college admission essay about mental health

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I Edited Mental Illness Out of My College Applications. I’m Not Alone.

By Emi Nietfeld

Ms. Nietfeld is the author of a memoir, “Acceptance.”

When I applied to college in the 2009-10 school year, I wasn’t worried about my grades or extracurriculars. Instead, I agonized over a dilemma that’s familiar to more students than ever as the Common Application deadline looms: What should I disclose about my mental health?

As I wrote my applications, my past was both my greatest asset and my biggest liability. I’d spent time in foster care and homeless, circumstances that made me attractive to the handful of selective universities that offered full scholarships to low-income students — my only hope at avoiding crushing loans. In an applicant pool filled with squash champions, concert organists and third-generation double legacies, I had my story.

But my experiences also affected me and my academic record in ways that weren’t so appealing: Like approximately 80 percent of current foster youths and many former ones, I had serious mental health diagnoses, including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety and disordered eating. From ages 13 to 15, I was hospitalized repeatedly. Before being placed in a foster home, I spent nine months in a locked treatment center. I’d attended four to eight high schools, depending on how you counted. How could I possibly explain all that?

Officially, colleges say that students can share as much about their mental health as feels comfortable. But in practice, it seems clear that schools are nervous about accepting adolescents who divulge psychiatric histories. That perception is reinforced by high-profile lawsuits alleging discrimination against students with mental health disabilities, including an ongoing suit against Yale University and a similar one settled by Stanford University in 2019.

“We have all read the headlines of students on college campuses who have either harmed others or harmed themselves,” said Kat Cohen, a private admissions consultant who helped me, pro bono, with my applications. “These are the things that colleges worry about if they admit someone who is not stable.”

These mixed messages are forcing more and more students to make impossible choices amid a teenage mental health crisis. Should applicants play it safe and conceal their emotional troubles — even when it means leaving low grades and gaps in transcripts unexplained? Or should they tell the truth and risk getting flagged as a liability?

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Talking about Mental Health in Your College Admissions Essay

The hello college team.

• Last Updated on August 5, 2024

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When applying to colleges, you may wonder whether discussing mental health in your essays is appropriate. While there is no firm rule about this, the following can help you make an informed decision. At the end of the day, though, it is up to you and your parents or guardians.

How common are mental health issues among high school students?

According to a 2022 study by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), among adolescents aged 12-17 in the United States during 2018-2019, 15.1% experienced major depressive episodes, 36.7% had persistent feelings of sadness, and 8.9% attempted suicide. 

Mental health difficulties have become the leading cause of disability for high schoolers and the most frequent cause of poor outcomes among young adults. Clearly, mental health disorders are extremely common in today’s youth. 

When mental health gets in the way of success

The pandemic has worsened the preexisting mental health crisis among high school students. According to a 2020 study conducted by UNICEF, 46% of adolescents have become less motivated to engage in activities they previously enjoyed. This loss of motivation led to less involvement in school activities and poorer school performance. 

Mental health disorders, in particular, can impact high school performance. For example, students with social phobia, also known as social anxiety disorder, are twice as likely to receive a failing grade than students without it. Social phobia can also prevent students from engaging in extracurricular activities. 

Similarly, clinical depression can be disastrous to students’ well-being, making it hard for students to get out of bed, much less keep their grades up. When their mental health struggles are severe, some students find that time off from school can be needed for mental health treatment. 

Missing school for mental health 

One of the most obvious ways that mental health affects student outcomes is increased absenteeism. According to a 2016 study by the U.S. Department of Education, in 2015-2016 over 7 million (about 16% of all) American high school students missed 15 or more days of school. Such absences are often tied to mental health troubles, which account for 13.4% of total absences (Fornander & Kearney, 2020). 

Absence due to mental health can be an important and healthy way for students to improve their mental well-being.  According to a survey by Mental Health America, over half of students believe that taking a mental health break from school or work would be helpful to them. The importance of mental health breaks is even recognized by some state legal codes. Minnesota has recognized the legitimacy of leaves of absence for mental health since 2009, a policy that other states have also adopted in the years following (Gewertz, 2021). 

For some students—especially those suffering from severe conditions such as suicidality, substance abuse problems, and eating disorders—taking long-term time off to get mental health treatment can be the only way to effectively treat their issues. Unfortunately, this can leave gaps in students’ academic records that might concern college admissions committees. 

Do you have to disclose a mental health diagnosis in a college application?

