Depressed all throughout high school, how am I going to get into college?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
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<p>I've been clinically depressed for five years. Unfortunately, my high school career occurred during those five years, and as a result I'm not that impressive of a student. </p>

<p>As a child, I was placed in the gifted and advanced programs (which, ironically, weren't challenging for me at all), tested for an IQ of 138, and was always praised by my teachers (this may have been unnecessary information to share, but I feel like me explaining my background a bit could help me get the best advice possible).</p>

<p>As you can see, I definitely had the potential to be successful in high school. But when I was depressed, it honestly took all my energy to get to school. I never participated in any extracurriculars, didn't take impressive classes (I did take two years of honors English, as well as AP Language and Composition, but I didn't take the test), and didn't have any jobs. I did well in my classes, but I never challenged or pushed myself, and as a result didn't put any effort into things. </p>

<p>I'm currently a senior, and will graduate in June. This past year has been especially difficult, and I've gotten the worst grades I've ever received in my life. My GPA previously was a 3.9, although this past year has brought it down to a 3.5. I applied to a couple schools last fall, but was rejected from all of them. The USC rejection letter really got to me, as it was my dream school (I knew I was more than likely not going to be accepted, but it still stung).</p>

<p>Anyway, I'm going to take a gap year abroad in Belgium through a program called AFS. I'll be attending a Belgian high school, and will become fluent in Flemish. I'm hoping this might give me a better chance of getting into a college I want (although that's not the reason I'm doing it. I've wanted to study abroad for six years now). I'm going to apply to schools in the fall, but I don't know what else to do. I'm very stuck. </p>

<p>Depression doesn't necessarily translate across a college application, and I'm sure that all the schools I applied to viewed me as a lazy student who doesn't care. It's not like I could explain to the admission officers that my lackluster transcript was due to barely being able to get out of bed. I don't know what to do. Advice would be greatly appreciated. </p>

<p>P.S. I apologize for the length of this post. I didn't know how else to explain everything. Thanks in advance to anyone that reads this. </p>

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<p>The best way to translate all that you’ve gone through is to write a kick-ass college essay. Yes, things like depression don’t translate well onto transcripts, but colleges love hearing about a student who has overcome struggles. The gap year in Belgium will also help, especially because most applicants won’t be fluent in Flemish! Enjoy your gap year and when applying to colleges again, put plenty of focus and effort into those essays, they just might be your ticket in! Best of luck to you!</p>

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<p>@jacksparrow10121, I think the much more important question is how is treatment for your depression going and are you making progress in that area. Are you working with a therapist regularly? Are medications in the picture? It’s all very well to get into college, but if you start college with disabling depression what are your chances of success? And as far as that essay goes, colleges love hearing about adversity you have overcome, but if you haven’t overcome it yet, that doesn’t work as well. </p>

<p>I think your first priority should be self care, with college admission not as important in the short term. Clearly you are very bright and can succeed once you are not being slammed by depression. </p>

<p>You may get more answers if you post in the Learning Differences and Challenges - LD, ADHD forum. </p>

<p>Good luck…!</p>

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<p>Speaking from experience here - have your counselor SAY this in his recommendation. A sincere and honest description of how your symptoms affected you and (important!) how you are now responding well to treatment is the key. Major life events (Chronic illness qualifies) should be mentioned in a college application.</p>

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<p>I hope you’re feeling better. Belgium must be pretty cool.
And yes, @AmericanHopee‌ is right: definitely have a counselor say specifically the circumstances. If he or she is unfamiliar, ask your doctor to email them.
Generally, if you do well in Belgium and are taking challenging classes (consider online AP’s as well if you’re interested), write good essays, and have an explanation of your illness, you should be back on the track you want :)</p>