<p>About the essays: imo, your essay topics should allow you to be personal, detailed, honest and revealing. Writing about how you are overcoming OCD may or may not be a topic that best allows you to reach that goal. </p>
<p>For some good advice about college essays, see:</p>
<p>Sorry, I missed the part that you were doing better now and no longer needed treatment. I see. A mild case of OCD might not be as disabling as a severe case of ADD and vice versa. It's comparing apples and oranges. If you were seriously impacted and it affected your grades, it is legitimate. I have read though that it is sometimes better to have the GC explain this rather than the applicant. She might just be able to say that you were sick one semester and it affected your grades. Also, some applications have a place for "anything you need to tell us" that is separate from the general essays which might be the place to mention it. I suggest visiting the thread ADad recommended. I'm sure there is a lot of good advice there.</p>
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I can see an adcom looking at an applicant who reveals a mental disorder such as depression, social anxiety, or OCD and asking "Is this really someone who will positively influence the social dynamics of the campus?"
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<p>Um...there are tons of college students with mental disorders, many of whom contribute very positively to the social (and academic) dynamics of their campuses.</p>
<p>Arguing over whether OCD or ADD is more severe is ridiculous. Both conditions have a wide spectrum of severity. There are people with ADD who are minorly inconvenienced and people with ADD who are barely (or non) functional without heavy medication. Same with OCD.</p>
<p>To the OP: An adcom's big worry would be that if your medical problem (whatever medical problem it is; this applies to more than just your case) is destroying your academic performance right now, it will do the same in college. Therefore, you have to demonstrate (by better performance in the future) that you have learned to be consistently academically functional despite your medical problem. Having overcome it could indeed be a good essay, I would think (though only given the right topic), but you have to have overcome it.</p>
<p>It is possible that it would be better, since clearly some people DO stigmatize mental illness, to have the GC explain, without specifics, that you had a medical problem that affected your grades that particular term.</p>
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Though...if it's not affecting you physically...then is there any problem?
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<p>Yeah, it's still a problem when you can't do your work because you're feeling compelled to wash your hands a hundred times every hour (or whatever, I picked a generic example) and you are too anxious to concentrate until you do.</p>
<p>What is ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL with ocd and similar disorders that you find a place where you are 100% comfortable. This is a way to keep ocd under control. No too challenging - you should remain a solid B student while working approximately a hard as you work now. The place should not be too small, so that you can completely avoid someone who refuses to accept you after you had a few dificult weeks. Preferably with a meical school on site (or a major hospital nearby).
Whether to tell admission officers about your condition? It will not hurt or help. They will have respect and sympathy seeing how ou manage. But they do not want major break-downs on campus and they are not MDs to figure out what risks come with what diagnosis - if acknowlege you have problems handling high school, and you do not receive some majic treatment leading to full recovery, then they can expect that college would be too big a challenge.</p>
<p>OCD is tough - I have several extended family members with it. It seems to run in our family - It sounds like you are doing well now - Congrats !!</p>
<p>at jessiel: that is sorta an example of when it affects you physically...</p>