<p>I will be applying to graduate schools this semester and am incredibly anxious about the entire process. A large portion of my anxiety is attributable to my taking a medical leave for this past year. I decided to withdraw from university after experiencing a debilitating period of depression. Although my depression is still present, I am controlling it with medications and therapy. My concern is that graduate admissions will see the gap in my undergraduate studies and request an explanation. I am not sure how candid I should be. I fear that admission of my depression will negatively impact the graduate admissions' perception of my ability to handle a rigorous academic program. (At this point I must note that my bout was inspired by a personal crisis and not an academic one). I am not seeking their sympathy but I do not want to be branded as unstable or incapable and have my application jettisoned from the applicant pool. I love research and am certain that I want to pursue a career in polar biology. I lost one year of my life to depression and I want to reclaim it. If anyone has had a similar experience or has any advice, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you.</p>
<p>Your mental health issues have no business appearing in your applications.</p>
<p>Your concern about "a missing year" is unfounded, and need not be addressed in a statement of purpose. You could, however, allude to that time in a positive way, as in "Having been away from academia for a year, I have become acutely aware of how much I truly miss laboratory research." (Well, not that cheesy, but I am sure you get my meaning.)</p>
<p>If, in an interview, you are asked "what did you do during that year?" all you must answer is "I lived in CityM, and worked at OfficeN." </p>
<p>Best wishes to you.</p>
<p>I missed a summer of otherwise productive research from roughly the same problem. If your other admission characteristics are fine, don't worry about the time off, you'll have an explanation anyway if you do get asked. Most scientists acknowledge depression as a biological condition and wouldn't treat this any differently than if you had been on dialysis for a semester. Best of luck.</p>
<p>Professor X: Thank you for your reply. I was quite conflicted about whether I should mention my absence so I really appreciate your reply. I tend to be too candid about most aspects of my life (I find omissions to be dishonest) but I will not make that mistake with my graduate applications. Thank you for your insight.
Belevitt: Thank you for your reply. It is comforting to know that you had a similar experience and have been able to successfully return to research. Yes, I concur that most scientists probably acknowledge the biological and environmental causes of depression; but my concern is that if the choice is between a psychology stable person versus one who struggles with depression that an admissions board would invariably choose the former to reduce liability. But, since I am not obligated to mention it, hopefully it will not be issue. Thank you again.</p>