Health Addendum/Diversity Statement - Is it a good idea?

Graduate School Law School
1

Hi,

I’m an engineer that is looking to go to law school. Haven’t done a lot of school research yet but I would love to go to University of Michigan or Northwestern at first glance.

Basically, my freshman year I had some mental health issues I was going through that were exacerbated by the change to college and some family stuff. I ended that first semester with a 3.34 GPA. Second semester, things got a little more rough, and due to some administration at school not being super accommodating of my anxiety, I decided to take the semester off.

That process was hell, and they told me I’d have to sit out of school for an entire year. I put a lot of effort into getting back on track with my anxiety and applied to come back after that one semester anyways and they let me in. I’m on track to graduate in 7 semesters total so I can graduate with my class.

Since then, I’ve been getting 3.73-4.0 GPAs every semester (I am a senior now) and got my GPA up to a level I’m pretty happy with. But it would be a lot higher if I didn’t have that one 3.34.

Would writing an addendum about this be a good idea? I only get nervous because of the stigma around mental health that sometimes exist.

On a slightly unrelated topic, an advisor at school told me I should consider writing a diversity statement. I really wouldn’t consider myself diverse, but her reasoning was that I’m a female in engineering who also does art commissions and I’ll be working in industry for a year or so before applying to schools (I’m just getting stuff in order now). Is that something that would even qualify for a diversity statement? I personally do not see it but.

Thanks for your help!

2

You can mention that you had a health issue that impacted your freshman year and you missed the 2nd semester without saying “mental health”.

Can you show your diversity through your activities and/or essay?

3

I could definitely do that, I wasn’t sure if it was too vague or not! I don’t want to just say “health” and have them wonder. I wish I could elaborate more I just don’t like the stigma, even though I’m totally fine now and have thrived at school.

And yeah, that’s probably the best idea for the diversity topic.

I definitely think I can give them a holistic picture of myself without specifically calling it diversity because while engineering isn’t highly represented it doesn’t necessarily seem particularly unique

4

Not sure that being a woman in engineering is relevant to law school admissions given that you would no longer be a woman in engineering. In effect, you would be choosing to give up your under-represented status by entering law school.

If you do give a statement about health issues affecting your grades, you might offer that less as an excuse and present it more as a story of adaptability and resiliency with your subsequent performance as the proof that you are on solid footing for the rigors of law school - as opposed to ongoing fragility.