<p>Hi guys, I'm planning to apply to UT Austin and I was wondering if I should write the special circumstances essay about the eating disorder (anorexia) that I had last year. It had not really affected my grades though.</p>
<p>What do you guys think?
Thanks</p>
<p>I don’t know what to tell you. </p>
<p>Are you an auto admit? </p>
<p>I don’t know if that would make an honest, compelling story or if U officials would be afraid of you.</p>
<p>If you don’t get responses here, ask on the more general forums. I suspect this question has come up before. </p>
<p>Essays about a problem like that must ALWAYS focus on the way you worked hard to overcome it. It MUST be a success story, and that means something like 2/3 of the essay is devoted to the process and consequences of getting better.</p>
<p>Even so, it’s risky. It only happened last year, and readers might worry that you could easily relapse. Note that I am speaking generally, not about UT in particular.</p>
<p>Find something else. Mental illnesses terrify adcoms, sadly. </p>
<p>Well, having a son who had to withdraw from UT due to his mental illness, I can understand why admissions people would be leery of it. :(</p>
<p>I dont think that would be a wise choice for the essay but you could pull it off </p>
<p>If it didn’t affect your grades or your ability to do college work, why disclose it? On the other hand, it is a serious condition that I hope you are keeping under control. College can be stressful- new environment, academics, living with a room mate, and so be potentially triggering. You would not be alone though as there are likely to be other students with eating disorders at your college. Once on campus, it would be a good idea to contact student health for support. There may be a support group. Better to be proactive- preventative- than to let it get out of hand. </p>
<p>While these essays want to know more about you, do you really want to tell certain personal struggles to perfect strangers? Some things are meant to be private. IMHO, an eating disorder is something you should tell your family about, perhaps some close friends- people who care about you and want to see you do well. You don’t need to tell everyone. </p>