can you write about mental health in college essays

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Should you discuss mental health issues in your college essay?

by Erica L. Meltzer | Oct 20, 2018 | Blog , College Essays | 6 comments

Image ©Nickshot, Adobe Stock

Note, January 2022: This post was written in 2018, before the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Obviously, many things have changed since then, not least the amount of psychological pressure that many high school students have experienced. Clearly, some of the boundaries and expectations surrounding acceptable/advisable topics for admissions essays have shifted, and applicants undoubtedly have more leeway in discussing mental-health issues than they did in the past. That said, I would still caution against making this subject the exclusive focus of your essay(s). If it happens to be relevant—and it very well might be, given the events of the last couple of years— then you should focus on discussing it in a mature way that conveys qualities such as empathy and resilience, and that demonstrates your ability to reflect insightfully on what may have been very difficult situations.  

As regular readers of my blog may know, I periodically trawl the forums over at College Confidential to see what’s trending. Recently, I’ve noticed a concerning uptick in the number of students asking whether it’s appropriate for them to write about mental health issues, most frequently ADD and/or anxiety, in their college applications.

So the short answer: don’t do it.

The slightly longer version:

If you’re concerned about a drop in grades or an inconsistent transcript, talk to your guidance counselor. If these types of issues are addressed, the GC’s letter is the most appropriate place for them. If, for any reason, the GC is unable/unwilling to discuss them and the issues had a significant impact on your performance in school that unequivocally requires explanation, you can put a brief, matter of fact note in the “is there any additional information you’d like us to know?” section, but think very carefully about how you present it. Do not write your main essay about the issue.

The full version:

To understand why these topics should generally be avoided, you need to understand what information colleges are actually seeking to gain from the personal statement. Although it is technically a personal narrative, it is, in a sense, also a persuasive essay: its purpose is to convey what sets you apart from the thousands of others with equally good grades and scores, and to suggest whether you have qualities that make you more likely to thrive at university x than the other 10 or 15 or even 20 applicants clamoring for that spot.

Now, whether such thing can actually be determined from 650 words (with which some students receive significant help) is of course questionable; however, the bottom line is that, adcoms are looking for students who will be successful in college. Discussing one’s inability to focus or intense aversion to social situations does not exactly inspire confidence, even if a student insists those problems have been overcome. Leaving home, dealing with professors and roommates and more challenging classes… Those are all major stressors. There is a tacit understanding that of course some students will flame out, have breakdowns, etc., but adcoms are understandably hesitant to admit anyone who is already at a higher risk for those issues. You want them to be excited about the prospect of admitting you, not debate whether you’ll really be able to handle college. (In fact, I had multiple students with various issues who were not truly ready for college and who did flame out — colleges have good reason to take these things seriously.)

This concern goes beyond any particular student’s well-being: graduation rates get factored into rankings, and every student who doesn’t make it through drags that statistic just a little bit lower. If a student does develop serious problems while on campus, there are also potential legal/liability issues involved, and no school wants to deliberately court those.

Besides, if your grades are iffy, it is extremely difficult not to sound as if you are making excuses. You are much better off talking about an experience or interest that will make them look past the transcript and think, “Hey, I really like this kid.” And the reality is that if your grades are that iffy, you’re probably not a competitive candidate at super-selective colleges anyway. These schools are looking for applicants who are on the way to fulfilling their potential, not for ones who need to explain away chronic underachievement.

In addition, one thing applicants — and sometimes their parents — have difficulty wrapping their heads around is the sheer number of applications the average admissions officer has encountered. Situations that may seem extreme and dramatic to adolescents who have recently confronted them may in fact have already been experienced — and written about — by thousands of other applicants. A 17-year old may believe that describing their anxiety in morbid detail will make them seem complex and introspective, but more likely it will only come off as overwrought and trite.

I know that might sound harsh, but please remember that admissions officers are coming at this process with no pre-existing knowledge of you as a person, only a few minutes to spend on your essay, and hundreds of other applications to get through. They are also under intense pressure to ensure that the appropriate demographics targets are being met and all the various institutional constituencies (coaches, development office, orchestra conductor) are being satisfied. They’re not ogres, and they’ll try to give you the benefit of the doubt, but if yours is the fifth essay about overcoming anxiety they’ve seen in the last 48 hours, they will look at it and reflexively think, “oh, another one of these.” That is not a first impression you want to make.

