<p>I'm a prospective graduate of the 2014 class, hopefully with an IB Diploma under my belt. Though I feel very, very happy with my IB classes and the style in which they are taught and how they suit me, I have certainly struggled with grades for the last three years of my high school career. </p>
<p>Currently, my unweighted GPA is around a 3.55. I know this is far from stellar when compared to some of my peers, and ESPECIALLY when many of the colleges that I'm looking at are more selective and highly academically rigorous (many being top 50 schools, at least). </p>
<p>My question regards the factors that affected my GPA over the years. I was diagnosed with severe depression and now I see both a therapist and a psychiatrist as well as take medication in order to alleviate my problem. Now, depression affects everyone differently, but in my personal case it makes me lethargic and sleepy all the time. Doing anything of high stress (ie. homework, projects, etc) gives me both anxiety and bad spells of sadness, so bad that I sometimes I must take time off in order to avoid something dangerous from happening. As such, my medication helps with this and ever since I started taking my medication I have seen an upward trend in my grades. </p>
<p>That being said, if I discuss this somewhere within my application, how would colleges feel? On my side, I am split between feeling that my mental illness is a legitimate excuse for some of my poorer grades in my rigorous courses, and thinking that I'm using my disease as a crutch of sorts. It's very, very difficult to discuss my depression and the details regarding it as well (even this is a struggle) and I'm afraid that if I do it will all be for naught. </p>
<p>I don't want to seem like I'm making excuses; I own up to my poorer grades, but I also recognize some of the factors that went into it. </p>
<p>How do you think that colleges will react to my "excuse"? Is it an excuse? Am I right to mention it, or do I seem whiny and unwilling to own up to my mistakes? </p>
<p>You want to go to an academically rigorous school school, when “doing anything of high stress (ie. homework, projects, etc) gives me both anxiety and bad spells of sadness, so bad that I sometimes I must take time off in order to avoid something dangerous from happening”?</p>
<p>Why? I don’t know what schools will think, but I can’t help wondering. What do your therapist and psychiatrist think? Might want to factor that into your explanation.</p>
<p>The difference is that in college I will be taking the courses and the major in the field in which calms me and helps me survive. I’m more of an English/History person, and more specifically I am a writer, and I plan on avoiding all of the Physics/Chemistries/Biologies of the world like the plague. Most of my stress comes from course loads from classes such as those. However, with the chance to study literature, creative writing, etc…it will be saving me more than harming me.</p>
<p>So that is what your therapist and psychiatrist feel as well? I hope you are right, but please consider that that might not be the experience of those who have gone before you.</p>
<p>Have you read Hyperbole and a Half? Someone you reminded me of shared some of her stuff.</p>
<p>First step - discuss your list of schools with your therapist and your psychiatrist. If it is bad enough that even on medication you are still taking time out from your classes, then it is not enough under control to consider such schools. Even if it is under control, these are the people in a position to tell you whether you are asking too much of yourself. </p>
<p>If they give the OK to your list, you guidance counselor is the one who can address it as part of your application. If your GC believes you have improved under treatment, and your performance in class indicates as much, he will be able to write about it without it coming across as an excuse. But beware that it can also work against you. It is a disability, so colleges can’t use it directly against you, but they can certainly choose not to give you a “pass” for lower grades. It may be a double-edge sword. It is only likely to help if it is under control the the point it no longer interferes with your ability to do well in school. </p>
<p>I know it’s hard to hear, but highly selective - top 50 school might not be a good fit for you. Be very careful, because if you do get in, you will need to spend your summer finding a therapist and psychiatrist on campus. These colleges will take your diagnosis very seriously - not always to your advantage, if they think you are a threat to yourself or others. They can’t afford the liability, particularly when many of the most recent mass shootings have been perpetrated by people with mental illness. They can’t afford the liability.</p>
<p>There are some schools that I think would be great for you. Consider Bennington college and Marlboro college in Vermont. Sarah Lawrence in New York. Lewis & Clark in Portland, OR. Hampshire college in MA. They all offer terrific writing & history in beautiful, calming setting, and are more, as my son would say, chill schools.</p>
<p>That is certainly a concern if you choose to write about your metal health issues yourself. Often times it’s better to have a school official, such as your guidance counselor, school social worker or psychologist, document your illness in the Secondary School Report (SSR). They can be your advocate and you won’t come across as writing a “woe is me” essay.</p>
<p>Discussing your depression may be helpful if you can make a good case that you and your doctor(s) are now managing your illness better than before, and you have your academic life more on track than you once had.</p>
<p>IMO, that’s not at all the same as arguing that you will be successful in college because you “plan on avoiding all of the Physics/Chemistries/Biologies of the world like the plague.” Simply avoiding quantitative subjects won’t remove the stresses from college; it will, at best, remove some of the stresses from college. But it sounds as if you plan a course of study that involves a ton of reading and writing–not all of it creative or fun–on tight deadlines.</p>
<p>If you can’t make a good case that you are healthier now than you were when you earned the grades on your transcript, then I think your best strategy is to keep your illness to yourself–because once you share information that’s personal, you can never un-share it–and target universities or colleges where a 3.55 GPA in a demanding high-school curriculum makes you a good candidate for admission. There are plenty of those.</p>
<p>I would perhaps even consider postponing college while you continue to work on your mental health. If even doing homework or projects in subjects you don’t like truly causes you stress and anxiety–you are not yet strong enough for college. In college there will still be classes you don’t like, whether it is the subject matter, or the professor, or the pace of the class or the way it is taught; you will have stress from time management and from interpersonal relationships as well.</p>
<p>Hmm, if it was 1 year killing your GPA but you were able to get the needed help and really turn it around, I think you’d be a stronger case. The fact that this has been a 3 year struggle that has yet to fully resolve itself is worrisome. Even as an English/History major, you won’t be able to totally avoid science/math. If you some how manage to avoid them, you WILL be dealing with classes you don’t like, a teacher you don’t connect with, heavy work loads you didn’t expect. </p>
<p>I’m not going to discourage you from applying to dream schools. As to providing an explanation, I think you’ll have to. Will that explanation hurt you? Well, it certainly could but the colleges that don’t take you with a 3.5 due to serious depression are simply NOT the right schools for you. Make sure to broaden your search to include some less competitive schools with quality programs. Schools with an open curriculum or that have GE options you think you could life with would be good. Make sure to find something close to home too… just in case. You will get a good education at any school. You don’t need to be in an ultra competitive school to get it.</p>