Do Admissions Discriminate Against ADD?

[hopeful25678]

Do MD schools look down on people with ADD?
I had a rough freshman year and I have had a very strong upward GPA due to getting ADD treatment. I was going to mention this in my PS, but a Doctor I work with told me it will make me look weak. He said that a lot of MD's don't see ADD as a legitimate disorder.
What do you guys think? I have no idea if I should include it or not:/

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[mimelim]

Admissions committees are looking for students who will do well in medical school and become successful alumni. They do not actively discriminate against applicants with ADHD. That having been said, yes, any condition that can potentially impact your ability to study, train and practice medicine is taken note of. It is not used to exclude people. The real question is, why is it so important to make a big part of your application. Your personal statement is a very short document. You should be filling it with explanation of why you are a good fit for medicine and medical school. If ADHD plays a role, then it is certainly okay to include, but it should be more than, "I had a rough patch, realized I have ADHD, got treatment and now my grades are good. Oh and my psychiatrist was so amazing that I want to practice medicine." Even if completely true, it is still a weak personal statement.

Your grades speak for themselves, you should spend time talking about other things in your personal statement.

 

[hopeful25678]

Admissions committees are looking for students who will do well in medical school and become successful alumni. They do not actively discriminate against applicants with ADHD. That having been said, yes, any condition that can potentially impact your ability to study, train and practice medicine is taken note of. It is not used to exclude people. The real question is, why is it so important to make a big part of your application. Your personal statement is a very short document. You should be filling it with explanation of why you are a good fit for medicine and medical school. If ADHD plays a role, then it is certainly okay to include, but it should be more than, "I had a rough patch, realized I have ADHD, got treatment and now my grades are good. Oh and my psychiatrist was so amazing that I want to practice medicine." Even if completely true, it is still a weak personal statement.

Your grades speak for themselves, you should spend time talking about other things in your personal statement.

I obviously wasn't going to put that exact line in my PS....But I have had a strong upward trend and some people have been telling me to include it and some are telling me not to. I thought I'd mention it briefly

 

[ChymeofPassion]

Everyone and their sister is claiming they are ADD nowadays to gain medication that can HYPER-FOCUS you. Not saying you fall into this category, but there this stereotype

 

[hopeful25678]

Everyone and their sister is claiming they are ADD nowadays to gain medication that can HYPER-FOCUS you. Not saying you fall into this category, but there this stereotype

That's exactly what I am worried about!

 

[mimelim]

I obviously wasn't going to put that exact line in my PS....But I have had a strong upward trend and some people have been telling me to include it and some are telling me not to. I thought I'd mention it briefly

My point is personal statements are not about lines or mentioning something briefly. When I'm reading your personal statement, I don't need you to rehash something from your activities section or your grades. If you have an upward trend, we will see it, it is hard to imagine a situation where mentioning it will help an application and it is easy to see how it will harm.

 

[hopeful25678]

My point is personal statements are not about lines or mentioning something briefly. When I'm reading your personal statement, I don't need you to rehash something from your activities section or your grades. If you have an upward trend, we will see it, it is hard to imagine a situation where mentioning it will help an application and it is easy to see how it will harm.

Thanks for the input! I don't think I will mention it!

 

[hopeful25678]

My point is personal statements are not about lines or mentioning something briefly. When I'm reading your personal statement, I don't need you to rehash something from your activities section or your grades. If you have an upward trend, we will see it, it is hard to imagine a situation where mentioning it will help an application and it is easy to see how it will harm.

But what if they ask me why my grades were low? Should I just say I was lazy? I think that it might be best to not mention it all based on what I am hearing.

 

[cactusman]

But what if they ask me why my grades were low? Should I just say I was lazy? I think that it might be best to not mention it all based on what I am hearing.

In an interview, it might be appropriate to explain that you had undiagnosed ADHD and received treatment, but I would defer to @Goro et al. to confirm or refute that.

 

[Goro]

I agree.

But many people start poorly in college and then pick up the pace, so it might never even come up.

In an interview, it might be appropriate to explain that you had undiagnosed ADHD and received treatment, but I would defer to @Goro et al. to confirm or refute that.

 

[hopeful25678]

@cactusman @Goro thanks for the input! I'll only bring it up if they mention it!