Transparency about health condition when applying to Penn LPS?

Hi College Confidential,
I’m finishing up my application to Penn LPS. In case you aren’t familiar with the program, it’s intended for non-traditional students - who are older than the average college student, or who have taken time off. I had a medical withdrawal from my university in Spring of 2015. I plan to address this in my essay, explaining how I had “health issues.” My health issues were severe depression and anxiety.
LPS also asks about being a part of a group not traditionally recognized on college campuses. I was thinking about writing about being a disabled student and how this gives me a unique viewpoint to bring to the academic setting, etc., etc…
This brings me to my question - how should I deal with this issue on my application? On my regular transfer apps, I was hesitant to be forthcoming and just stuck with “health issue,” and never mentioned that I was disabled.
This brings me to the following questions:
Since LPS is a non-trad student program, are the admissions committee more likely to be open-minded about these things? Should I disclose the nature of my issues to make for a more candid essay and picture of my situation? Should I write about being disabled as making me a part of a group not traditionally represented on college campuses?
Thanks!

Don’t mention mental health issues. Physical, medical or learning disabilities are fine. Find a way to address your withdrawal without talking about depression.

@sbjdorlo Is there still too much of a stigma, even in a non-traditional students program?

Actually - second thought. I also have an eating disorder. Is that less taboo to talk about?

Still taboo IMO, but maybe someone else thinks differently. Colleges want students who will be successful and coming in with depression and eating disorders seems like a big risk.

My son, a traditional age applicant, wrote about his type 1 diabetes (learned to manage it independently), his math disability (despite this, he works exceptionally hard and scores well on standardized tests) his vision disability (had eye surgery to correct it) and his hearing loss (has a hearing aid), but in the context of, “despite the disabilities, here’s what I’ve accomplished and they haven’t slowed me down…” etc.

Do you see the difference?

I do see the difference - however, the problem is that the problems really /have/ impeded my academic progress. I need to find some way to explain the issues - the medical withdrawal and academic probation (which I was placed on for being part time in my first semester of college). Should I just say “health issues,” then?

If you’re going to mention depression, you’re going to also want to be able to mention how you’ve addressed it and found ways to persevere and succeed in spite of it. Much like @sbjdorlo’s son, you want your essay to show that you are college-ready and poised to prosper in spite of any impediments.

Beyond that, take a step back from the essay and think about your readiness for Penn LPS itself. The reason an adcom will look apprehensively at any mention of depression is the same reason you yourself should be looking at it in the same way. LPS is by all accounts a difficult and demanding program. It is not Penn-Lite. Given the recent occurrence of your depression, it is a good time to ask yourself “Am I ready now for a highly demanding program? Am I prepared to handle a relapse? If so, how?”

As someone who dropped out of college due to depression himself, I have walked that path before. I urge you to keep the focus on yourself and your own preparedness for a rigorous program. If you emphasize your own health and readiness to return, then what to say in your essay about the gap in your education should come easily and naturally.

For me, treating my depression came primarily through meditation, mindful relating practices, and cognitive therapy. These things have not prevented relapse entirely, but they have significantly reduced the frequency and impact of relapses and the amount of control a relapse can take of my choices and actions. I feel depression and its intensity, but where before the depression would take the driver’s seat in my psyche, now it is merely a backseat passenger.

I took on those treatments in a piecemeal way, but there’s now an integrated approach called Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy that is specifically designed to prevent and manage relapses of depression and anxiety. Completing a course in that modality, or one like it, could be a great way to build confidence (both for yourself and for any adcom) in your ability to manage future depressive episodes. (Another similar modality is Mindful Self-Compassion)

Maybe you’ve already been treating your depression in one way or another, but whatever you have or haven’t been doing, keep that focus on your health and well-being. If and when you’re ready for a return to school, then the story you tell in an essay can simply be your story.

“Depression is with me, but it no longer rules my life.” It’s easy enough to say that in an essay; it’s harder to believe it and live it in life.

This is a fine line. Some argue that without revealing your disability the Adcoms will be left guessing. At least if you disclose your disability then have something meaningful to say about it…how much you learned from this experience, etc.

Don’t simply disclose without putting any of this into context.

Did you have an IEP in high school? Were any accomodations granted to you?

I am actually in university now at another top college and am applying to LPS as a transfer - I completed the past two semesters of college without any withdrawals, although I was enrolled half-time second semester - something I expect to be pretty routine. This is a big part of why LPS really appeals to me. My current university is not flexible at all about this and is constantly down my throat about graduating on time, but I know that LPS Students are frequently part time without any flack from the university. Penn also has an academic program that really appeals to me.

