<p>Let's say (hypothetically, of course) you were a really smart kid who never really got good grades because he had a really hard time focusing on school, and you were diagnosed with bipolar (type I) before your senior year. Then, you managed to get a hold of it and control yourself and pick up your grades senior year. Would that be something you would want to explain to a college?
I mean a pretty serious change in GPA, from a 3.03 in 9-11 grades to a ~3.9 or 4.0 senior year in 5 APs...
Oh, and along the way you go through some fairly rough stuff, such as your mother and your oldest friend dying and your father remarrying...</p>
<p>Bumparoosky...</p>
<p>You'd probably want your GC to provide some kind of explanation (but probably wouldn't want the mention to include the exact nature of your illness as many colleges are wary of accepting students with mental health problems because those problems may be worsened by the stress of freshman year).</p>
<p>Meanwhile, your grades are good enough for many 4-year colleges. Most important is that you find a college that has good mental health resources nearby and also follow your psychiatrist's advice on colleges.</p>