Now, are there exceptions? Yes, of course, but they are rare. In all the time I did college admissions work, I had exactly one student successfully discuss anxiety in an essay. It was, however, introduced in the context of a family tragedy that had profoundly shaped the student’s life; given that background, the discussion seemed natural and matter of fact rather than overdramatized. Even so, I made the student take a good week to think about whether that topic was truly the one they wanted to write about.

Ultimately, of course, the decision is yours, and the choice depends on the larger story you want to tell as well as your ability as a writer, but these topics are so difficult to pull off well that you are best off avoiding them if you can (particularly if you don’t have access to someone with a lot of admissions experience who can review your essay). Find another topic/ experience that you enjoy writing about (and that others are likely to enjoy reading about); that presents you as someone interesting and thoughtful; and that suggest you are ready to thrive in college.

If you really are concerned about your ability to function in college, most schools have plenty of resources for you to take advantage of (academic support, counseling center, etc.). But those are things to investigate after you get admitted. Before that, don’t go out of your way to fly red flags where none are warranted.

Why is Dyslexia ok to mention on an essay, but overcoming selective mutism is not?

Dyslexia is a learning disability that lends itself to proof that it has been overcome through excellent scores in reading and writing. It’s not easy to overcome or cope with dyslexia so an essay showing how a student did it demonstrates their tenacity and resourcefulness. Grades and scores are proof that the dyslexia will not be a problem in college, while the essay can highlight the characteristics that led to the student’s success and which will serve them well in college.

I wrote about how my dog helped me overcome me ending my life/depression and moving to another school is that too common

Thanks for the tips and perspective. It seems like common sense to me as a parent and tutor, but now I have an “established author” to cite!

I want to write about how depression had change me. But my grades and statistics are all great. Is this okay to write? My bad mental health somehow didn’t manage to get to the others parts of my life.

Is it okay to write about how despite psychosis I could manage to get good grades?

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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

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How to Write a Mental Health in College Students Essay

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Writing is a skill that takes time to build. Essays force you to practice research, critical thinking and communication skills – college is the perfect time for you to practice these. However, there’s only so much you can learn about writing through preparation. If you’ve been assigned an essay on mental health, you may not be sure where to begin. You might also wonder if you should choose mental health as a topic for a college paper. Here’s how to write a “mental health in college students” essay. 

• What Not to Do

If you’re trying to choose a topic for a college application essay, mental health is usually not the way to go. Your personal statement should show colleges why you’re the best candidate to attend their school. Because many students write about mental health , your essay may get lost in the crowd. In addition, your mental health journey is only a part of who you are. 

It can be difficult for many students to write about personal mental struggles without seeming overdramatic. Unless mental health struggles have shaped your whole life, it’s best to discuss other topics. If you mention mental health, stay brief and matter-of-fact. Don’t let it become the whole point of your essay. 

• Review the Instructions

If you’re writing this essay for a college course, start by looking over the assignment instructions. Don’t just listen to what your teacher says – look up the assignment on the syllabus to see if you can find a rubric or other relevant information. 

Highlight the important points to make sure you know what matters to your professor. The instructions are parameters you can operate in to create an essay you enjoy. Make sure you check word count, essay structure and review corrections on past essays. If you’re confused about something, don’t hesitate to ask your professor for clarification. 

• Do the Research 

Regardless of what class you’re writing for, this is the kind of topic that requires hard numbers. You don’t want to make general claims about rates of student anxiety or mental illness – to be credible, you need specifics. Be careful with your wording to avoid all-or-nothing statements. Everyone experiences mental health differently. 

Your professor may or may not allow you to pick the specific mental health topic you write about. However, you can ensure that your paper is well-researched and organized clearly. Before you start writing, create at least a basic outline showing the flow of ideas. This will make the writing phase much faster because you’ll always know what to say next. 

• Write It Out 

Writer’s block often stems from perfectionism. This paper won’t be perfect the first time, so don’t worry about writing it perfectly! Start with an interesting line that gets your reader’s attention and make sure you have a clear thesis statement. Taken by itself, this sentence should describe the contents of your entire paper. 

Build your paragraphs to the right word length by using specific examples. You should start each paragraph with a topic sentence that takes your reader one step in your paper’s argument. Then, describe a specific example that further explains this idea. You can find specific examples in your research or simply explain more about what you mean. 

