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Personal Statement about Mental Health vs. Addendum/Character & Fitness essay? Do I need both?

vodka-saucevodka-sauce Member
in Law School Admissions 5 karma

Hi everyone!
I took a year off in undergrad as a medical leave of absence, during that time I was hospitalized and diagnosed with Bipolar 2 disorder. I was thinking about writing my personal statement about how learning to manage and cope with my bipolar disorder has made me a more compassionate and critical person. I know that the year gap in my undergrad degree requires an addendum/character and fitness essay, but if I write my personal statement about this part of my life, do I need to also write an addendum? Am I better off writing my personal statement on something else and leaving this story to just be told in my addendum/character and fitness essay?

Thank you!

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Comments

  • Christina WaltonChristina Walton Member
    769 karma

    It sucks but 7Sage advises against writing about mental illness in your personal statement. Since you will have to write an addendum about that time I would write about that there and think of something else for your personal statement

  • ColdBrew180ColdBrew180 Member
    156 karma

    I believe most schools will require you to submit an addendum regarding a leave of absence from undergrad no matter what your PS topic is. You will also usually (depending on the state) have to disclose any mental illness diagnoses in the C&F part of the application.

    So, look at it this way - are you comfortable talking about the BPD diagnosis 3 different times on your application (PS, Addendum, C&F questions)? Many first readers of applications spend only 5 minutes with an application.

    No school that would reject an application based on a mental health issue is worth attending! However, think about if a different PS topic might be more advantageous to show how well-rounded you are, since you'll likely have to touch on the diagnosis elsewhere in the application.

  • DidAFull180DidAFull180 Member
    55 karma

    Hey. First of all, I feel your pain. I was hospitalized for psychosis and missed a semester. Second, I would say that you should write a few personal statements and feel out if you are comfortable talking about your hospitalization. On my initial drafts, I danced around my hospitalization and focused on telling other stories. Over time, however, I realized that it was a story that needed to be told sincerely. I did not go into post hospitalization diagnostics. Instead, I focused on my general struggle to re-acclimate myself while simultaneously living on serious medications. Like you said, I wrote how that makes me a unique applicant. I even wrote about it for 2 schools' diversity/optional statements as they and 7sage indicated they were open to all kinds of diversity. There is a great 7sage article with 5 or so top-tier personal statements that helped splitters gain admission to T-14s, and they all have the common thread of honesty. Most importantly, tell your story. Missing a year of school and learning to take care of your mental health is a damn good story to tell.

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