<p>I'm a 20 year-old, 3rd-year CC student, hoping to transfer to NYU as a Music Business major, with minors in Law and Music Production.</p>
<p>My biggest issue is that I have Bipolar Disorder, Epilepsy, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, along with a whole slew of other (milder) mental illnesses. In high school and part of CC, my (now ex-)psychiatrist was overdosing me on Xanax (and several other extremely potent medications) without my knowledge, making me tired constantly and leading to other health issues that weren't resolved until my 2nd year of CC. I missed a lot of school because of psychiatric problems in HS as well, and I had a super low GPA (probably a 2.0) and a horrible ACT (14) in HS because of this. I've been completely unmedicated and stable for about two years now, and I'm kind of confused about how to discuss these issues with a counselor or dean during my application process. I don't want to focus on my mental illnesses because I don't want the school to think I'm some sort of basket case, and have heard plenty of horror stories regarding schools and their wariness of accepting students with mental illnesses. </p>
<p>I'm also aware that my mental illnesses aren't an excuse for poor grades, seeing as I've gotten only A's and B's for the past 2 years, but I feel the need to explain the cause of my poor former grades to someone so they can see that if I hadn't been overmedicated and nearly comatose everyday in school, I would've gotten great grades. I'm curious as to how to go about applying now. I did receive one failing grade in CC (before my medication issue was discovered), but I've replaced it with an A through academic renewal, and I have a 3.85 now. I have 30 credits now, and I have one more semester of classes before I have to send in my transfer application. I also work in my CC's writing center as a tutor, act as a Peer Helper, volunteer at a senior home, and have won several essay writing competitions. </p>
<p>Do I attach a letter to my NYU application regarding my personal issues when I apply? I truly despise making myself seem like I was "helpless" in HS, but I don't want my past actions that were caused by a faulty doctor's selfishness to affect my chances of acceptance. Do you think the counselors would be open to discuss this in the first place? I'm going to attach this information as an additional essay of some sort, worst case scenario.</p>
<p>Any recommendations to improve my chances of being accepted/go about discussing my issues in high school?</p>