<p>Wanted to get some opinions. I have bipolar disorder and have suffered severe major depression during high school, and I was able to overcome the worst of my illness.</p>
<p>Would an essay exploring my experience with mental illness be too risky for the common app essay? I'm mostly applying to east coast and liberal arts schools and a couple Ivies.</p>
<p>Also, to give context, I ask because my parents are advising me not to disclose any information about my experiences with mental illness because they think it might negatively affect me as an applicant.</p>
<p>My response was that I doubt it would - but I really don’t have the evidence to back it up, and that’s probably terribly idealistic - and that if a school did discriminate on that basis, I wouldn’t want to go there.</p>
<p>Thoughts?</p>
<p>Yes, too risky in my opinion.</p>
<p>yes, too risky. sorry to say it, but your parents are right</p>
<p>Yeah…I know how you feel because I wanted to write about a compulsive disorder I had, and how I overcame it, but it really would actually just be telling universities that if it were to happen again it may affect my ability to complete coursework and to study in a negative way.</p>