Applying to college can feel overwhelming. You’re told to showcase your achievements, highlight your strengths, and present the “best version” of yourself. But what happens if an important part of your story includes challenges with mental health? Should you share this in your application—or keep it private?
This is a question many students are asking today, and for good reason. According to the CDC (2021), 29% of high school students reported experiencing poor mental health in the past month, while 22% seriously considered suicide in the last year. These aren’t just numbers—they reflect real struggles that shape students’ academic and personal journeys.
At the same time, there’s a growing openness to talk about mental health. Teachers and counselors often report that classrooms today are filled with students who acknowledge anxiety, stress, or depression more freely than before.
So when you face the blank page of a personal statement or the “additional information” section of your application, it’s natural to wonder: Should I talk about my mental health? If yes, how do I do it in a way that helps rather than hurts my application?
This blog breaks down everything you need to know.
The Quick Answer: What You Should Know Up Front
Here are the key takeaways before we dive deeper:
1. Not every student needs to disclose mental health challenges. Only include them if they are central to your academic journey or explain gaps/dips in performance.
2. Where you share matters, you don’t have to put everything in your personal statement. The “Additional Information” section or the counselor’s recommendation is often a better place.
3. Admissions officers don’t want trauma stories alone. They want to understand how you grew, what you learned, and how those experiences shaped your resilience, perspective, or leadership.
4. If you do write about it, balance your essay. A strong framework could be:
* ⅓ of the challenge itself and its impact.
* ⅓ actions you took to address or manage it.
* ⅓ what you learned and how it prepared you for college life.
With that foundation, let’s explore the details.
Part 1: Should You Mention Mental Health Challenges in Your College Application?
What Admissions Officers Say
Admissions officers are human. They don’t dismiss mental health stories out of hand. In fact, many acknowledge that resilience and self-awareness are powerful qualities in a student. However, their focus is always on your ability to succeed at their institution.
That means if you mention mental health, you need to connect it to:
* How did it affect your academic or personal growth?
* What did you do to address it?
* How has it prepared you for success in college?
When Disclosure Makes Sense
You may want to include mental health challenges if:
* Your grades dipped temporarily due to depression, anxiety, or other issues, and you want to provide context.
* The experience sparked a meaningful change, such as starting an initiative, supporting peers, or seeking help that transformed your outlook.
* It’s genuinely a big part of your identity, and you can show resilience through it.
For example, a student who struggled with severe anxiety during sophomore year but developed coping strategies, joined a support group, and later started a peer mentoring club could present this as a story of growth.
When You May Not Need to Mention It
On the other hand, if mental health challenges did not significantly affect your academic performance or extracurricular involvement, you may not need to disclose them at all. Sometimes students feel pressured to “explain” themselves when no explanation is necessary.
Remember: your personal statement is also a chance to highlight achievements, passions, and goals. If mental health doesn’t connect to those directly, it might be better to leave it out.
Questions to Ask Yourself Before Deciding
* Did my mental health directly impact my academic record or activities?
* Is it an important part of my personal growth story?
* Can I write about it in a way that shows resilience rather than struggle?
* Am I comfortable with admissions officers knowing this?
Part 2: If You Decide to Share, Where and How Should You Do It?
If you feel mental health is part of your story, there are several ways to include it—each with different advantages.
Option 1: The “Additional Information” Section
This is often the safest and most effective place to disclose mental health challenges. It allows you to briefly explain circumstances without taking away from the main narrative of your personal statement.
For example:
“During my junior year, I faced significant health challenges that affected my ability to attend school regularly. With the support of my counselor and family, I learned strategies to manage my condition and regained academic stability in my senior year.”
This gives context without overshadowing your achievements.
Option 2: Counselor Recommendation Letter
Sometimes it’s best if your counselor mentions it on your behalf. This can be especially helpful if you’re not comfortable writing about it yourself. Counselors can frame the situation professionally and highlight how you showed resilience.
Option 3: The Personal Statement
You can also write about mental health in your main essay, but this requires balance. Admissions officers caution against essays that focus only on trauma without showing growth.
Here’s a helpful framework:
* ⅓ Challenge: What happened and how it affected you.
* ⅓ Actions: What steps you took to seek support, cope, or change.
* ⅓ Growth: What you learned, how you’ve matured, and why this makes you ready for college.
For instance, instead of writing only about feeling isolated during depression, you might write about how therapy helped you rebuild confidence, how you used journaling to process emotions, and how this now helps you manage stress better than before.
Key Takeaways + Next Steps
* You don’t have to disclose mental health challenges unless they’re central to your story or explain academic irregularities.
* If you do disclose, focus on growth, resilience, and lessons learned.
* Consider using the “Additional Information” section or the counselor’s letter instead of the personal statement.
* When writing in your essay, use a balanced structure that highlights progress and strength.
Remember, admissions officers aren’t looking for “perfect” students. They’re looking for students who know themselves, who can handle challenges, and who will bring resilience and perspective to campus life.
Appendix: Extra Resources
* Using a Supplemental Essay: If a college offers prompts about community, resilience, or identity, that may be a natural place to share mental health experiences.
* The “Naming the Problem” Exercise: Write out your challenge in one sentence, then focus the rest of your essay on what you did and what you learned.
* Guiding Questions for Counselors: Students can provide counselors with a short note explaining their situation so counselors can advocate effectively in recommendation letters.
Final Thoughts
College applications are about more than grades and test scores—they’re about telling your story. If mental health has been part of your journey, you don’t need to hide it. But you also don’t need to make it the centerpiece unless it adds clarity or meaning to your application.
The ultimate goal is to show admissions officers that you are ready for the academic and personal challenges of college. If you can demonstrate resilience, maturity, and growth, your story—mental health included—can be a powerful part of your application.