<p>As a student at Caltech, I can say for sure that to do well at Caltech does not require lecture attendance, at least in general. Sometimes professors have policies that basically require coming to class (like exams with open notes, but only written in your own hand), but a lot of the time you can get by simply by reading the textbook. Of course, if you’re in a lab class… you’d better show up.</p>
<p>Of course, I can also say that people tend to overestimate their intelligence in HS because HS is pretty damn easy. Caltech and MIT challenge the smartest people around. I would hold off on the personal attacks… but if he burns out and has to transfer, I wouldn’t have any sympathy either. Twice the pride, double the fall. I’m not the one doing the falling, so it’s really none of my business.</p>
<p>However, I think Caltech’s mean SAT score is pretty unreal, something like 1500 under the old system. Not sure even your raw numbers compare that well.</p>
<p>okay i really think this thread should end, because things are getting a little…ahem</p>
<p>bottom line is, if attendance shows on your transcript, you need to write a VERY CONVINCING essay about why you haven’t been going to class. if it’s for a medical condition, i think they’ll understand.</p>
<p>however, i think that getting perfect grades while barely going to school will seem a little suspicious. if you’re not a genius (like you say you’re not), this is a little farreaching. you’ve convinced me that you’re smart and you can handle college work without attending class, but you need to convince the admissioners.</p>
<p>Yeah I already noted the 1500 score. I said it equates to 2250, and i don’t see that being too hard for me to get. But that IS the mean score, not the median score… I would bet thats a bit lower (considering they would use which ever way made the score look better), so I don’t think I’d be hardpressed to be a middle-scorer on the SAT.</p>
<p>I disagree with you saying I have twice the pride, but I can definitely see how you can misinterpret it that way.</p>
<p>Are you sure you can even graduate? At my school, if you miss more than about 40 days of school, you need to repeat the grade. It’s unfortunate that you’re sick, but it doesn’t seem right for you to get the same credit in school as those who show up every day and stick it out for 8 hours a day, 180 days a year.</p>
<p>lol, 19382. It is not fair that the OP gets to stay home, study and get all the good grades while the rest of the kids have to show up at school. It costs time, time away from studying. lol. So true!</p>
<p>I don’t study all day, I watch ESPN. (CNN got boring after watching all year last year while doing HW)</p>
<p>Also, I <em>do</em> feel guilty about not going to school, while everyone else has to.</p>
<p>This may be irrelevant, but the dumber you are, the happier you are. So I get what I get, and everyone else gets their benefits, too.</p>
<p>My school has a policy that after three unexcused absences or ten excused absences (alline are excused), you can be dropped from the class. I’ve missed at least 40 days already. I should be dropped, I’ve fully expected to be dropped, but it hasn’t happened. I missed 21 days of school the first trimester as well. My teachers see that I’m doing all the work and they let me off the hook. I feel guilty that it seems like I’m playing off their sympathy to serve myself, but I think I’m doing the best I can.</p>
<p>With the above said, I can say I’m confident my teachers would allow any other student who could make up the work and showed an eagerness to learn to do the same.</p>
<p>And it doesn’t hurt that I’m as taciturn as they come during class.</p>
<p>I think you should suck it up and go to school. You sit home all day watching TV while other kids get the same credit as you for waking up at 6am and dragging themselves to school? No, not right. Stomach aches? I don’t see that as a big physical obstacle to overcome.</p>
<p>But you’re only hurting yourself - colleges certainly won’t look favorably on it, and I wouldn’t be suprised (or particularly upset) if your school decides to not give you credit for these classes.</p>
<p>you said at the end of this trimester you would have a 4.0 THEN you say you are failing most everything this trimester</p>
<p>and did you take any finals last trimester or were you given a walk</p>
<p>with not MEDICAL diagnosis, you will have a hard time convincing admission people that you can hack college</p>
