<p>My overall GPA is somewhat low due to my horrible academics in freshmen and sophomore year (3.3, 3.8). That time was extremely tiring for me because I had been diagnosed with O.C.D., severe depression, and an eating disorder (All of which run in my family). I was officially declared recovered last week. I have demonstrated progress in my Junior year by taking more AP classes, and managed to get a 4.7. This year is my senior year, and I am taking very difficult classes, and doing extremely well in them. I am now applying to UCs, and I was wondering whether I should explain my freshmen and sophomore academics in the additional comments box. Apparently mentioning mental illnesses is the worst thing you can do, because there is a stigma attached with it. I also don't want to sound like I am making excuses, but I genuinely believe that if I didn't have all of those problems, my GPA and my overall academics would be better. Could I just put something general like "I had prolonged illnesses which prevented me from doing my best", or should I just straight out mention them? Or should I just leave it blank?
Thank you!</p>
<p>bumpbump…</p>
<p>I would like to know about this issue as well so bumpity bump~</p>
<p>There is always a risk of disclosing things like this on the application. Conventional wisdom is NOT to disclose. Get in, and then afterwards, ask for help with learning/mental health/disabilities center.</p>
<p>I would disclose “lengthy illness”, but would NOT be inclined to say what the illness was.</p>
<p>Do you want admissions officers making a judgement or bias their opinion based on these factors?</p>
<p>^^^^I agree with SamuraiLandshark.^^^^</p>
<p>First, congratulations on your recovery. IMO saying your grades suffered because you had a long illness is really too vague to be useful and ad-coms are likely to ignore it. UCs do count hardship, so I would certainly bring it up. I’d do it less in the context of “this is what caused my bad grades,” but “this is what I learned about myself.”</p>