<p>Hey, I'm glad I found this site. It has a wealth of information. Now to the details.</p>
<p>I was diagnosed Bipolar when I was 12 and have been admitted to a mental hospital twice. However, my medicines are finally stable and I'm starting to do better.</p>
<p>Here are my attributes:</p>
<p>Male
Rising Senior
Plan to go to liberal arts school and major in English and follow that with Law School.</p>
<p>ACT- 33
ACT Writing- 12
GPA- 3.2 (I struggled with depression.)
Rank- Not very good.</p>
<p>EC's
Not that many.</p>
<p>High School Baseball
- Varsity (9, 10, 11, 12)
- Looking to play at my college</p>
<p>Graduate Assistant for Junior High Basketball Team
- 10, 11, 12</p>
<p>FFA
- 11</p>
<p>FCA
- 9, 10, 11, 12</p>
<p>Student Council Pres.
- 9</p>
<p>Hooks
- I think my struggles with my disease will help me some. My top essay is centered around how I have overcame it.</p>
<p>Teacher Recs.
- I should have very strong teacher recs.</p>
<p>Essay
- My counselor told me my essay is one of the best she's ever seen and she's been in the profession since 1970.</p>
<p>What state or at least area of the country do you live in? Having your parents not too far away might be a good idea.
Kenyon College comes to mind for an English major.</p>
<p>I agree that a school close to home would be best. Also, a school near a medical center where you can be monitored by a physician and refill your meds. U Rochester, Johns Hopkins, and Rice come to mind.</p>
<p>If you will be having to make trips to pharmacies, clinics, seeing doctors of various types, etc. make sure all of these are easily accessible, by foot. Having to see a doctor or psychologist whose practice is a 30 minute drive from campus is not a good option if you don't have a car.</p>
<p>If the school clinic only has two visiting psychologists, and you don''t hit it off with either of them, what then? And how easy is it to get appointments with them right on campus?</p>
<p>Also make sure your health plan will cover all professionals you may have to see while at college; many plans treat distant doctors as "out of network", so visits cost a lot more.</p>
<p>And I too strongly urge stay close to those who can help you, and if possible continue treatment with the same doctors during the school year instead of having to have your treatment plan be disjointed. In other words, stay near home.</p>
<p>College can at times be a source of great mental distress, for nearly everyone. The more support you can avail yourself of, the better.</p>
<p>I have a friend who's son has some mental problems (OCD) and he freaked during his first 6 weeks at school and had to come home and take the first semester off before he could go back. It's very hard to adjust to living with strangers. Listen to what everyone is saying. Stay within a couple hours drive of home, and make sure you have doctors close by. You will need your support network.</p>
<p>I agree with the other posters that you want to make sure you have a sufficient support system, not just for medical/counseling services but also family/friends, so a school closer to home can often be the better choice.</p>
<p>A national mental health organization, NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) has some useful information on its website for college students. (<a href="http://www.nami.org)%5B/url%5D">www.nami.org)</a>. The link below lists some college campuses that have established student groups for students with mental illnesses. Many are state universities. They might give you some ideas to consider depending on where you live:</p>
<p>There is also a page on choosing a college; some tips they offer include:</p>
<p>
[quote]
-Smaller campuses can feel less overwhelming than a large university. However, there tends to be less psychological services on smaller campuses </p>
<p>-Large campuses generally offer a wider array of services. Nonetheless, even though more services are available, the wait is still usually long due to the size of the campus. </p>
<p>-If attending a large campus, try to join an organization, find a social group, and make friends, especially in the dorms. This will make the campus seem smaller and less overwhelming </p>
<p>-Compare the number of counselors and especially psychiatrists that are employed at the school to the number of students on campus. This is a good indicator of how long the wait will be, and shows the importance and dedication the school places on mental health
<p>Just a sincere personal suggestion: Don't differentiate yourself for being Bipolar. I don't mean on the college app or anything, but at a more personal level. Personally I too have suffered from extrem depression and differntiating my self from everyone else made me pity myself more and made me more depressed. I realize I am in no position to comment on your personal matter. I was just giving a friendly suggestion.</p>
<p>Rice is a good choice for you. Not too far from home, good medical center nearby, welcoming student body. You might also consider Baylor as a safety, depending on your stats. And take a look at Grinnell. Similar to Rice in size, but not in an urban location. A little closer to you than Rice. Another good choice is Wash U in St. Louis.</p>
<p>As someone who formerly worked many years as a counselor/therapist (left to raise kids), and having a bipolar relative who succeeded in getting advanced degrees and wonderful satisfying jobs, here's my advice ( as a person as I am not a practicing therapist now)...</p>
<p>Definitely set up a support system, counselor on campus, private therapist/medical person, maybe a group support such as NAMI.. You need to be able to talk to someone you trust who is available to you when you want and need them. I agree with the other posters. Be in close touch with whomever is prescribing meds if you need them, so adjustments can be made. Pace yourself, you know how fast you can go, how much sleep you need, and how fast to finish your degree program or progress in it. Take the responsibility yourself to notice when you might be getting manic or depressed, the first subtle signs.. and you assign a trusted person to tell you when they notice. Most importantly, start off stable before you start college..well controlled on meds or whatever works best for you in health care and daily routines.</p>
<p>Another suggestion... make sure you can be in a dormitory where you can have a single. Roommates, while fun, cause ENORMOUS stress, and though I don't have any diagnosed conditions, I needed a place of my own, to breathe and to be myself. Make sure that you can live in a single all four years, perhaps even in a "clean living" dorm (if that's going to reduce stress for you), and also make sure that the singles aren't stigmatized. Some colleges DO offer singles, but they are called "psycho singles" or something along those lines. That's not probably what you want.</p>
<p>Go to a school with good weather, that is easy to navigate and easy to feel at home at. Make sure the campus has things that interest you, a good student union/hangouts, and maybe some scenery or anything that would help you destress.</p>
<p>College can feel extremely lonely at times, even for the well-adjusted, but the best of luck!</p>