<p>obviouslly your parents care about you, with the therapy, the tests…do you do ANYTHING out of your house at all- like the movies, anything</p>
<p>as well, having good grades in this competitve market just arent’ enough anymore</p>
<p>do you do anything EC wise, even from home to add to your resume</p>
<p>I would be surprised if they let you graduate, does that not concern you at all…wouldn’t it be worth at least going to school the minimum you can to get in the days needed?</p>
<p>and have you been tested for allergies yet= ie wheat or dairy</p>
<p>We’ve tried lactate pills for lactose-intolerance and I’ve stopped eating peanut butter (the doctor says its bad w/o allergies anyway).</p>
<p>My parents care about me to the extent that me going to school means they are less likely to pay for college. But I never said my parents didn’t care about me, I said the love of my parents doesn’t push me to achieve.</p>
<p>I don’t do any ECs as far as community service goes. But I am in math club, and do quite well in competitions, I used to play chess and was the under-16 champion in my state, I do science bowl, science olympiads, and might do quiz bowl. I wanted to do academic decathalon, but the teacher never told me anything about it. I play soccer and do cross country.</p>
<p>I did a little Church service before dropping out of Confirmation because I don’t believe in God… I don’t know if that counts, lol.</p>
<p>If the school didn’t let me graduate, I’d get a GED and go to IIT or RIT or something. Or just take my junior year over and make them pay for a full schedule of college classes–start my transcript.</p>
<p>I did take finals last trimester. I got a little over a 4.6 GPA.</p>
<p>My Chemistry teacher had a stomach ulcer (I think) and he needs to wear a backpack thing w/ a feeding tube so he can eat, so he has sympathy for my situation and is trying to make labs not a part of my grade.</p>
<p>And I am confident I will get over a 4.0 this trimester… oddly, I seem to be getting smarter while not going to school, I might even improve on last trimester’s GPA. Not that GPA matters =-)</p>
<p>as far as your ecs have you been involved in the last few months at all, and wiil you be able to</p>
<p>I am going to make a suggestion…cut out wheat, find alternatives for awhile</p>
<p>wheat is often missed as an allergen</p>
<p>has your doctor talked about wheat</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.allergysa.org/wheat.htm[/url]”>http://www.allergysa.org/wheat.htm</a>
What are the symptoms of wheat allergy?
Allergic reactions to wheat (IgE-antibody mediated) usually begin within minutes or a few hours after eating or inhaling wheat. The more common symptoms involve the skin (urticaria, atopic eczema, angioedema) gastrointestinal tract (oral allergy syndrome, abdominal cramps, nausea and vomiting) and the respiratory tract (asthma or allergic rhinitis). Ige-mediated reactions to gliadin or gluten can cause urticaria, angioedema or life-threatening anaphylaxis in association with exercise. Other gluten-containing cereals (rye, oats and barley) may also cause these symptoms due to cross-reactivity of the allergens.</p>
<p>I wake up with stomach aches, so I doubt it’s wheat. Unless the syptoms remain for eight hours or so. My doctor never suggested it though.</p>
<p>I have done some of my ECs… math club and science bowl, but that’s because the team relies on me (for math and physics anyway), so I feel it is <em>imperitive</em> I go.</p>
<p>well, you either need to learn to get through it if you want to go and do something in the world or really work with the therapist or you will be miserable your whole life, in pain, which is really sad</p>
<p>I’m sorry but i also have to agree with citygirlsmom, you have a very negative attitude towards school, and I could also agree that, from the little psychology knowledge i have, you may have a psychological problem.
Also, i have missed quite a bit of school this year due to repeated colds, any ideas for me? (threa hijack)</p>
<ol>
<li><p>What is your grade based on, when you’re not taking the tests. Homework and take home tests?</p></li>
<li><p>How do you play soccer and track with stomach aches, but you can’t sit through school?</p></li>
<li><p>How are you focused enough to sit at home and do the work when you can’t simply sit in a desk at school and do it?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I want to believe you but I’m finding it hard to do so.</p>