Throughout high school, I have had all As and A-s, at least until this year. This semester I took 5 AP classes and I got B+s in two of them. The main reason for this was because of mental health issues related to self harming and bulimia. While normally I would be able to dedicate a lot of time to studying, I was mainly focused on recovering and dealing with these problems. I had to miss a lot of school as well due to therapy and other medical appointments. When I came to school, it was definitely harder to concentrate and I often was sick and hungry due to the ED. I want to explain in the Additional Information Section that my semester grades this year were lower due to mental illness and not just laziness or "senioritis."However, I know mental health is still stigmatized and viewed by some as a choice or a reflection of a person’s overall ability. I am graduating early and going straight into college, so I know maturity and preparedness will already be a question and I don’t want to hurt my chances by showing what many still consider a “weakness.” I would note that I have made a lot of progress and was able to keep my grades up in most of my classes as well as participate in many extracurriculars. Do you think writing briefly about my mental health struggles would be a useful addition to my application or not?
First of all, congrats to you for getting help and working through such difficult issues and being open about it.
Second, B+ grades in AP classes are not horrible even without the issues you were facing.
Third, most important, and honestly unfair - it’s generally not considered a good idea to discuss mental health issues in your application. Schools are very fearful of students relapsing, especially given the stress of being away from home, being around all new people, and taking challenging classes. Because most college students are legal adults (18+), schools cannot contact parents regarding medical issues due to HIPAA regulations, which has lead to some ugly situations and a lot of bad publicity for schools. So many schools are fearful of accepting students with known mental health issues.
I don’t think your grades need explaining - you’ve done very well. But if you really feel they hold you back, I would suggest only mentioning illness and not going into detail.
Understand that college WILL be a stressor - so when you make your college choice, consider what environment is going to be best suited to your continuing to stay healthy - as this will be a lifelong battle. Best of luck to you!