No, you do not. To prevent discrimination against students with mental health difficulties, it is illegal for U.S. colleges to request this information from you. It’s therefore completely up to the individual to decide whether to disclose a mental health disorder or mental health leave of absence in a college application or essay. 

So, should you talk about mental health absences in a college essay? 

The short answer is, no, generally not. Because college essays are so brief—the Common App personal statement is only 650 words, about a page and a quarter—students should use the limited space in their college essays to highlight 

their strengths. Given how prevalent mental health issues are, having a mental health disorder is unlikely to make a student stand out—and it may be viewed as a weakness.

Unfortunately, stigmas about mental health still exist, and, while colleges can’t legally discriminate against applicants for having mental health disorders, they still do so, as demonstrated by a 2019 investigation into the University of Florida’s admissions practices that found admissions officers to be flagging applications that acknowledge mental disorders to be flagged for additional review (Jaschik, 2019).

Exceptions for discussing mental health in a college essay:

If your high school transcript reflects absences from school that would raise even greater concerns if left unexplained..

Extended or frequent absences can themselves be reasons for a school not to admit an applicant. In many cases, it is better to disclose that the reason for such absences was mental health-related than to let it seem like a student was simply lazy or indifferent.     

If you are applying to become a mental health counselor or social worker.

When a student’s mental health diagnosis leads them to discover an academic or pre-professional interest, it can make sense to mention that diagnosis in a college admissions essay. Still, students should make sure to highlight how these issues motivated them to become better students and how it inspires them to pursue careers as a mental health professional. It may even make sense to discuss the topic as part of a personal statement or “Why Major?” essay. 

If you want to write about the strength mental illness has given you.

This is perhaps the trickiest exception to the general rule of avoiding discussion of mental health. But, if having a mental health disorder is central to a student’s life story and they feel that their personal statement would be unreflective or incoherent without it, they should reframe their diagnosis as a strength. Rather than focusing on how their condition reflected them negatively, students writing about mental health, for this reason, should focus for the overwhelming majority of their essay on how they overcame their struggles.  

Where to disclose mental health absences on a college application

If a student feels that they must discuss their mental health,  they should do so in the “Additional Information” section of the college application, not the Personal Statement. Depending on the application, students may also want to attach a note from a psychiatrist or therapist. 

However, before disclosing their mental health diagnosis on a college application, students should get advice from a college counselor on whether or not to make the disclosure. 

The bottom line:

Despite social progress, stigmas around mental health disorders still exist. If a student decides to disclose mental health information on the Common Application or another college application, they should proceed with caution and make sure to seek guidance from a trusted counselor. Remember, Personal Statement’s purpose is to highlight a student’s achievements, strengths, and uniqueness, and it is ultimately up to the student whether to discuss their mental health. 

For more guidance, check out: https://sayhellocollege.com/blog/

• Active minds (n.d). Recommendations for leave of absence and return from absence policies for mental health concerns at higher education institutions. https://www.activeminds.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/ActiveMinds_PositionStatement_LeaveofAbsence_May2017.pdf .
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2022). Children’s mental health. https://www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/data.html
• Fornander, M. J., & Kearney, C. A. (2020). Internalizing Symptoms as Predictors of School Absenteeism Severity at Multiple Levels: Ensemble and Classification and Regression Tree Analysis.  Frontiers in psychology ,  10 , 3079. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.03079
• Gewertz, C. (2021, June 24). Why more schools are excusing student absences for mental health. https://www.edweek.org/leadership/why-more-schools-are-excusing-student-absences-for-mental-health/2021/06
• How to discuss mental health in a college essay. (2018, December 4). TKG. Retrieved March 25, 2022, from https://www.koppelmangroup.com/blog/2018/12/4/how-to-discuss-mental-health-in-a-college-essay
• Jaschik, S. (2019, August 27). College Found to Discriminate on Mental Health. Inside Higher Ed . Retrieved April 6, 2022 from https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2019/08/27/new-college-florida-found-discriminate-against-applicants-mental.  
• Ryan, J. L., & Warner, C. M. (2012). Treating adolescents with social anxiety disorder in schools.  Child and adolescent psychiatric clinics of North America ,  21 (1), 105–ix. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chc.2011.08.011
• US Department of Education. Chronic absenteeism in the nation’s schools. From:  https://www2.ed.gov/datastory/chronicabsenteeism.html
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2021, December 7). U.S. Surgeon General Issues advisory on youth mental health crisis further exposed by the covid-19 pandemic . https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2021/12/07/us-surgeon-general-issues-advisory-on-youth-mental-health-crisis-further-exposed-by-covid-19-pandemic.html
• UNICEF. (n.d.) The impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of adolescents and youth. https://www.unicef.org/lac/en/impact-covid-19-mental-health-adolescents-and-youth

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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.

