common app essay on mental health

Writing about Mental Illness in Common App Essay

Hey everyone,

I posted a new thread a while back asking about how to choose which Common App to choose. I have a topic I want to write about in the first prompt, which says:

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

I am thinking of writing about my ADHD and how it sometimes brought me down to my worst times, but it also brought me to love myself more and persevere more throughout my battle (or that’s how I think of it). Overall, I want to write about my ADHD with a positive ending, and show how it has shaped me to the person I am today.

Thoughts? I know mental illness is a touchy topic with colleges; they don’t really want someone who has a mental illness and could cause potential problems… Also, how long should the Common App essay typically be? I’m starting to write a draft and have my GC and friends read my essay.

If any of you guys have written about mental illness/health in your Common App essay, would I be able to read it? There aren’t many examples of this kind of essay and I’d like to see how other people have portrayed it. PM me please!

Thanks so much

There are different types of mental illness, and fortunately ADHD is one of the more common ones. So common in fact that writing about it won’t really put you in a bad light. This is quite a bit different than writing about schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. Admissions committees are sometimes uneasy about admitting someone with unstable mental illness.

So whatever you write about, focus on how you overcame your obstacles (ADHD) and learned from them. Make sure to explain how you control your symptoms (or work around them).

Mental health is NOT the topic- go re-read the prompt: YOU are the topic, writing about something that is so key to knowing you that it is the most interesting / important thing about you. That’s one of the reasons that people are cautious about mental health essays: does it really define you? Is it really the most interesting thing about you? (I’m not saying it is or it isn’t- just asking the question for you to think about).

Here’s the thing: about 10% of hs students (and I’ve seen estimates as high as 20% of hs boys) have an adhd diagnosis. Your challenge will be to write an essay that is original (adcoms people read a LOT of essays, and 100% they will all have read many versions of an add/adhd essay), and NOT about ADHD, but about YOU. You should almost be able to substitute another label or life event and still have the heart of the essay stay the same- b/c the heart of the essay is you- and not just what you have overcome in the past, but where that is taking you in the future.

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Mental Health Essay

Introduction to Mental Health Essays

Crafting a mental health essay offers an opportunity to delve into complex subjects of modern life like psychological well-being or personal challenges. The mental health topics for a college essay may vary: from childhood trauma to anxiety disorders and personality disorders, from unhealthy lifestyle to severe consequences of substance abuse.

Young people often face stress that will undoubtedly negatively impact mental health in the future, which makes self-awareness about their mental state crucial. Other mental health issues play a crucial role in personal well-being. Mental health awareness plays a pivotal role, offering insights into mental health care, and navigating poor mental health scenarios. Essays might focus on mental illnesses in general or personal experiences.

Understanding Mental Health and Its Importance

Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It plays a crucial role in every stage of life, from childhood traumatic events through adulthood. Understanding mental health conditions and their impact on daily life helps recognize and address various challenges.

Research papers and essays are effective ways to raise awareness and promote discussion. Professionals play a vital role in mental and physical health care. A mentally healthy workforce benefits everyone, reducing stress and improving productivity.

Ensuring access to mental health awareness resources and mental health services through the care system contributes significantly to emotional well-being. The World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes the importance of mental health in overall physical health.

Research and Resources for Mental Illness Essays

For a strong mental health essay, research and resources matter immensely. Begin by understanding mental health issues and through trusted sources like the WHO. Dive into specific mental health disorders and mental illnesses such as obsessive-compulsive disorder or generalized anxiety disorder. Look at how mental health awareness is essential in various communities.

Students often face mental strain, contributing to poor mental health. Explore how mental illness impacts mental well-being and what makes one thrive. Find out about the latest ways to reduce stress and stimulate personal growth. Look into how professionals play crucial roles in addressing severe mental illness. Use insights to help raise awareness about mental health problems. Comprehensive research gives credibility and depth, making your mental health essay more impactful.

Addressing Mental Health Disorders

Facing mental health disorders can be tough, but addressing these is essential. Mental health disorders such as bipolar disorder or seasonal affective disorder impact many lives. Seeking advice helps in coping with mental health issues, and ensuring mental well-being. Professionals offer mental health resources and guidance — a mentally healthy society benefits from proper stress management techniques. Students facing stress also need mental health treatment and emotional support. Promote research studies to understand mental health better. Help those in a mental health crisis and ensure access to mental health care for everyone.

Highlighting Mental Health and Education

Writing about the positive aspects can shed light on why mental health matters so much. By discussing benefits, one can explain how addressing mental illness leads to good mental health. Exploring topics like how mental health care supports both severe mental illness and more common mental health issues helps readers understand the importance of mental health resources. For instance, talk about how research paper findings show that family members are often key in helping those with mental health illnesses. Discuss how poor mental health can affect students dealing with chronic stress. Highlight the role of professionals in providing essential health care.

