Schizophrenia GPA addendum Forum

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ImpatientlyWaiting

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Re: Schizophrenia GPA addendum

Post by ImpatientlyWaiting » Mon Jan 10, 2011 2:49 am

2Serious4Numbers wrote:The idea just screams columbine.
You are disgusting, insensitive, and grossly ill-informed. You probably don't even know what schizophrenia is. Pack up your hate and leave.

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2Serious4Numbers

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Re: Schizophrenia GPA addendum

Post by 2Serious4Numbers » Mon Jan 10, 2011 9:39 am

ImpatientlyWaiting wrote:
2Serious4Numbers wrote:The idea just screams columbine.
You are disgusting, insensitive, and grossly ill-informed. You probably don't even know what schizophrenia is. Pack up your hate and leave.
There isn't any hate here, the whole goal of applying is to appease an adcomm and make yourself as attractive a candidate as possible right? Well just as Witorres pointed out, the stigma is a negative one that probably shouldn't be mentioned unless asked about. that's all

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Lwoods

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Re: Schizophrenia GPA addendum

Post by Lwoods » Mon Jan 10, 2011 9:50 am

Would OP be able to write an addendum saying he was diagnosed with a medical condition without specifying that it's schizophrenia (or a psychiatric disorder at all)?

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Re: Schizophrenia GPA addendum

Post by ResolutePear » Mon Jan 10, 2011 9:52 am

ImpatientlyWaiting wrote:
2Serious4Numbers wrote:The idea just screams columbine.
You are disgusting, insensitive, and grossly ill-informed. You probably don't even know what schizophrenia is. Pack up your hate and leave.
As stupid and immature his response might have been,

it highlights why you should not exactly go around telling people this.

Hell, even the court stigmatizes this lest we not forget Buck v. Bell. Alright, pretty dumb example - but it's there in black and white. C&F on the bar is just going to be the gatekeeper - the LS will gladly take your tuition if your numbers reflect their ideal ranges.

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gbpackerbacker

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Re: Schizophrenia GPA addendum

Post by gbpackerbacker » Mon Jan 10, 2011 2:16 pm

Lwoods wrote:Would OP be able to write an addendum saying he was diagnosed with a medical condition without specifying that it's schizophrenia (or a psychiatric disorder at all)?

This too.

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witorres89

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Re: Schizophrenia GPA addendum

Post by witorres89 » Mon Jan 10, 2011 4:20 pm

gbpackerbacker wrote:
Lwoods wrote:Would OP be able to write an addendum saying he was diagnosed with a medical condition without specifying that it's schizophrenia (or a psychiatric disorder at all)?

This too.
How would you go about writing an addendum without specifying the condition? Wouldn't I have to submit documentation of the condition anyway?

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eaglemuncher

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Re: Schizophrenia GPA addendum

Post by eaglemuncher » Mon Jan 10, 2011 4:25 pm

IMO you should NOT include this in your application. I think you would be better applying without an explanation for a less than stellar GPA than including that information. I think the stigma your condition carries in too big. Good Luck to you.

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Leira7905

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Re: Schizophrenia GPA addendum

Post by Leira7905 » Mon Jan 10, 2011 4:25 pm

witorres89 wrote:
gbpackerbacker wrote:
Lwoods wrote:Would OP be able to write an addendum saying he was diagnosed with a medical condition without specifying that it's schizophrenia (or a psychiatric disorder at all)?

This too.
How would you go about writing an addendum without specifying the condition? Wouldn't I have to submit documentation of the condition anyway?

...no, you wouldn't have to submit the documentation for a LS addendum... you would; you may need said docs. for C&F though.

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Lwoods

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Re: Schizophrenia GPA addendum

Post by Lwoods » Mon Jan 10, 2011 4:46 pm

witorres89 wrote:
gbpackerbacker wrote:
Lwoods wrote:Would OP be able to write an addendum saying he was diagnosed with a medical condition without specifying that it's schizophrenia (or a psychiatric disorder at all)?

This too.
How would you go about writing an addendum without specifying the condition? Wouldn't I have to submit documentation of the condition anyway?
Write it as you would only replace "schizophrenia" with "a medical condition". I don't believe schools would require documentation, but hopefully someone who has written an addendum related to health can chime in.

Curious: how do the C&F questions about health work wrt HIPAA?

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Leira7905

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Re: Schizophrenia GPA addendum

Post by Leira7905 » Mon Jan 10, 2011 5:31 pm

Lwoods wrote:
witorres89 wrote:
gbpackerbacker wrote:
Lwoods wrote:Would OP be able to write an addendum saying he was diagnosed with a medical condition without specifying that it's schizophrenia (or a psychiatric disorder at all)?

