<p>Hi, so I'm a rising senior and I've been diagnosed with severe depression since my freshman year. I'm in therapy and meds, etc, on the road to recovery, but it's tough. Recently, as a study for new meds, it was discovered that I have ADHD as well. Personally, I think ADHD is overdiagnosed (who doesn't get distracted from time to time?), but hey, I'll take the Ritalin. Anything to concentrate in this cut-throat world of competitive admissions.</p>
<p>Anyway. Should I tell colleges about this stuff? I have decent grades (3.8 unweighted with 5 AP classes), but I could have done much better if I didn't want to, you know, kill myself for most of high school. </p>
<p>I think I’d lean toward keeping the depression to yourself, unless there was a particular semester or year that your grades really suffered. If your grades were pretty consistent throughout high school (and a 3.8 is nothing to sneeze at), disclosing probably won’t help you and could possibly hurt you. And though I think ADHD absolutely exists, one of the cardinal symptoms of depression is problems with concentrating, so be aware that attention problems may not necessarily be the result of ADHD (though it sounds like you had a thorough eval and having both depression and ADHD is certainly possible).</p>
<p>What I would suggest, though, is talking to the disability services offices at the schools you’re considering. You’re going to need a lot of support to be successful, from making sure your meds are filled, to finding a good therapist, to learning if accommodations are available, etc. You don’t have to disclose anything on your application about talking to disability services either. But the support available could definitely be important in making a good choice of college. Hope your recovery continues. Hang in there!</p>
<p>i know that college admissions don’t like “sob stories” unless it has to do with you overcoming it and getting personal growth from it. no offense, but colleges want to admit people who are optimistic, smart, etc. not someone who is depressed. so imo i wouldn’t mention it.</p>
<p>also, depression can causes adhd symptoms, so i think you were misdiagnosed.</p>
<p>Hi there – congratulations on taking step towards better health. Please don’t kill yourself. Each day is hard, but there are people who love you, and people who haven’t met you who will love you. </p>
<p>I see no reason to NOT tell colleges, in the course of applications, what your health status is. If you were diabetic, and it came up, would you deny that? Depression is a biochemical problem, a physical/chemical issue that manifests as a mental health challenge. It is not a moral failing, a character flaw, or even all that unusual. My son was dx with depression and ADD in college, and when the ADD was under control, the depression abated. Your case will be as individual as you are, but there’s nothing here to hide. You are not defective. You are not less. You are not a academic risk or a potential problem. Colleges are looking for hardworking, academically promising, socially aware students who are willing to learn, change and grow. You sound like all of those things. So if they ask, you tell them you are newly dx with ADD and depression, and are in treatment that is progressing as expected. If they don’t ask, you wouldn’t need to tell them until you are admitted, and at that point you absolutely want to tell them so you can hook into the support services they offer. Because you will not be the only one who needs them. Not by a million miles. Life is hard. Do not make the mistake of making it harder in a misplaced sense of shame for something beyond your control. You haven’t murdered anyone, broken a law, gotten a DUI, cheated on your SATs, been an abusive person or a slacker. THOSE are people the colleges don’t want. YOU have every chance at a happy future at a school that is a good fit for you. So go find it :)</p>
<p>Since you have good grades, there’s no reason to bring it up. Usually you must bring this sort of thing up if it has genuinely impacted your grades negatively.</p>
<p>Now having said that, you can spin it to your advantage. Don’t write an entire essay on the subject, but quickly and subtly find a spot in an essay to mention how you were determined to not let these challenges get in the way of your academic aspirations and achievements. You don’t want to gloat. You don’t want an entire essay on it: it’s a cliche and as an admissions officer I’d probably be really peeved reading an essay on this when your grades are fine.</p>
<p>Good luck! I’m sorry for you’re going through.</p>
<p>PS: funeralparty, colleges want sincerity and to find out exactly who this person is that’s applying to their school and why they should let them in. Telling a, what you call, “sob story” is not a bad thing if it’s legitimate and the applicant has something substantial to say. I would also advise you to not try to diagnose mental illnesses of people you don’t know over the internet right after rudely saying that colleges don’t want to accept depressed people.</p>
<p>Funeralparty, unless you’re a medical professional with intimate knowledge of OP’s mental health, I don’t think you have any business making statements about which conditions they do or do not have.</p>
<p>I don’t think you tell this stuff to admissions. You get admitted, and then you go talk to the Academic Services people at the college, or whatever the department is called at your college.</p>
<p>Keep getting better. You have performed academically well in HS by any standard. Be proud of that. You’ll get into a great college. Good luck in senior year.</p>