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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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Mental Health in College Students – From Application to Enrollment

August 16, 2022

Sometimes it takes unspeakably tragic events to bring the existence of a widespread problem into the national conversation. In the past decade, highly-publicized suicides at Penn, Hamilton College, MIT, NYU, and Cornell, among others, have moved the discussion of mental health in college students right to the forefront of the higher education discourse.

Thankfully, these are, of course, extreme cases of mental health challenges. However, the shift in focus could benefit the massive numbers of students who enter college each year with depression/anxiety. According to a survey by the CDC in 2022, 44% of American adolescents report feeling persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness; 28% said that they had thoughts of self-harm at some point in their lives. Perhaps even more startling is the fact that only an estimated 40% of those suffering actually receive any form of treatment (the National Institute of Mental Health). According to just about every survey in the world conducted after March 2020, the pandemic has had a profoundly determinantal impact on teens’ (and everybody’s) mental health.

In this piece, we will offer recommendations for dealing with depression/anxiety on your college application. But perhaps more importantly, we will share what mental health experts and current research says are important considerations for managing your illness on campus.

*Disclaimer: Mind you, we are college planning experts, not mental health experts. We are merely summarizing mental health considerations as related to college admissions and attendance. Your mental health provider may offer additional advice based on the specifics of your situation .

Impact on your high school career

For many, dealing with a mental health condition will negatively impact their high school career in some way, potentially impacting areas such as academic performance, school attendance, teacher relationships, and extracurricular involvement. There is ample statistical evidence to support this. For example, students with social phobia are twice as likely to fail a grade as those without. Students with a depression diagnosis have been found to earn significantly lower grades than their similarly-abled peers.

Given the impact of mental illness on a teen’s academics, a significant number of high school seniors are faced with a difficult choice each year—do I reveal my condition on my college application? There is no blanket answer that will guide every applicant. Ultimately, the decision to reveal your condition is an entirely personal one.

Did your academic performance suffer?

Perhaps your mental health issues were managed successfully and never impacted your grades. If this is the case, we advise that there is no reason to reveal your condition on an application. You should, however, still check out our recommendations on how to check out a college’s mental health services (below).

If your academic performance did suffer as a result of your condition and you do choose to share your challenges with prospective colleges in an essay and/or interview, we recommend that you consider framing your experience in one of the following ways:

The “overcoming obstacles” angle

Overcoming challenges and citing evidence of personal growth can be a winning story arc. If a bout of depression during your sophomore year contributed toward failing grades but you received treatment and rebounded academically the following year, then revealing that journey may be extremely helpful to your admissions chances. Knowing that you faced a significant challenge in your life and successfully emerged from it speaks volumes about your resilience, maturity, and grit, traits that are greatly valued by admissions officers.

Weakness as strength

Another approach is highlighting the strength that you draw from what others call an “illness.” An associate of Abraham Lincoln said of our 16th president that the “melancholy dripped from him as he walked.” Yet, many historians feel that Lincoln’s lifelong depression helped sparked his legendary wisdom, insight, and brilliant strategic thinking. Lincoln was hardly alone. Many of the greatest, most creative minds throughout history were, at least in part, driven by mental conditions. Darwin, Michelangelo, and Einstein were all likely sufferers of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. If we were to list all of all the great writers, artists, comedians, actors, and directors who were influenced by depression and anxiety, this blog post would be longer than the 1,017 page novel, Bleak House,  penned by Charles Dickens, who was himself a lifelong victim of severe depression.

The semantic shift

Cautious applicants might consider simply substituting the term “medical condition” for “mental illness.” After all, mental health issues are treatable medical conditions in the same vein as mono or a broken bone. Simply stating that you were afflicted by a “serious medical condition” which caused a temporary academic decline and led to you quitting the school newspaper and the baseball team will suffice.

Check out a college’s services ahead of time

In a recent survey of college students with a diagnosed mental health condition, 45% rated their respective college as being somewhere between supportive and very supportive. The other 55% felt that mental health care on campus was less than ideal. Factors that were rated as being most important by students included: access to a psychiatrist for medication management, a 24-hour crisis hotline, community connections to additional mental healthcare, and the school’s overall culture of understanding that college can be stress-inducing and that mental health is paramount.