This too.
How would you go about writing an addendum without specifying the condition? Wouldn't I have to submit documentation of the condition anyway?
Write it as you would only replace "schizophrenia" with "a medical condition". I don't believe schools would require documentation, but hopefully someone who has written an addendum related to health can chime in.

Curious: how do the C&F questions about health work wrt HIPAA?
I don't know how it is in other states, but in Texas you fill out a "Declaration of Intention to Study Law" in your first year of LS... this begins the C&F investigation... as part of the Declaration you must disclose the name of mental heath professional who you have seen in relation to any drug/alcohol addiction problems or anything relating to a Psychotic disorder, Bi-Polar disorder or things of that nature for the past Ten Years Then you have to sign an Authorization for Release of information which allows them to acquire your medical records from the named health professionals...

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Re: Schizophrenia GPA addendum

Post by orcasanddoggos » Wed Nov 14, 2018 5:40 pm

Hi!

I was looking to see if others have written statements about Schizophrenia and came across this thread.

I realize this is old and might not reach you, witorres89, but I really hope you applied at the time you wanted and wrote about what was true to you. And are on a path (maybe law) that really excites and stimulates you. I wanted to write you a private message but am too new of a user to access that feature.

In any case, I admire your posts and stand with you in solidarity.

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LSATWiz.com

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Re: Schizophrenia GPA addendum

Post by LSATWiz.com » Wed Nov 14, 2018 7:01 pm

Most state bars would make you disclose it, but I'm not sure talking to a c&f lawyer is that worthwhile in this situation. They're just going to tell you it's evaluated on a case by case basis. This isn't legal advice, but common sense would suggest the way you treat it is most relevant. If you have no history of conduct disorder, then it would seem insensitive and unfair for it to preclude you from being licensed. I think stating it was why your GPA was low only substantiates that it can impede your ability to practice, which adcoms may sympathize with assuming they do not discriminate against it, and would very likely be something your c&f reviewer pays close attention to. In my, unprofessional, subjective opinion, the risk-reward analysis doesn't check out.

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Re: Schizophrenia GPA addendum

Post by Npret » Thu Nov 15, 2018 7:33 am

UBETutoring wrote:Most state bars would make you disclose it, but I'm not sure talking to a c&f lawyer is that worthwhile in this situation. They're just going to tell you it's evaluated on a case by case basis. This isn't legal advice, but common sense would suggest the way you treat it is most relevant. If you have no history of conduct disorder, then it would seem insensitive and unfair for it to preclude you from being licensed. I think stating it was why your GPA was low only substantiates that it can impede your ability to practice, which adcoms may sympathize with assuming they do not discriminate against it, and would very likely be something your c&f reviewer pays close attention to. In my, unprofessional, subjective opinion, the risk-reward analysis doesn't check out.
It’s worth asking if the OP can understand that they may never practice and going to law school is a waste of time.

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Re: Schizophrenia GPA addendum

Post by LSATWiz.com » Thu Nov 15, 2018 10:40 am

Npret wrote:
UBETutoring wrote:Most state bars would make you disclose it, but I'm not sure talking to a c&f lawyer is that worthwhile in this situation. They're just going to tell you it's evaluated on a case by case basis. This isn't legal advice, but common sense would suggest the way you treat it is most relevant. If you have no history of conduct disorder, then it would seem insensitive and unfair for it to preclude you from being licensed. I think stating it was why your GPA was low only substantiates that it can impede your ability to practice, which adcoms may sympathize with assuming they do not discriminate against it, and would very likely be something your c&f reviewer pays close attention to. In my, unprofessional, subjective opinion, the risk-reward analysis doesn't check out.
It’s worth asking if the OP can understand that they may never practice and going to law school is a waste of time.
Yes, but the standard is not whether OP previously had conditions that could impact his/her ability to practice law. It's whether OP is presently fit to practice law, which is a fact-specific inquiry and why a C&F lawyer won't be able to add a ton of value at this stage.

Once OP completes law school without issue, a C&F lawyer can help OP frame the argument that although OP has this condition, it is heavily regulated and would not impede his ability to zealously and successfully represent clients with an affidavit from his/her doctor, and evidence that OP made it through the stresses of law school without issue.

Personally, I think the above argument is strong enough that it's highly unlikely OP would be denied admission. C&F isn't looking for reasons to deny people entry into the profession, and I'm saying this as someone who had C&F issues (granted, not mental illness) related. My experience has been that they're primary concern is conducting a reasonable assessment of the risk someone poses, and it's dubious that schizophrenia alone would be deemed to present a sufficient enough risk to deny OP entry assuming that there is no documented history of misconduct.

