disclosing health problem at interview

[nervousnervous]

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I have a major concern regarding whether I should disclose my mental health problem at the interview. I am sure the interviewer will bring up this question because I had some very bad grades and mentioned in my personal statement that they were due to some health problem. I keep hearing that I should not disclose mental illness to adcoms, since it will be looked upon very unfavorably. Therefore I am wondering if I should instead say I had some physical illness or injury. But I really do not want to be dishonest and what if they ask me about the details of the illness/injury. I am really worried now and need some advice and suggestions...

 

[WeAreNotRobots]

you don't have to go into detail. when the interviewer asks about your not-so-great grades, you can respond by stating that you were dealing with a health problem, and that you included this in your personal statement. you say something about how your personal health became a priority and your grades suffered because of that. then when you were able to learn how to effectively manage your condition, your grades improved again.

that's really it. they will get as much info as you provide, and they should be able to sense how much you want to offer. you should be honest, but the interviewer is not YOUR doctor, so there's a lot of details that you can leave out. they're not gonna pry you.

 

[slammer922]

you don't have to go into detail. when the interviewer asks about your not-so-great grades, you can respond by stating that you were dealing with a health problem, and that you included this in your personal statement. you say something about how your personal health became a priority and your grades suffered because of that. then when you were able to learn how to effectively manage your condition, your grades improved again.

that's really it. they will get as much info as you provide, and they should be able to sense how much you want to offer. you should be honest, but the interviewer is not YOUR doctor, so there's a lot of details that you can leave out. they're not gonna pry you.

Agreed

 

[alwaysaangel]

And they may not ask at all. Some interviews are closed and they may not have seen your grades (or read your file yet even if they do have it). If they ask, answer as much as you are comfortable.

If they don't ask then I wouldn't bring it up. I was once doing an interview and the person I was interviewing randomly (and awkwardly) brought up a medical problem that had led to some of her bad grades. Except I knew nothing about the bad grades (we don't see grades) and she hadn't mentioned it in her personal statement. So it was just really awkward that she told me and she didn't really do a good job of discussing it/explaining it. Definitely would have been better off not bringing it up.