<p>Hello, my freshman year I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, admitted to a hospital for a short period of time, and put on certain short-term "experiment" medications that made me drowsy. My GPA went from a 4.0 to a 3.15. My sophomore year was a 3.93, and junior year was a 3.97. So is this worth mentioning in my transcript? Would admissions take this into account or dismiss it?</p>
<p>Numerous threads on this - don’t go there.</p>
<p>I didn’t think so. Thanks for your input. It really didn’t affect me sophomore or junior year. The only downside is it ruined my class rank.</p>
<p>It is okay to put something in your additional info section saying that you had a health issue freshman year that affected your grades that year, but your condition is now managed and no longer an issue. I wouldn’t tell them what it is, though.</p>
<p>why is it such an issue to disclose a mental illness versus a different kind of illness? Is there still such a stigma pinned to it in the US? I’m concerned about one of the supplements I wrote now. I don’t have a mental illness and have never been on medication but when I was younger I was quite neurotic (hypochondriac, extremely anxious) and I wrote about this for one of my supplements and how going on foreign exchange helped me became more accepting. Will this hurt me?</p>
<p>I included a VERY brief mention of it on my applications under special circumstances, but not in my essays. I felt that it was important to mention it, however brief it was. I think it is fine to mention it, but do not make it too big of a thing. You are not your mental illness; the college wants to focus on YOU.</p>
<p>SummerAus, I think you are fine. If you wrote it entirely about your illness, then I say you would be in trouble, but it sounds like it was more focused on your foreign exchange and how you grew as a person. It also depends on what college you applied to, but I say you are alright, so don’t worry!</p>
<p>SummerAus, it’s not the stigma of disclosure. It’s the very real legal liability issues that impact US colleges when their students have serious mental health issues. Schools are often held responsible (or parents try to hold them responsible) for reporting student health issues to parents (which they are not legally allowed to do), making sure the student complies with treatment plans (very difficult in any circumstance), creating special accommodations for students who need them (which gets expensive), etc…And there is always the associated issue of whether it will impact room-mates or housemates (since there are virtually no private rooms for freshman without medical need documented and disclosed) - since schools provide the housing and often have to intervene if the housing doesn’t work out for either party.</p>
<p>In short, schools are justifiably cautious about admitting students with a history of mental illness. And students become reluctant to share information that would actually help them to adjust better, knowing that there are consequences for the schools. A difficult dance for everyone.</p>
<p>My personal recommendation would be to not disclose this information until AFTER you are admitted. Then sit down with the school’s counseling staff and discuss your history and any accommodations that might be needed. How the school responds at that time should be a factor in determining whether you decide to accept the offer of admission or not. Some schools seem to do a better job of coping with students who have or have had mental health issues in the past and working with them to ensure that they continue to be on track going forward.</p>
<p>I agree with everything that’s been said here and will add that it is sufficient to say that your grades were impacted by medical circumstances. That should be good enough for them. You don’t want to be viewed as a liability. It’s unfortunate that that’s the way it is in this country, but you don’t want to hurt your chances.</p>
<p>woah - I just want to say that I, personally, don’t have a mental illness, I’ve never been medicated and I’ve never been recommended to go on medication. I was just exceedingly uptight, judgemental anda bit of a hypochondriac. There’s no issue in writing about that is there? My parents said it was fine and I submitted it a while ago without even thinking twice</p>
<p>I used the word neurotic, but people throw that around to talk about anyone who’s slightly maladjusted these days. It’s actual definition is overanxious or obsessive about everyday things, which is accurately what I was trying to depict.</p>
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<p>I don’t think writing about that will make you very attractive to colleges! The idea behind essays is to sell yourself to colleges as someone that they want on their campuses, not someone that everyone will want to avoid.</p>
<p>Re: personality quirks, my college counselor always presented it to us like this: your application is not a confessional; it’s a film trailer; a marketing campaign; a job interview. It has a positive, unified message that it drives home with concise addenda only as needed (eg. to explain unusual grade/test score trends or inability to commit to extracurricular activities due to economic or medical circumstances, etc.). Do not offer up this information unless it is explicitly solicited or if it’s required to clarify a discrepancy on your application or to justify certain elements that don’t represent your potential.</p>
<p>I’m not like that anymore, its describing more progression into a more accepting and open minded person</p>