grades setback due to illness

[mwithglasses]

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I've had Depression since 8th grade. My freshman year of college, it got a lot worse and my grades suffered. My GPA was a 2.7, this was due to a D in Calculus 1 and a C in Calculus 2. Since then, they've gotten a lot better, and my GPA has since risen.
I've heard of people who sort of "explain themselves" when applying to colleges about why one random year is so horrible with grades (illness, death or illness in family member, etc).
I was wondering if I could do something like that when I apply to PA schools? Is there a section I could do that?
I know with the CommonApp for colleges, there's an "additional documents" section where the people put in their explanation.

Any suggestions would be awesome!

 

[Dynamo24]

More something to work on if you get interviews because I'm sure it will come up.

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[Instatewaiter]

I've had Depression since 8th grade. My freshman year of college, it got a lot worse and my grades suffered. My GPA was a 2.7, this was due to a D in Calculus 1 and a C in Calculus 2. Since then, they've gotten a lot better, and my GPA has since risen.
I've heard of people who sort of "explain themselves" when applying to colleges about why one random year is so horrible with grades (illness, death or illness in family member, etc).
I was wondering if I could do something like that when I apply to PA schools? Is there a section I could do that?
I know with the CommonApp for colleges, there's an "additional documents" section where the people put in their explanation.

Any suggestions would be awesome!

The question they will have will be, will this person have another episode of depression and fail out of PA school. You need to be able to answer this wel.

 

[mwithglasses]

The question they will have will be, will this person have another episode of depression and fail out of PA school. You need to be able to answer this wel.

And of course I won't, because as they can see on my transcript, my grades are way better than they were freshman year. They also keep getting better.
Should I mention if I'm on anti depressants? Or keep that to myself?

 

[wutthechris]

You need to address your previous poor performance in your personal statement. You will also want to explain that you've overcome it, what you have learned from the experience or how it made you a stronger candidate, and point towards the upward trend in your grades. Good luck!

 

[mwithglasses]

You need to address your previous poor performance in your personal statement. You will also want to explain that you've overcome it, what you have learned from the experience or how it made you a stronger candidate, and point towards the upward trend in your grades. Good luck!

I don't know much about applying to PA school since I won't be doing it for another couple of years. What's my personal statement?