<p>Hi! So to get right to the point, my junior year of high school I was diagnosed with an eating disorder. I often had to miss school due to doctor appointments and therapy. On top of that anti-depressants and the extra stress it added caused my school performance to evidently falter.
9th grade-4.0
10th grade-3.8
<em>11th- 3.1</em>
12th-so far-3.9</p>
<p>Fortunately, my recovery has been verified for months now, and it is all part of my past (as you can see, grades are back to normal senior year). I did not write about my problems in any of my essays; I did not want the reader to feel uncomfortable and I did not want them to think that my past problems define me. However, I have yet to decide if I should mention it in the "additional information" part yet. If I did, it would not be any more detailed than I described it in the beginning of this message.</p>
<p>Any advice?</p>
<p>I wouldn’t hesitate to mention medical problems in the most general terms possible. I’d avoid eating disorder/depression because it is still really recent in the general scheme of things. Glad you are doing well.</p>
<p>@BrownParent Thank you, thank you. Should I not mention the anti-depressants and added stress? Is the added stress implied?</p>
<p>I think it would be wise to mention your issue in the additional information section, otherwise admissions officers might assume that you just decided to slack off for a year.</p>
<p>If you feel uncomfortable sharing the details of your diagnosed condition, then just describe it as generally as possible. For example, just say that you were diagnosed with an illness (which technically an eating disorder is) that caused your grades to decline, and now you have recovered. There is no need to disclose “eating disorder, anti-depressants, and therapy.”</p>
<p>It definitely isn’t necessary to go into detail, but I would think it would be helpful considering your situation to at least mention it.</p>
<p>I think epicdude’s suggested wording is good. Also make sure your guidance counselor is familiar with your situation, as colleges may ask the GC to verify that what you wrote in general terms is true.</p>
<p>Please do yourself a favor and do not mention antidepressants. You can mention stress from medical issues if you want, but I wouldn’t go there. If you mention medical problems and missed school due to doctors visits etc, I do think that it is understood that it is stressful to go through something and to have to juggle schoolwork as well. And you might like to say that the medical issues are resolved.</p>
<p>I just think it is best to avoid. I have seen a wonderful essay that someone wrote about going through such a problem, however it was years behind that valedictorian.</p>
<p>@intparent I have, she knows about it and threw in a sentence about “personal problems I overcame” in my recommendation letter from her.</p>
<p>@BrownParent I agree. I do not feel confident or comfortable mentioning the medicine, so I’m sure the admissions office won’t feel much different.</p>