Here is an example of a personal statement written by an international student. The essay is entirely based around bi-polar depression. The student had support from high school counselors to write about this topic. Recommendation letters also expressed improvement in the student’s mental condition. Not only was this student offered admission by multiple universities, but one even overlooked the fact that GPA and standardized test scores were below the minimum requirements and another university gave a substantial scholarship worth $16,000 per year, totaling $64,000!
This student has given permission to post this essay for others to learn from and personal information has been omitted.
"Ever since I can remember, I’ve been moving through each day riding on an emotional roller-coaster, not sure what would set me off to become either manic or depressed. When mania hit, I’d lock myself in my room, throwing all of the books on the shelf onto the ground and crying out loud, which forced my parents to break all of the doors down. And when I was depressed, I’d lie in my bed for days without eating or drinking, just staring at the ceiling like a living dead.
In school, everyone, including my teachers, seemed to wonder why I was still there. I was constantly told that I would never be successful in life; and I was laughed at and bullied for my conditions, feeling like a miserable outsider. Finally, in 8th grade, after going to different doctors for 4 years and receiving incorrect diagnoses, I was determined as a bipolar disorder patient.
You’d think that knowing my condition was caused by a chemical imbalance could relieve some of the pressure, but this wasn’t the case. I had no one left except for my parents, and my future seemed doomed. Not knowing why I behaved the way I did, or when I would do it again, I lived in constant regret and panic.
I had to take a gap year to focus on regular therapies and medication. Now out of the stressful school environment, life slowed down, and I took a deep look at myself. Most people like me either receive suppression from society, or simply give up in life by choice; my parents, loving me unconditionally, repeatedly told me that I didn’t have to work for a living, as they would support me forever. But I refused to be a wasted person. My life was just starting, and like normal people I also have hopes and dreams. Even though it seemed destined to be a continuous struggle, I promised myself that I would do whatever it took to achieve my goals.
And that’s what I did – one year later, I returned school with a mind stronger than ever. My medication started to work, and I was able to alleviate and control my symptoms through self-adjustment methods. The jeers from my peer continued, but it didn’t stop me from reaching my fullest potential. After entering high school through entrance test like others, I set my sights on an even greater goal. I wanted to study in the US, because I would receive better treatments and more diverse education that satisfies my curiosity.
I can’t say that things were easy since I arrived; I’ve got used to people misunderstanding me for being lazy or spoiled, when I had to take a few days off to get treated or spend the day in my room alone adjusting my mood. But gradually, as I became more open and honest about my condition to people around me, I made some of the closest friends in life.
Everything worked out now – I love the courses and the supportive teachers that forged a comfortable environment for me to thrive in, and I’m more stable and happier than ever before. Maybe I will always be labelled as “sick” or “abnormal” and be judged upon everywhere, but this disease does not define who I am as a person. The reality is, through fighting the disease, I have become a strong-minded person that works harder than probably anyone you know – because I want to, and have to, determine the course of my life and prove those who despised me wrong."