Raising awareness about mental health struggles through education can make a difference. Mention the World Health Organization's efforts to combat mental illness. Emphasize how educational initiatives lead to long-term mental health benefits. Discuss how mental health refers to overall well-being, not just being free from stress or a mental disorder. Ultimately, supporting mental health through education and awareness can reduce the stigma related to mental health and untreated issues. Effective mental health awareness helps families and communities create a mentally healthier environment.

Support Systems

Understanding support systems is essential when writing a mental health essay. Experts can help high-school students facing stress, or someone dealing with severe mental illness like bipolar disorder. Mental health support also involves recognizing mental health issues early on to prevent a mental health crisis. Mental health education can teach about the signs of stress and mental illness as well as what good mental health is. By including insights from the WHO and recent research papers, one can highlight the importance of mental health for the community. Remember, addressing mental health problems and embracing available mental health care contributes to a more robust support system, ultimately enhancing mental well-being.

Managing Academic Stress and Emotional Well-Being

During school years, stress can lead to emotional challenges. Research shows academic pressure may contribute to mental health disorders like anxiety or depression. Students often have to manage stress due to tight schedules and heavy workloads. This stress affects well-being and can lead to poor mental health if not handled properly.

It's important to utilize mental health resources to tackle mental health issues. Professionals can provide valuable assistance in managing stress. For those dealing with more severe mental illness, proper mental health treatment is crucial. Untreated mental illness can escalate, impacting both education and personal daily life.

By raising awareness about mental disorders and encouraging the use of mental health benefits, students can better navigate stress. Educational institutions should also provide mental health awareness to help students understand and cope with stress. A mentally healthy fulfilling life starts with supporting students' mental health every step of the way.

Conclusion and Raising Awareness of Mental Health Issues

Raising awareness of mental health issues remains crucial. Highlighting the importance of writing a compelling mental health essay can significantly contribute to that cause. Many deal with mental illness daily.

Students, facing stress, benefit from understanding the mental health care system. Research papers can shed light on mental health challenges like borderline personality disorder, anxiety disorder, panic disorder, panic attacks, and many others. Mental health professionals play a vital role in managing poor mental health, ensuring those with mental health problems receive necessary care. The WHO emphasizes the importance of mental health alongside physical health for all. As a society, supporting mental health can lead to broader acceptance and improved social life for each of us.

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How to Address A Mental Health Issue or Disability On Your College Application

Applying to college can be a confusing and intimidating process for anyone. If you’re a student with a disability or history of mental health challenges, you might find the process even more so.

As a student who has a mental health issue or disability, your high school experience may have been inherently more difficult in some ways, and it has most likely been different from that of your peers. You might be unsure of how to speak about your unique challenges or struggles without sounding negative. At the same time, you may feel that your application is incomplete without addressing them. Your disability or mental health may be an integral part of your identity.

If you’re getting ready to apply to college and you’re wondering if or how to present a mental health issue or disability on your college application, this is the post for you. Here, we will discuss the factors to consider when choosing to disclose your challenges on your college application, and we will outline the various ways in which you can present these in the framework of a college application.

Should I discuss my mental health or disability on my college application?

Your mental health history or disability may be an integral part of who you are, but that does not necessarily make it relevant to a college application. For starters, it is important to know that it is actually illegal for a college to specifically ask for these types of details about your life, since doing so can be considered discrimination. Based on this reason alone, you are never required to disclose mental or physical health concerns on your application. Doing so is strictly a matter of personal choice and you should not feel that you are lying by omission if you choose to leave this information out.

Before you choose whether or not you’ll disclose your history of mental health or disability, you should think about the overall function of a college application.

Everything on a college application should contribute to an overall positive image of who you are as a student and as a member of a greater community. While you don’t need to hide integral parts of who you are, you also don’t want to share challenges that will not in any way support your application positively. This is true not only for mental health and disabilities but also for academics, extracurriculars, and other experiences. You always want to put your best foot forward and keep the focus on your strengths and most positive attributes.

That being said, mental health issues and disabilities are not inherently negative, and there is nothing to be ashamed of when discussing them. You should not feel like you need to hide these parts of your identity, but rather that you need to spin them in a positive way much the same as you would any other aspect of your application. Simply put, you want to ensure that you are presenting your true self in the best light. 

There are a few questions to consider when deciding whether you’ll include this information on your application at all. Ask yourself if your application will be confusing or incomplete if you don’t address these issues. For example, if you had to take a semester off to recover, you will obviously need to explain the gap in your transcript. Similarly, if you battled depression and failed one semester despite achieving a 4.0 GPA your senior year, you’ll need to explain the discrepancy. Never leave an admissions committee wondering what happened, since they will likely assume the worst if you don’t mention it at all.

If, after some introspection, you do find that these issues are ones that need to be addressed on your application, there are several places to do so. The specifics about why you choose to include these details in the first place will often dictate where the most appropriate place to discuss these issues is. 

When and how should I discuss my mental health or disability in my college essay?

The essay is one obvious place to include details about your mental health or disability, but you should only do so if you feel that your struggles with these issues truly define you as a person and can be included as part of a bigger picture that shows your strengths in a positive light.

