states that I am capable of doing the work (makes sense since it is a medical withdrawal and the UNC document states I need clearance from a counselor before admittance). </p>

<p>Any suggestion is much appreciated - Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Have your counselor write you a letter of explanation, and send it to the schools. Beware that there is a possibility the schools will see it as a liability, so the wording of your current state needs to be chosen carefully (i.e. Is there a possibility of a relapse)</p>

3

<p>Thanks for the input :slight_smile: </p>

<p>In terms of a relapse, that’s the whole purpose of the transfer - being out of state (and away from my family), I did not do very well in balancing responsibilities (I became very anxious - unable to sleep, running on adrenaline from stress compromised my physical health). </p>

<p>Being close to home, I feel more confident and relaxed to move forward; besides, with the help of my therapist - I am learning to put myself first and communicating to my family that I need more support in terms of family caregiving responsibilities (more teamwork from my mother, trying to find outside help (if we can afford it, that is).).</p>