• Edit Your Work

Editing is an important final step before you turn an essay in. It gives you an opportunity to look at your writing as a whole and ensure everything makes sense. If possible, you should set your first draft aside for a while before you reread it. This will help you see your work with fresh eyes so you can edit it. 

Editing involves strengthening your paper’s organization, rewriting specific sentences and checking for errors. You should make major edits first and then do a final read-through to catch punctuation and spelling mistakes. It can be helpful to read your paper out loud or have a friend look it over as well. 

One Key Takeaway for Writing a Mental Health in College Students Essay

Many students struggle with mental health while in school. Whatever topic you choose and however you organize your essay, make sure to write it with a sensitive tone. This topic is nuanced and shouldn’t be treated as a black-and-white issue. Write from an informed and compassionate point of view and offer your readers hope. 

Use this guide to write an essay on mental health in college students that astounds and delights your professor. Putting in the work will build research and communication skills you’ll use for years – whether you’re a psychology major, a premed student or studying the arts at school. 

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, should i write about my mental health struggles in my college essay.

I've had some mental health challenges throughout high school and I'm considering writing about them in my college essay. However, I'm worried it might be seen as a red flag by admissions officers. Should I choose a different topic or is it okay to write about my mental health journey?

Writing about mental health challenges can be a deeply personal and meaningful topic for your college essay, but you're right to consider the potential implications. If you decide to write about your mental health journey, it's important to focus primarily on the growth and resilience you've demonstrated despite your challenges. Make sure your essay showcases your strengths and your ability to overcome obstacles.

That being said, it's not a topic without risks. Some admissions officers might be concerned about your ability to handle the stress of college life. So, if you have an alternative topic that reflects your personality and experiences just as well, it might be a safer choice.

Ultimately, the decision is yours and should reflect who you are and what has shaped you through your high school experience. CollegeVine has a helpful blog post about writing about mental health in college essays that may provide you with more guidance: https://blog.collegevine.com/mental-health-college-essays/. Good luck with your essay and 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.

How to Discuss Your Mental Health on College Applications

Should you write about depression in your personal statement? Should you disclose mental health challenges elsewhere on your college application? Here’s what experts say.

Within the next few months, many rising high school seniors will be staring at a blank computer screen with the same question on their minds: What should I write about in my college application essay?  This question can feel heavy.  After all, by the time students approach the end of their junior year, they’ve surely heard lots about “THE” college essay.  The concept can feel overwhelming so it’s no surprise that many students struggle when it comes to choosing the perfect topic.

For students who experienced a mental health challenge while in high school, this question takes on another dimension. Should they talk about how they coped with say, depression, or any other mental health condition? Should they refer to it only in passing? Should they avoid mentioning it at all?  What is the best way to handle such an important topic?

While this is a very complicated topic, the college planning experts I talked with all offered similar advice.

The Purpose of a College Application Essay

Before thinking about whether or not you should write about mental health in your college essay, you should remember what the essay — or the “personal statement”— is all about in the first place.  What is the purpose of the essay?

No matter which prompt students select, and for all college applicants, those with or without mental health challenges, the essay is the only part of the application in which college admissions officers have the opportunity to hear the voices of the student. The rest of the application contains numbers, statistics, and comments from teachers and counselors.

This is why the personal statement, as college planning experts concur, is where you should share part of your true self in the most positive light. Think about what a college wants to know about you as a person, or what a university would gain by having you become a part of the campus community.  Dig deep to figure out what makes you, you.

Use your essay as an opportunity to bring your college application to life. Try to strive for it to represent you in an authentic yet optimistic way. One former reader of applications at a top university’s admission office shared a fun way to see if your essay checks out.  She asked me, “Does the essay pass the midnight test”?

Picture an exhausted admissions officer with a stack of unread application files on her desk. She is reading yours at midnight at the end of a 16-hour day. Does your essay draw the officer in and make her eager to read until the end of your essay to learn more about you? Will she be eager enough for her to conclude that, yes, we want this student on our campus next fall? Or does your essay sound far too similar to some of the others she’s read that day?

The purpose of your essay is to take the reader beyond the numbers (test scores and GPA) and into who you are as a real live human being.

Experts on Writing About Mental Health

All counselors interviewed for this piece agreed that students’ college essays should not be about their struggles with mental health. Wendy Kahn , a Chicago-based college planner, and Anna Seltz, of Higher Ed U , a college consulting organization in Philadelphia, both spoke about how students should try to talk about themselves in a positive light, taking the opportunity to showcase one of their many outstanding qualities, like intellectual curiosity, personal growth, or maturity.

