<p>My son's top choice has asked that we submit a personal statement explaining any extenuating circumstances that could have impacted his academic performance and/or test scores. In his junior year, my son was hospitalized for a short period of time for depression. The illness along with the absence definitely affected his grades. We thought we were not going to bring this up during the admissions process, but my son's top choice is kind of forcing our hand in the matter. Prior to even applying a guidance counselor suggested that we not even bring it up. He's doing much better now and his grades are back to his normal range, hence the inquiry. Any advice?</p>
<p>It seems to me that you are under no obligation to report what kind of illness your son had. You can give a very brief statement that he missed X weeks of class due to an illness requiring hospitalization during that semester. Discuss with his guidance counselor that you would prefer that the nature of the illness not be disclosed at all, in case the colleges ask.</p>