It is essential that parents and students research the mental health services on campus ahead of time. Check out each prospective college’s counseling office online to get a sense of what is available to students. If a college does not offer long-term therapy on campus, then parents should take the reins and find a good private therapist located near campus who accepts their insurance. Do this well before school starts.

Colleges are expanding mental health services

Many state universities, despite budget crunches, are recognizing the need to expand their mental health offerings. For example, in the fall of 2017, UCLA began offering free online screenings for depression; 2,700 students took advantage. Ohio State opened a dozen new mental health clinics in 2016. Penn State has increased their spending on mental health significantly in the last few years. The University of Michigan and Virginia Tech, in an attempt to make mental health more accessible, have embedded counselors in buildings around campus, rather than at one centralized location. Many schools operate prevention/wellness programs that assist students before they enter a crisis. These schools include Harvard, Georgia Tech, UVA, and Bowdoin College.

Amherst, Skidmore, Princeton, Drexel, and Carnegie Mellon are just a handful of schools that now offer access to 24-hour crisis hotlines manned by either peers or professional counselors. Unfortunately, excessively long wait times for a counseling appointment at many schools persist. At schools like Northwestern, Carleton College, and WashU, wait times to see a counselor range from one-to-three weeks.

Relevant statistics on mental health at college

Just to highlight some other meaningful stats on the subject:

• Only 50% of college students report disclosing their mental health issue to their school
• Of those with a diagnosed mental illness who dropped out of college, 64% directly attribute this event to their condition/disorder.
• Only 36% of college students with a mental illness are sure that their university includes mental health information on their website.
• 39% of students reported a wait time of 5+ to obtain an appointment for clinical services and supports.
• 73% of those entering college with previous mental health concerns have experienced a “mental health crisis” while on campus.
• Half of students believe that their peers will think less of anyone receiving treatment for mental health.
• The percentage of college students seriously considering suicide has doubled in the last decade.
• More than 1,000 suicides occur on college campuses each year.

College Transitions bottom line

If you are going to discuss your depression, anxiety, or other mental condition in your application, do so in a strategic manner for the purpose of illuminating otherwise unexplained inconsistencies in your academic record. A well-conceived and well-delivered narrative about your struggles with mental illness can be beneficial to your admissions chances. Contrarily, a poorly crafted disclosure may have the opposite effect.

Of even greater importance is that you do your research on the mental health services offered at each prospective college. Ensuring that the necessary supports at your disposal is critical to your overall well-being.  It is also likely critical to your academic performance over the next four years.

To view hundreds of free and easy-to-sort tables of higher education data, visit our DATAVERSE .

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Andrew Belasco

A licensed counselor and published researcher, Andrew's experience in the field of college admissions and transition spans two decades. He has previously served as a high school counselor, consultant and author for Kaplan Test Prep, and advisor to U.S. Congress, reporting on issues related to college admissions and financial aid.

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Mental Health Counseling Admission Essay

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

A college essay on mental health is a type of writing that requires your preparation. For this purpose, you can check out some examples. Below, we’ve prepared “Why I Want to Be a Mental Health Counselor Essay,” which will help you get inspired and write a successful application to your preferred educational institution.

Mental health counseling is a diverse profession with national standards for education, preparation, and clinical practice. The profession offers help to the ever-increasing number of Americans requiring mental therapy.

Clinical mental health practitioners are highly skilled professionals who provide flexible, consumer-oriented therapy. Mental health counselors offer a variety of services, such as evaluation and diagnosis, psychotherapy, solution-focused therapy, crisis management, substance abuse treatment, and prevention programs.

After carefully researching and critically evaluating my career options, I have decided to pursue a Master’s degree in Clinical Counseling focusing on mental health counseling. This path will propel me toward becoming a mental health counselor. Not only am I an excellent listener with a desire to help the marginalized, but it is also evident that there is a growing need for clinical counselors in the country to safeguard against unemployment.

Furthermore, recent surveys indicate that clinical counselors receive competitive salary packages. Beyond the financial aspect, the mental health field is diverse and rapidly evolving. Much remains to be explored regarding brain function, and consequently, therapeutic methods in this field are not as advanced as in other medical fields. I plan to delve into this study area and uncover as much knowledge and information as possible throughout my career.

