I want to explain to the university that the reason I had bad grades freshman year was because my untreated ADHD, but it seems too “excusey.” And when I say bad grades, I mean that I got a lot of B’s. I didn’t actually fail anything. It doesn’t seem like it’s enough for a Special Circumstances essay. Also I didn’t really use my own willpower to resolve the problem, my doctor simply prescribed me ADHD medication and I didn’t have the problem anymore. What do you guys think?
When I think about special circumstances essay, I immediately imagine overcoming adversity. Personally I wouldn’t write about your ADHD unless it’s brought a significant change in your life.
That exact situation actually happened to me. I didn’t write about it in the special circumstances essay, and I still got into my first choice major (which was an engineering major). If you do choose to write about it, just write something very simple and to the point (ie: I was diagnosed with ADHD after my freshman year of high school and received treatment thereafter).