One previous poster had bipolar or something, and was gravely concerned about C&F. That situation was different because there was repeated misconduct while in law school, which changes the risk assessment. because the illness repeatedly caused misconduct. It's much less likely that C&F would deny someone solely on the basis that they have a condition that could conceivably lead to misconduct. Once we go down that slippery road, we could say that C&F should reject anyone with a family member with a mental illness, because it's conceivable they could one day develop it or have a child with that illness, which would then require too much of their time to be able to adequately represent clientele. Maybe I'm biased, but I think it's patently unfair to reject them solely on the basis they have a condition without any history of misconduct and I think most C&F reviewers would agree.

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Re: Schizophrenia GPA addendum

Post by Npret » Sun Nov 18, 2018 9:53 pm

UBETutoring wrote:
Npret wrote:
UBETutoring wrote:Most state bars would make you disclose it, but I'm not sure talking to a c&f lawyer is that worthwhile in this situation. They're just going to tell you it's evaluated on a case by case basis. This isn't legal advice, but common sense would suggest the way you treat it is most relevant. If you have no history of conduct disorder, then it would seem insensitive and unfair for it to preclude you from being licensed. I think stating it was why your GPA was low only substantiates that it can impede your ability to practice, which adcoms may sympathize with assuming they do not discriminate against it, and would very likely be something your c&f reviewer pays close attention to. In my, unprofessional, subjective opinion, the risk-reward analysis doesn't check out.
It’s worth asking if the OP can understand that they may never practice and going to law school is a waste of time.
Yes, but the standard is not whether OP previously had conditions that could impact his/her ability to practice law. It's whether OP is presently fit to practice law, which is a fact-specific inquiry and why a C&F lawyer won't be able to add a ton of value at this stage.

Once OP completes law school without issue, a C&F lawyer can help OP frame the argument that although OP has this condition, it is heavily regulated and would not impede his ability to zealously and successfully represent clients with an affidavit from his/her doctor, and evidence that OP made it through the stresses of law school without issue.

Personally, I think the above argument is strong enough that it's highly unlikely OP would be denied admission. C&F isn't looking for reasons to deny people entry into the profession, and I'm saying this as someone who had C&F issues (granted, not mental illness) related. My experience has been that they're primary concern is conducting a reasonable assessment of the risk someone poses, and it's dubious that schizophrenia alone would be deemed to present a sufficient enough risk to deny OP entry assuming that there is no documented history of misconduct.

One previous poster had bipolar or something, and was gravely concerned about C&F. That situation was different because there was repeated misconduct while in law school, which changes the risk assessment. because the illness repeatedly caused misconduct. It's much less likely that C&F would deny someone solely on the basis that they have a condition that could conceivably lead to misconduct. Once we go down that slippery road, we could say that C&F should reject anyone with a family member with a mental illness, because it's conceivable they could one day develop it or have a child with that illness, which would then require too much of their time to be able to adequately represent clientele. Maybe I'm biased, but I think it's patently unfair to reject them solely on the basis they have a condition without any history of misconduct and I think most C&F reviewers would agree.
I’m not comfortable giving advice based on what I think C & F might do. I think it’s worth talking to an expert to ascertain the difficulties OP will face in getting licensed. Those difficulties in time and expense may be acceptable to OP, but they should know what they are likely to face in their specific jurisdiction.

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Re: Schizophrenia GPA addendum

Post by QContinuum » Sun Nov 18, 2018 11:21 pm

Npret wrote:
UBETutoring wrote:Yes, but the standard is not whether OP previously had conditions that could impact his/her ability to practice law. It's whether OP is presently fit to practice law, which is a fact-specific inquiry and why a C&F lawyer won't be able to add a ton of value at this stage.

Once OP completes law school without issue, a C&F lawyer can help OP frame the argument that although OP has this condition, it is heavily regulated and would not impede his ability to zealously and successfully represent clients with an affidavit from his/her doctor, and evidence that OP made it through the stresses of law school without issue.

Personally, I think the above argument is strong enough that it's highly unlikely OP would be denied admission. C&F isn't looking for reasons to deny people entry into the profession, and I'm saying this as someone who had C&F issues (granted, not mental illness) related. My experience has been that they're primary concern is conducting a reasonable assessment of the risk someone poses, and it's dubious that schizophrenia alone would be deemed to present a sufficient enough risk to deny OP entry assuming that there is no documented history of misconduct.

