History of psych. distress a pro or con for a PS? Forum

[BasketCaseBrief]

How do admissions committees perceive an applicant with a history of psychological disorder(s) and distress?

I don't really want to put this into my personal statement, but I was wondering if I did to explain some difficult circumstance, whether this would be viewed as an inability to complete law school, viewed negatively in general, or whether it could help in describing and proving my motivation and perseverance.

Would this be a good or bad idea to mention?

Edit: My apologies; move to Personal Statements, please, if you have to.

[BasketCaseBrief]

?

[thegor1987]

It would have a negative effect

[vanwinkle]

It depends on what it is. If it's something like a generalized anxiety disorder, there are ways to talk about it as something you've overcome in your life to show a unique adversity perspective. If it's full-blown schizophrenia you probably can't pass the bar when you graduate, so going to law school may be a bad idea altogether.

[cubswin]

How do admissions committees perceive an applicant with a history of psychological disorder(s) and distress?

I don't really want to put this into my personal statement, but I was wondering if I did to explain some difficult circumstance, whether this would be viewed as an inability to complete law school, viewed negatively in general, or whether it could help in describing and proving my motivation and perseverance.

Would this be a good or bad idea to mention?

Edit: My apologies; move to Personal Statements, please, if you have to.

I think it's tough to say without looking at the actual statement and might also depend on what disorder you are talking about.

[Anastasia Dee Dualla]

.

[dextermorgan]

Yeah we will need to know the disorder/severity. I would air on the side of caution however, as you don't want to plant seeds of doubt in the adcomms minds.