Remember, the function of a college essay is not to be an autobiography. You should not be writing your life story simply to inform others of your experiences. Instead, the function of a college essay is to be part of an overall marketing package. And what are you marketing? Yourself!

Whatever you choose as an essay topic should shed light on the attributes that make you a beneficial and unique member of any community. If your struggles with mental health or disabilities are defining features of this nature, then your essay is a great place to frame them positively. If you choose to do so, focus extensively on your recovery or management of these issues, and stress your ability to overcome the challenges you have faced.

Never leave an admissions committee to wonder if you will be a liability in their community. While it is of course illegal to discriminate against applicants based on their mental health or disability, it would be nearly impossible to prove that your disclosure of these issues was a direct factor in your not being accepted. Make it a nonissue by always keeping the focus on how these issues have shaped you into a better, stronger person and emphasizing that you have fully recovered or managed your condition.

When and how should I discuss my mental health or disability in the additional information section of my college application?

If you realize that your disability or mental health is not a truly defining feature of you as a person, you will probably not include it in your essay. But if there are red flags or question marks on your application that cannot be fully understood without this information, the Additional Information section of your application is the place to discuss it.

In instances where this issue has impacted your grades, involvement in class, attendance, or ability to participate in school activities, you should provide a brief explanatory background, usually no longer than a paragraph or two.

If you are sharing information about your mental health or disability in this section, you should do so only in a factual manner. You should not offer overly detailed or emotional descriptions, but instead keep it short and to the point. Since you have already decided that this information is not worthy of including in your essay, you should feel no obligation to provide extensive details or specifics. 

For example, you might describe that you took a semester off to address a health concern that is now under control. Always emphasize your recovery or management of this condition and your readiness for college, so that the admissions committee is never left to wonder what your current status is.  

When and how should I discuss my mental health or disability in a college admissions interview?

The decision process to discuss these details in an admissions interview should be similar to the decision process to include them in your essay or the Additional Information section of your application.

If you feel that these experiences are the most defining feature of your personality and can spin them in a positive way that presents your best self, you should definitely do so during an admissions interview. On the other hand, if you feel that these issues are irrelevant to how beneficial you will be to the college community, you are under no obligation to divulge them. The only remaining reason to do so would be if part of your transcript is incomplete or confusing without this additional insight.

If you do end up discussing these challenges in your college admissions interview, frame them as you would in your essay or your Additional Information section. Make sure to discuss them in a brief, factual manner, and always emphasize your recovery or management of the issue, and your college readiness above all else.

One Final Consideration For College Applicants With Mental Health Challenges or Disabilities

Keep in mind that in addition to making your own decision about whether your personal challenges will be included on your application, you should also discuss your decision with your college counselor or any teachers who are writing recommendations for you. You need to be sure that the details you plan to include on your application are consistent with any details that your teachers might include in your recommendations.

Also keep in mind that you can always request that your teachers do not disclose any details at all about your mental health or disability. If you find no reason to mention it on your application, it’s unlikely that they would have any reason to mention it in a recommendation, either, but you should always communicate with them ahead of time to ensure that you’re on the same page.

If you’re a high school student who has struggled with mental health or disabilities, you may feel uncertain about how or even if you should disclose this information on your college application. You should know that you are not required to do so in any way, and that the final decision is always yours to make.

For more about disabilities, mental health, and the college admissions process, see these valuable CollegeVine posts:

• A Guide to Disability Accommodations for Standardized Testing    
• Getting Back On Track After a Disciplinary Setback
• Dealing with Test Anxiety
• How to Get Into a Competitive School if You Struggled in High School
• What Makes a Good Recommendation Letter?
• How Often Should I Meet with My Guidance Counselor?
• Doubt, Discouragement, and Setting Appropriate Goals in High School

Want access to expert college guidance — for free? When you create your free CollegeVine account, you will find out your real admissions chances, build a best-fit school list, learn how to improve your profile, and get your questions answered by experts and peers—all for free. Sign up for your CollegeVine account today to get a boost on your college journey.

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, should i disclose mental health struggles on my college application.

I had some mental health struggles during my sophomore year, which affected my grades. Should I include this information on my college application or is it better to focus on my improvements without delving into personal issues? Thanks for any advice!

It's important to strike a balance when deciding whether or not to disclose your mental health struggles on your college application. If you feel that your mental health challenges had a significant impact on your grades, it could be worth mentioning it to provide context. However, it's crucial to focus on how you overcame those struggles and demonstrate personal growth.

While it's entirely up to you whether to share this information, keep in mind that admissions officers appreciate resilience and the ability to bounce back from hardships. If you decide to mention your mental health struggles, frame it in a way that highlights your determination and resilience in overcoming these obstacles.

For more guidance on this topic, consider reading this CollegeVine blog post: https://blog.collegevine.com/mental-health-college-essays/ It provides valuable insights on addressing mental health issues in your application and will help you make an informed decision.

Good luck with your college applications!

About CollegeVine’s Expert FAQ

CollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.