A couple of the counselors — Bruce Vinik of Vinik Educational Services and Marsha Shaines of College Strategies in Kensington, Maryland — said that the only case in which a student should consider writing about her mental health challenges is if the struggle truly defines her as a person. Even then, both counselors saw this as the rare exception, and suggest that instead, most students should take advantage of the opportunity to explore one of the many other attributes that makes them unique. Vinik says that mental health problems should only be shared in the essay if the college would not be able to understand the applicant without knowing about this part of her. Generally, he discourages selecting this as a primary topic.

The Additional Information Section

All of the college planners mentioned above agree that if your mental health struggle in high school clearly impacted your performance, then you should mention it in the “Additional Information” portion of the Common Application — but only in a factual manner. If you missed three months of your sophomore year to deal with a mental health condition, you should explain that you spent those months dealing with a “health challenge,” overcame it, and are now back on track, advises Vinik.

The three other college counselors generally agreed with this sentiment. All expressed that if the mental health challenges have made an impact on your grades, involvement in class, attendance, or ability to participate in school activities, you should provide a short, factual summary (no more than two paragraphs) for background purposes, always emphasizing your recovery after these difficult moments and your preparedness for a college environment.

Seltz suggests that talking about this in your admissions interview may be another route that applicants can explore. Seltz recommends taking an approach like the one outlined for personal statements above: Briefly explain how the challenge affected your grades and focus mostly on the fact that those problems are now under control.  Making sure to emphasize the way/s that the challenge helped you to grow as a person is also important.

All of the college planners suggest that you talk with your high school counselor to ensure that what you are saying about mental illness in the college application is consistent with what the counselor may or may not say in her own counselor recommendation. Or, if you’d prefer that the counselor not address your mental health issues, request that as well. School counselors are almost always open to any guidance you may have for what you’d like them to include in or leave out of your letter of recommendation.

Dealing With Mental Health Challenges Past the Application

Being told that you cannot share a part of yourself that may have had a large impact on your life can be difficult to hear. Unfortunately, mental health is a stigmatized topic, and it’s difficult to explore its nuances and complexities in the short and streamlined format of a college application.  It is also extremely important to remember that with or without mental health challenges, you are far more complex than a 650-word personal statement.

The fact that you are not writing about it on your application doesn’t mean that colleges don’t want the “real” you, or that you will be unable to succeed. A mental health condition does not disqualify you from having an excellent collegiate experience by any means, the same way that a physical limitation would not interfere with your success as a student. As you explore your college options, be sure to look for campuses that are particularly mental-health friendly, and focus on finding resources you can rely on as a student. From counseling services to wellness organizations, many campuses make student mental health a priority, and selecting this kind of college will help you embrace your challenges and thrive in a new environment.

If you are worried that your problems are not yet under control — and that college may exacerbate them — you may want to consider taking a gap year and working with a local counselor to prepare for the big transition.  There are lots of really wonderful gap year programs for students in this exact position. If you think you might be interested in this option, talk with your school counselor about exploring what programs are available to you.

Be personal in your college application essay — but do so in an optimistic and positive way. The purpose of the essay is to convince the reader that you belong on their campus next fall. Don’t leave the reader with any unanswered questions or red flags about you.  Be clear about who you are and your will to enhance whatever campus you find yourself on.  This is the best way to tell the story of who you are.

If there are circumstances that need to be explained — such as time off, a drop in grades, or diminished participation in extracurricular activities, do so in a factual and concise manner in the “Additional Information” section.

Yes, you may have experienced a mental health challenge, and/or you may be going to college with mental illness. But don’t let that singularly define you as a person. You have the propensity to offer much more to a college than your diagnosis. And the personal statement essay is the place to show the college who you are as an individual, why you are ready for college, and what strong and special qualities you will bring to the campus community if accepted.

If you’re currently applying for colleges and are planning on taking the SAT or the ACT, our tutors are here to help. Connect with them for your respective test below:

Related Highschool & College Admissions Resources:

• 2023 ACT Test Dates: Upcoming ACT Test Dates for 2023
• Everything You Need To Know About AP Scholar Awards & Recognitions
• 2023 SAT Test Dates: All Upcoming SAT Dates for 2023
• How To Determine If I Should Take the ACT or the SAT
• How Much Do Extracurriculars Matter For College Applications?

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