I was diagnosed with ADHD in the summer after my freshman year, but before my diagnosis and medication my grades were subpar. I got mostly As and Bs but I got one C+. After I was medicated, I got nearly all As all 3 years and was able to take a much more rigorous course load. Should I mention in my application what this marked change in grades was from? I don’t want them to think that because I have a learning disability that they shouldn’t accept me but I want them to know that my freshman grades were lower for a reason.
Do not write about your ADHD diagnosis in your college essay. I think it would be difficult to prove that ADHD directly caused your poor freshman grades. Instead, ADHD contributes symptoms such as difficulties with attention span and concentration, etc.
Further, the diagnosis itself does not have a direct impact on your behavior. Instead, it describes a condition that contains symptoms that you show. You never mention how the ADHD affects you beyond saying it was treated by medication only. Did you receive, extended time or any other accommodation?
The way currently described, you had something that was messing up your grades and then was diagnosed. Poof! Everything was perfect academically. Sounds like flu that was bad and then you recovered. Before you started writing about ADHD, you need to learn far more about this disorder and its impact on you. If medication is all you ever need, it may be equivalent to another student’s hay fever on freshman grades that was treated by antihistamines.are
Do not write about ADHD. Even if you resolve the above questions, mentioning ADHD can cost you important rights. For example, if you were on the cusp of admission, your disclosure of a diagnosis and problem first year may make you more of a risk academically than you expect. When admission is competitive, you do not want to introduce a potential problem. Further, If you were denied, you can not challenge the decision on the basis of disability. If you open ADHD at admissions as an explanation for poor early grades you own it. You have potentially raised a concern about yourself that could have an adverse impact.
Do not write about ADHD ever. There is nothing about your limitations from ADHD and how they are directly addressed. You may have received accommodations in the past and may need accommodations in the future. You neemust disclose and document ADHD when you register for the disability office. Specific accommodations would be discussed and approved.
You will not get accommodations from faculty directly. If you claim you need extra time on tests, for example, faculty would send you to disability services, but be very unlikely to extend time upon request. Instead, faculty is asked to agree with your personal request and faculty seldom do that because most students would want something. That messes up grading standards and is generally unfair.
It is never a good idea to write about disability in your essay. Never. From what you have said, you have little information about ADHD in your past and current life. Why should I believe you that ADHD would never cause you problems in college? Somehow your condition was once critical and now, after diagnosis, it is irrelevant. Hard to believe or the understand why you would mention ADHD now.
My daughter has ADHD and was advised against mentioning it in the essay. Once she was accepted and arrived at school she met with the office of student access (aka students with disabilities) and they gave her accommodations.