I have a 3.5 at a top 25 school - so not quite a peer school, but pretty close. I also have a 3.9 from a community college degree I earned while I was in high school, and a 3.9 unweighted from high school as well. I’m mostly just concerned about how to explain the withdrawals.

I have been in therapy all year and have been really stable because of medication. Although I am seldom happy, it is no longer anywhere near physically debilitating 99% of the time. I am working 40+ hours a week this Summer for an internship and am fine.

I didn’t have any accommodations in high school. I didn’t have any depression that impacted my school work until I started college, but I do have them at my current university, and need them. The most important are excused absences and flexible deadlines. I literally would fail out of school without these. I also had two teachers discriminate against me this year and refuse to recognize my accommodations (I don’t plan to mention this on my app, but I am flying a discrimination claim against one of them), so I have two B-'s among otherwise all A’s and A-'s. I am trying to figure out a way to explain this as well without seeming super whiny. I know admissions officers understandably don’t like to hear a bunch of blame and excuses, but it’s so frustrating when bad things happen which are totally out of my control.

I don’t mean to belittle your condition but can you explain why it would require flexible deadlines and excused absences?

A formal IEP would have laid all of this out and it would have been easier to carry these accommodations to college.

Colleges are not required to give any accommodations although many do. Showing a history of filing claims may make admissions people anxious.

Sorry to disagree, but Penn is making a HUGE effort in the area of mental health. My daughter is just back after a medical leave (Inflammatory Bowel Disease,) and her condition causes a GREAT deal of anxiety. The CAPS program on campus just received additional funding, and she will take advantage of the disability waiver. This enables approved students to test in a private room, leave the room and notifies the professor of the relevant issues.

I say be open and honest, and look into what the school offers in terms of mental health so you can mention it in your app. Good luck!

@sgopal2 Depression and anxiety can be more crippling than you might thing. Usually for me it’s just because of panic attacks or anxiety attacks which make it impossible to do work or go to class. I agree, from what I’ve learned, that an IEP would have made things easier in college, but it’s not as though I can do anything about that now - and my school district doesn’t tend to write IEPs for students with emotional disabilities, anyway.
I may be wrong, but I was under the impression that colleges were legally required to accommodate students under ADA. Is that not right? I have no intention of mentioning the fact that I am filing a claim on my application. It’s a sad state of affairs where in which the student who is the victim of discrimination is the one who has to keep secrets, while the offender is publicly absolved, but there’s not much I can do about it.

@picktails I am glad to hear that your daughter is having such a good experience with that! All of the comments on this thread were making me a little nervous that the university was quite insensitive. I think I am going to keep things vague but explain the “health condition” - it seems like this is a pretty controversial issue and I don’t want to cause my app readers to be biased.

I do understand and agree that depression and anxiety can cause a lot of burden.

However colleges are not required to accommodate students such that it would fundamentally alter their education. Having flexible deadlines might tread into this territory. Some common accommodations that students get are: extended time on tests, large print, distraction free environment, use of a scribe, calculator, etc. I’ve never heard of a student being granted flexible deadlines.

If this is such a persistent disability for you then have you considered online classes? This way you could work at your own pace.

You may want to call the disability office and ask what type of documentation you would need.

I have necessary documentation from several doctors and accommodations given by my school - the problem is that a few teachers have refused to recognize the accommodations that the school has given me. Flexible deadlines and excused absences are accommodations that my university and others offer, though they are not available at every school.
Do you know anything about how to make sure I get the same accommodations that I have at my current university, if I should choose to transfer somewhere?

As @sgopal2 has suggested, it is best to contact the disability office of any university to which you are applying and ask in advance if they are able to offer the accommodations you require.

Penn, for example, does not include flexible deadlines in the list of accommodations on their website (link below), but they may offer additional accommodations that are not on that list. The only way to be sure is to ask. Otherwise, you risk wasting an application fee on an institution that cannot provide what you need to succeed.

http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/lrc/sds/academic_accommodations

@DreamSchlDropout I noticed that - I have been thinking about this some more and talking to my doctors, and I think that with medication adjustments, I would probably be okay if I had other accommodations - for example, the note taking service at my university is pretty unreliable, which adds to the problem of getting things in on time. I really really want to go to LPS, and I think I would actually be fine if I couldn’t have this particular accommodation there (a big part of my depression/unhappiness is just that I literally can’t stand my current uni). Do you know if other colleges offer excused absences? It’s not listed on the Penn website, and I don’t know how common of an accommodation it is.

http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/lrc/sds/cs_documentation_guidelines.php
The above link is for the Weingarten Learning Center at Penn, which is where you can apply for the disability waiver. This shows what documentation is needed for certain accomodations.