Let’s say you have a child who seems to be doing fine: They participate in afterschool activities, do reasonably well in school, and have a great group of longstanding friends. But sometime in ninth grade, things begin to shift. Their friend group begins to break apart, and their best friend drops them for a more popular kid.
Now they complain about not feeling well, often a stomach ache, and don’t want to go to school. They can’t stand to see their former best friend at the popular kids’ lunch table. They fall behind in schoolwork and tensions rise at home — arguments about getting work done, about attendance, about moping around. Then the calls begin… First a teacher and then the guidance counselor. They’ve noticed that your child doesn’t seem like themselves and wonder if something is going on at home. Perhaps a sick grandparent or troubled sibling?
This is not an unfamiliar scenario. If it hasn’t happened to your child, bets are that it has happened to a friend of your child’s or a child of your friend’s. High school students today contend with stresses and difficulties that have become increasingly pronounced in recent years. The fall-out is significant: lost school days, poor grades, missed learning opportunities.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)reports that nearly 20% of America’s teens have been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder by the time they are 17. And the incidence of anxiety among sub-groups like LGBTQ teens or various racial groups is even higher. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Adolescent and School Health, notes that up to 40% of high school students “experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness.” (https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/su/su7304a9.htm?s_cid=su7304a9_w)
Both students and parents likely wonder, consciously or not, what effect these changes may have on the student’s ability to get into college? All of a sudden, after years of hard work with the intention to attend college, the student’s future feels in jeopardy.
As an educational consultant who has worked with many students who have suffered from depression and anxiety, I know this way of thinking all too well. I know how worried both students and parents are over the potential for lost chances at opportunities once almost assured. In some cases, parents and children feel there is little hope for the future.
I’m gratified to reassure you that this isn’t the case. No matter how much school a student misses or how much treatment it takes to get the student back to a mentally healthy place, there is a path to college and a meaningful future beyond that. Whether they’ve contended with anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, or a host of other mental illnesses, students who want to go to college most certainly can. I have counseled tens of these students who were in this exact position.