I'm only a freshman, so it's not like I'm worrying a lot about college yet, just trying to get good grades and get involved. I'm curious though as to whether being absent can affect your college admissions. I'm usually absent about 10/180 days a year, and most of the time I'm not sick. Is that bad?
Depends...if you're habitually absent for an invalid reason (e.g. ditching) then it might affect your college admissions. 10 out of 180 in a year isn't that bad...I missed more primarily due to competitions, out of town, occasionally sick, other reasons.
I don't think colleges even see absences...that being said being absent a lot for no good reason (ie not being sick/on a field trip, etc) will affect your grade and may give teachers a bad impression of you, which will of course affect your recommendation (and that will definitely have a bad effect on your apps).
conclusion, go to school unless you are contagiously ill or have a field trip. I know parents can sometimes be cavalier about scheduling doctor's appointments/trips during school, but try to tell them not to. Teachers definitely notice/appreciate someone with good attendance, which will translate into good recommendations.
Check with your school for its absence policies. Usually schools allow up to a certain number of excused absences and as long as you stay within that range, there won't be an issue. At my school, students lose credit for all their classes if they miss more than two weeks of school per semester without a valid reason(ex: medical conditions).
