Personal Statement topic opinion

hcdbsu24

Hi everyone, I'll keep this relatively short. My freshman year of college I battled severe anxiety and learned to cope with it. I believe this demonstrates significant growth as a human and I think I could write a BOMB PS about this, but I am afraid to write about a mental illness in a personal statement because
1) the stigma that is surrounded by it, especially with older adults
and 2) I know they're not allowed, but I'm afraid they could toss my app in the rejection pile if they see someone who blatantly proclaims to the world that they have anxiety

I'm really at a dilemma here and any advice helps. Thanks!

MIT_2017

The poll only had yes/no options, but there may well be a third option: write your personal statement partially on battling anxiety. I wonder if you could use the details of your battling anxiety as a substantial part of a broader theme, such as overcoming challenges, etc.

Law and Yoda

I voted yes for a few reasons but I think the most important thing to start off with is asking yourself this-at the end of the day, if you submit your application on another topic, will you regret it? There is a lot of potential with a personal statement this close to home because it shows the admissions committee a lot about who you are.

1) You are strong willed and determined to persistent despite a difficult set back
2) You can identify with your peers who may be going through the same thing and either be of support or even an advocate
3) You're giving an inside look at a personal reflection and how you've grown from it and how that's shaped you as a person today
4) Lastly, I think this shows your courage as a person, to be the one to talk about it versus hide behind it.

Although my PS is off topic from yours, it's very personal so I can connect with you on some level, so feel free to PM if you'd like to talk more about it! Best of luck!

MrsRobinson1

Anxiety can be crippling. I experienced this in my early 20's and it caused tremendous issues in my life and ability to perform well in Uni. I say go for it! It really demonstrates your ability to persevere and conquer something so difficult. It is a character builder. Best of luck!

ALLCAA123

I agree, having anxiety is a crippling condition. I had it a long time ago and grew out of it.

Nonetheless, I vote 'no' for a few reasons. I noticed you're having doubts about the topic before even writing about it- you're not sure, and you're asking strangers online to give you advice. If you're not sure, don't write it yet. Do some introspection first.

I recommend going to your law schools' websites and checking for what they want in a personal statement. Some want you to write about overcoming a challenge or having unique background, while others want you to specifically address why you chose a career in law. Writing about how you overcame anxiety might not impress schools that want you to talk about the "why law school" part.

The second, probably more important reason I say 'no' is your second point. I'm not saying humans are incapable of changing or that they don't overcome challenges, but the legal field is demanding and requires emotional grit. Talking about an episode of anxiety might make adcomms hesitant- will you be able to handle the law school workload, the bar exam, and a legal job, knowing that you were prone to anxiety in the recent past? Whether we like it or not, this is why there's a stigma on mental illness, and it's a reason the military doesn't take people with a history of mental illness even after they're better- they're a risk.

But.... if the law schools you're applying to welcome personal statements about overcoming challenges, and you think they'd be fine with your essay, I say go for it.