question regarding candor Forum

[randomlawaspirant]

Hi. I have a history of some difficulties regarding mental health, including two several-month-long interruptions in my early undergraduate education, in which I was in a mental health facility and diagnosed with schizophrenia. The law school applications I filled out asked about interruptions in education that exceeded the length of my longer interruption. I am now completely fine in those regards and have been without incident for over three years. I am not obligated to tell the schools at which I've applied my mental health history? Am I? I ask this now as I'm concerned that it might bite me in the ass down the line.

[kalvano]

They will ask you about it on the bar application. That should match what's on your law school application.

[thelawschoolproject]

Hm.

Technically this is a medical condition, and tbf, I'm not sure how mental health conditions play into C&F (particularly the F part). But in regard to your question about the interruption in education, if the school tells you to list any interruptions that lasted longer than 6 months (or whatev) and your interruption was 3, then no you don't need to list it.

With that said, the most important thing for the bar is that you have fully disclosed all necessary information. For this reason, anything that I was extremely unsure of, I'd just call the school and speak with them about the exact issue at hand.

[randomlawaspirant]

They will ask you about it on the bar application. That should match what's on your law school application.

That's the thing: the law school applications allowed me to honestly answer the questions without addressing my mental health history. If the bar application asks a question regarding mental health history, my candid response would not contradict anything on law school applications.

The lawschoolproject:

Your counsel makes sense. I could anonymously call the school and ask what the expectation of a student in my circumstance would be. Btw: C&F = Candor and Frankness?

[kalvano]

C&F questions on the law school application rarely have an impact on admissions. It's for later use by the bar. In this case, answer the school honestly. If you don't have to mention it, great. The bar will realize that when you apply.

[STLMizzou]

If it asks you if you missed school for an extended period of time, put yes**, when it asks how long and why put “two months and health reasons”.

No need to go further, and it keeps you out of any dishonesty issues for the bar.

ETA: typo mistake

[Nom Sawyer]

They will ask you about it on the bar application. That should match what's on your law school application.

That's the thing: the law school applications allowed me to honestly answer the questions without addressing my mental health history. If the bar application asks a question regarding mental health history, my candid response would not contradict anything on law school applications.

The lawschoolproject:

Your counsel makes sense. I could anonymously call the school and ask what the expectation of a student in my circumstance would be. Btw: C&F = Candor and Frankness?

C&F= Character and Fitness

[mrtoren]

They will ask you about it on the bar application. That should match what's on your law school application.

That's the thing: the law school applications allowed me to honestly answer the questions without addressing my mental health history. If the bar application asks a question regarding mental health history, my candid response would not contradict anything on law school applications.

The lawschoolproject:

Your counsel makes sense. I could anonymously call the school and ask what the expectation of a student in my circumstance would be. Btw: C&F = Candor and Frankness?

Dancing around technicalities is only asking for trouble. This is an issue you need to do more research on before you commit to any law school. I don't think we've reached a consensus on how mental health issues affect your fitness to practice, but it should be settled before you waste copious amounts of money on a legal education.

Call a law school or the ABA, all stealth and *69 tactics aside, and ask them for an honest assessment.