<p>My grades took a slight dip one year because I went undiagnosed for awhile and ended up self harming and getting sent to a mental institution very very briefly ( for like one day, then weekly therapist sessions...they wanted to send me to iop). I'm honestly completely better now and could even say some of my activities like art helped me cope...but I'm not sure if schools would see this as a half decent way to explain my dip in grades or if they'd be even more hesitant to accept me, thinking is be under too much stress and be emotionally unstable at their schools?</p>
<p>To be honest I’m not sure what college would think of this, but the way I see it is that you demonstrated that you’re strong enough to recover something as hard as self-harming. Why not let other people, especially college admissions hear that? For what I understand, you don’t have any more issues, right? Just keep in mind that some people don’t know how to react to people like you and me.
I’m proud of you :)</p>
<p>How long ago?</p>
<p>junior year</p>
<p>Overcoming adversity is always a plus in my book. But you don’t have to provide all the gory details.</p>
<p>Don’t go too into detail- if you must mention self-harm, do so very briefly and don’t give any specifics. Make sure to talk about how your struggle has better prepared you for life and what overcoming these challenges has taught you. Overcoming hardship is looked on well. Just make sure you’re clear about that part of your life being behind you!</p>
<p>ah I’ll be sure to mention its behind me but…with it being in junior year, do you think colleges will still use it against me in admissions? x_x</p>
<p>You never really know- be very careful about what details of your private life are divulged to a university, especially if they don’t require you to report this information.</p>
<p>Exactly. It’s okay to mention in your personal essays the hardship that contributed to the drop in your grades. But giving too many private details looks really unprofessional!</p>
<p>ahh what extent is too many details? If I just said I was undiagnosed and went through emotional turmoil because of interpersonal relationships and family issues…is that too detailed or is that ok? should i mention self harm at all even… >< l I feel a tad embarrassed even mentioning it on this board.</p>
<p>If you feel embarrassed on this board, then please think how you may come across to an admissions officer.</p>
<p>How is your guidance counselor at school? If he or she is good they can help you with the wording you need to write, or they can put a note about it in the letter of recommendation. This is sensitive, and I would seek wise counsel. I would not mention harming yourself, though. That might really scare them off.</p>
<p>Close friend of mine had a similar situation including self harm and she did not mention that part in her explanation as to why she was temporarily out of school.</p>
<p>ah ok, that makes sense. thanks so much for the input you guys!</p>
<p>Relax, we all go through rough times. I actually wrote my essay about a sketchy afternoon being evaluated at a mental ward I had during my Junior Year, though the context was a bit more innocuous. The only issue is that adcoms don’t want to be responsible for putting someone still going through rough times in a really stressful environment like college.</p>
<p>Since this did happen relatively recently, I would suggest avoiding saying much ar all about what happened unless you can do it exceptionally well. The idea of just giving generals without details is actually quite risky because it leaves room for imagination. If you mention it, give enough details to make it clear that it really is not a big deal and should not imopact decisions in a non-positive way.</p>
<p>Here’s a possible way to say it. My grades took a dip in my nth year in school. This was due to condition x which was subsequently diagnosed and with treatment, my condition was brought under control and my grades recovered. Short and sweet. This tells them you had an issue, you recognized it, and sought help which led to a solution. Furthermore when the admissions committee looks at your transcript, they will notice that your grades improved.</p>
<p>Ahhh okay thanks so much.</p>