Not so perfect grades/attendance record due to medical excuse?

Prep School Admissions
1

<p>I have 2 Bs and one Incompete for the first marking period. I missed a lot of days of school and I’m cutting my classes in half, just until January. I don’t want to lose my chance of going to a prep school because I was sick last year. Would they view this as an extreme liabilty or consider my illness?
(It’s gone now and I should get all my strength back by the end of the school year. I also don’t need special health care, but will have to go home every 3 months for a checkup.)</p>

<h2>I also made up 8th grade in during the summer.</h2>

<p>Does anyone have any experience with this?</p>

2

<p>I got 2 Bs last quarter, too, and an incomplete, same as you.</p>

<p>I was only sick for a week, however. </p>

<p>I’m not sure - would you have to explain it to them?</p>

3

<p>Chloesong, I don’t think having an incomplete due to illness is a problem as long as it is made up by the time your transcript is sent to schools in mid-January. People sometimes get sick at inconvenient times. But I think it is a problem that you are not taking a full course load. How can you think about doing something extra (applying to bs) when you aren’t even doing your regular class work? Applying to bs or local private schools is like having extra classes. It is a lot of work. When will you find the time in the next 6 weeks to do the whole process? It seems strange to me that the whole new school idea would pop into your head at this late time. Is there a certain reason you want to change schools now? If I were in your shoes I would look at 3 nearby schools. I would also try to take the dec SSAT standby because you are not going to have time to study much anyway and your score might help you decide whether to apply. Sign up for the web service bundle if you can to get scores asap.</p>

4

<p>Well if the Jan. 6 SSAT truely isn’t too late, I rather not waste my parents money by doing standby, also it would give me more time and the Christmas break to study. </p>

<p>“Applying to bs or local private schools is like having extra classes.”
I was planning to spread it out over the 2 months. Research a little anytime I have extra time but of course my school work comes first.</p>

<p>“It seems strange to me that the whole new school idea would pop into your head at this late time”
Well it didn’t exactly pop into my head just recently. But is it really that late? I’m worried I’ll get lost in the high school where I heard the Gifted program wasn’t as good. I’ve thought about moving schools for quite some time after I met my friend who transfered this year. I have a cousin in boarding school and the whole idea just appealed to me. If I can’t handle the process, I just simply won’t go, but I’ll regret never having tried…</p>

<p>“If I were in your shoes I would look at 3 nearby schools.”
I will. At the same time, since I’m applying, I’m going to push myself and apply to some more competitive schools too. Since I’m pushed for time, I won’t apply to more than 3, I think.</p>

<p>“But I think it is a problem that you are not taking a full course load”
Do you say that in from a admission standpoint or a “it just doesn’t make sense” view?
The courses I’ve temporarily dropped are all electives. Computer App2, PE, and Band. I’m still in Wind Ensemble which I think makes up for the Band and PE and Computer App are not that important.</p>

<p>… I feel like I had to defend myself in this post. It might not make much sense but this year is my last opportunity to change schools. 10th grade will be too late and I don’t want to regret that I couldn’t get a better education than what is available at my high school, just because I was sick last year. If I don’t make it into any schools I like, I simply won’t go but at least I will have the experience. My high school isn’t that bad anyway, but I feel I will truely get lost there.</p>

<hr>

<p>I used truely twice. xD; I need to find some new adjectives…
Sorry if this sounded like a rant. I really got this feeling that you were admonishing me…but I think I’m more certain of why I’m doing this now. Another addition about the “late” thing. I came to the forum to ask if it was much to late to start thinking about boarding school. I asked on a different thread if it was and generally I got the answer that it wasn’t. I feel confident that if I manage my time well, I will be able to apply to at least 2 schools by February.</p>

<p>and like I said, school work comes first so I won’t spend anymore time here or doing anything bs related until I’m ready. I just wanted to ask some questions.</p>

5

<p>chloesong, The jan. ssat is not too late. In fact alot of school websites state that they recommend taking the nov, dec, or jan ssat. as I stated earlier, D1 did not start the process till very late. I don’t recommend it but, you still have time. Good Luck to you.</p>

6

<p>Thank you!</p>

7

<p>I sympathize with you; it is very difficult when you have an illness are inconvienent times. It sounds very serious. Though it isn’t too late, remember that with the disadvantage you have (dropping those classes, recovering from an illness, starting a bit late), you will have to work pretty hard. Researching is only the beginning. I researched over the summer, and I still spent and am spending a lot of time on applications. Of course, I’m applying to eleven schools (including three day schools), which is more than more people, but studying for the SSAT, writing the essays, getting the recomendations, and all of the other things is time-consuming. If you are serious about it, it is important to realize this and be willing to dedicate a lot of time to it.</p>

8

<p>Chloe - </p>

<p>Your illness, as you described it, shouldn’t hurt you in the prep school admissions process if it is well documented in your transcripts. You should make sure this is done as well as providing a write up of your situation with your application. You do not need to specify the illness, but should specify the impact it had on your studies (e.g. had to spend x amount of time at clinic receiving treatment per week. Treatment required extra rest, etc.) You also need to let the school know your current status and the frequency of medical review and how it can work with the school’s schedule.</p>

<p>If you ask one of your teachers who may have been close to you during your struggle to discuss that as part of his/her letter of recommendation, it could actually help in describing how you effectively deal with difficult situations which could be a big benefit. Schools do like to see examples of overcoming adversity. Character counts.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

9

<p>Chloe - I agree it shouldnt hurt you, but then, if you have a chronic illness, you might want to consider the advisability of going to a school faraway from home. I’m not trying to discourage you; it’s just that a good friend of mine at MPS skipped about half her classes because she had to go home for various chronic illnesses/medical appointments. She made up all of her homework, however, there was the fact that she was not only missing so many classes, but she was also missing our Traditions and so many things that make boarding school special - being part of the community, going through the daily rituals, etc.</p>

<p>Finally the school politely asked her to withdraw from MPS because they couldnt quite seem the point of her coming here anymore, and were worried about her being sick all the time. She was quite devastated, but most people felt it was for the best. </p>

<p>So was your sickness just temporary, like mono, or something that will continue to harm your health in the future?</p>