The decision to apply for the clinical counseling program in mental health was significantly influenced by an internship I completed at the Carter Center for Mental Health. Founded by Former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, the center aims to reduce the stigma associated with mental disorders in society. Despite increasing media coverage and information dissemination about mental health, myths and misconceptions still prevail in society.

At the Carter Center, I undertook a three-month volunteer internship to gain insight into working as a psychologist. However, after visiting numerous hospitals, outpatient mental health facilities, and hospices, I realized that my true calling might be in mental health counseling.

The internship was an eye-opening experience regarding the challenges faced by mental health patients, including those with depression, substance abuse issues, schizophrenia, eating disorders, personality disorders, and anxiety disorders. Witnessing the struggles of thousands of Americans with mental health disorders, I instinctively knew I had to contribute to the social welfare of this great country.

Cultural diversity and cultural prejudice are prevalent in our lives, and we must acknowledge and responsibly embrace them. Professionals have recently recognized the importance of addressing the challenges in serving culturally diverse populations. Cultural values, beliefs, and assumptions significantly influence mental health workers and other professionals’ service delivery.

These cultural experiences, traditions, beliefs, and assumptions shape our worldview. Thus, professionals should be conscious of their thoughts and strive to separate them from their work. Counselors and clients bring a range of values, attitudes, culturally influenced behaviors, biases, ideas, and assumptions to the therapeutic process. Some mental health professionals and counselors underestimate the significance of these factors in treatment.

I consider myself culturally enlightened, having grown up in a culturally diverse community in New York. This environment has taught me to embrace and appreciate cultural pluralism and diversity. Cultural diversity is an integral element that enriches society.

I have interacted with people from various cultures in school, stores, and my neighborhood, learning that humans are not as different as we sometimes think. We need to treat each other with respect and embrace each other’s beliefs, traditions, and cultural customs.

In addition to the internship, my drive for mental health counseling was subconsciously motivated by a teenage experience. Following the tragic death of my younger sister in a surfing accident, my mother fell into a state of depression. She frequently spoke of seeing my sister in her dreams. This placed a significant burden on my father to maintain family stability. Our relief came after my mother sought help from a post-trauma counselor.

She attended sessions with the counselor and, to our relief and joy, recovered within six months. She coped better with the loss of her daughter and realized that nothing could have been done to prevent the tragedy.

Reflecting on the counselor’s impact on my family, I appreciate this noble profession. I aspire to bring joy to families and individuals by helping them understand and cope with their mental health challenges.

Upon completing my Master’s degree in Clinical Counseling, I plan to practice for five to eight years in outpatient mental health facilities and other relevant settings to gain extensive experience in mental health counseling.

Additionally, I aim to join professional organizations such as the American Psychological Association and the American Mental Health Counselors Association, which require a Master’s degree in a related field and adherence to a strict code of ethics. Eventually, I plan to establish a private practice in New York, New Jersey, or California.

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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.

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Is it OK to discuss mental health in an essay?

Mental health struggles can create challenges you must overcome during your education and could be an opportunity for you to show how you’ve handled challenges and overcome obstacles. If you’re considering writing your essay for college admission on this topic, consider talking to your school counselor or with an English teacher on how to frame the essay.

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Is writing about an mental illness too common for an college essay?

Basically, during the pandemic, things got pretty bad. I dealt with anxiety, depression, panic and eating disorders and little of childhood trauma, it didn't start with the pandemic but that's when it got worst drastically. But in the end, I kind of got over it - didn't get therapy or anything but got over it in my own way. Would writing about this journey be too cliché or common? I want to stand out, but that instance was single handedly the most difficult time of my life, and the hardest to overcome. Would it be okay to writ about it?

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, is it okay to discuss mental health in my college application essay.

Hi all! I'm a junior and I'm considering discussing my experiences with mental health in my college application essay. Is this a good idea, or should I choose a different topic? I would really appreciate your thoughts. Thanks!

Hi there! It's great that you're thinking about your college application essay early. Mental health is an important topic, and discussing your experiences can show courage and resilience. However, it's essential to consider the story you want to tell and how it will be perceived by the admissions officers. It's important to focus on how you've grown and learned from your experiences, rather than simply detailing your struggles. You want to make sure that your essay highlights your strengths and demonstrates that you're a good fit for the college you're applying to. If you feel that discussing your mental health journey will help you achieve this goal, then go for it. Just make sure to emphasize the positive aspects of your growth and resilience. Good luck with your essay, and I hope this helps!

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.