One previous poster had bipolar or something, and was gravely concerned about C&F. That situation was different because there was repeated misconduct while in law school, which changes the risk assessment. because the illness repeatedly caused misconduct. It's much less likely that C&F would deny someone solely on the basis that they have a condition that could conceivably lead to misconduct. Once we go down that slippery road, we could say that C&F should reject anyone with a family member with a mental illness, because it's conceivable they could one day develop it or have a child with that illness, which would then require too much of their time to be able to adequately represent clientele. Maybe I'm biased, but I think it's patently unfair to reject them solely on the basis they have a condition without any history of misconduct and I think most C&F reviewers would agree.
I’m not comfortable giving advice based on what I think C & F might do. I think it’s worth talking to an expert to ascertain the difficulties OP will face in getting licensed. Those difficulties in time and expense may be acceptable to OP, but they should know what they are likely to face in their specific jurisdiction.
I agree with Npret. While UBETutoring's reasoning is appealing, and I would probably follow it if I was a C&F reviewer or a judge reviewing a C&F denial on mental illness grounds, I'm uncomfortable inviting OP to rely on this opinion in deciding whether to spend three years and untold sums of money attending law school and taking the bar exam. I think this issue is above TLS' paygrade. Jurisdictions differ substantially in how they review applicants, and what issue(s) they are/aren't concerned about. I think this is well worth OP consulting with a C&F attorney in the relevant jurisdiction - preferably one who's had prior experience with mental illness issues.

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Re: Schizophrenia GPA addendum

Post by LSATWiz.com » Mon Nov 19, 2018 1:16 pm

QContinuum wrote:
Npret wrote:
UBETutoring wrote:Yes, but the standard is not whether OP previously had conditions that could impact his/her ability to practice law. It's whether OP is presently fit to practice law, which is a fact-specific inquiry and why a C&F lawyer won't be able to add a ton of value at this stage.

Once OP completes law school without issue, a C&F lawyer can help OP frame the argument that although OP has this condition, it is heavily regulated and would not impede his ability to zealously and successfully represent clients with an affidavit from his/her doctor, and evidence that OP made it through the stresses of law school without issue.

Personally, I think the above argument is strong enough that it's highly unlikely OP would be denied admission. C&F isn't looking for reasons to deny people entry into the profession, and I'm saying this as someone who had C&F issues (granted, not mental illness) related. My experience has been that they're primary concern is conducting a reasonable assessment of the risk someone poses, and it's dubious that schizophrenia alone would be deemed to present a sufficient enough risk to deny OP entry assuming that there is no documented history of misconduct.

One previous poster had bipolar or something, and was gravely concerned about C&F. That situation was different because there was repeated misconduct while in law school, which changes the risk assessment. because the illness repeatedly caused misconduct. It's much less likely that C&F would deny someone solely on the basis that they have a condition that could conceivably lead to misconduct. Once we go down that slippery road, we could say that C&F should reject anyone with a family member with a mental illness, because it's conceivable they could one day develop it or have a child with that illness, which would then require too much of their time to be able to adequately represent clientele. Maybe I'm biased, but I think it's patently unfair to reject them solely on the basis they have a condition without any history of misconduct and I think most C&F reviewers would agree.
I’m not comfortable giving advice based on what I think C & F might do. I think it’s worth talking to an expert to ascertain the difficulties OP will face in getting licensed. Those difficulties in time and expense may be acceptable to OP, but they should know what they are likely to face in their specific jurisdiction.
I agree with Npret. While UBETutoring's reasoning is appealing, and I would probably follow it if I was a C&F reviewer or a judge reviewing a C&F denial on mental illness grounds, I'm uncomfortable inviting OP to rely on this opinion in deciding whether to spend three years and untold sums of money attending law school and taking the bar exam. I think this issue is above TLS' paygrade. Jurisdictions differ substantially in how they review applicants, and what issue(s) they are/aren't concerned about. I think this is well worth OP consulting with a C&F attorney in the relevant jurisdiction - preferably one who's had prior experience with mental illness issues.
Agreed. I just don't think a C&F attorney will be able to give anyone with a mental illness a definitive answer on whether they'll have trouble getting admitted or add much to what's been presented here unless there are add'l facts we're not privy to. I'd agree with consulting a c&f attorney if there were C&F issues in addition to the diagnosis itself.

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Re: Schizophrenia GPA addendum

Post by dropout » Sat Jan 05, 2019 12:36 am

I have Schizophrenia as well OP. Please make sure you are ready for the amount of focus that law school requires. I made the mistake of going to soon and dropped out because my symptoms were too strong. But, a quick google will show you that people with schizophrenia have gone on to practice law.

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