Post-Bac with several undergrad withdrawals

[cisum]

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So I am currently an undergrad at UCLA and I am planning on going into a post-bac but am I wondering how good are my chances with 5 withdrawals under my belt...My withdrawals are due to medical reasons (bipolar) and not just me wasting time. I've tried really hard to be consistent and go to school and I don't give up until it's a matter of life and death. I'm currently under intense treatment and hope that it will help me be stable longer than a few months.
My GPA is a 3.4, I'm a psych student. Also, what would be the best way to explain the withdrawals, since most school ask for an explanation for any absence of school. How much is too much information?
The longest I have been in school consecutively is three quarters and this has been in the last year - so do I point to that as an attempt to show them that I am becoming more reliable and better adjusted?
Any help would be appreciated - thanks.

 

[NewmansOwn]

So I am currently an undergrad at UCLA and I am planning on going into a post-bac but am I wondering how good are my chances with 5 withdrawals under my belt...My withdrawals are due to medical reasons (bipolar) and not just me wasting time. I've tried really hard to be consistent and go to school and I don't give up until it's a matter of life and death. I'm currently under intense treatment and hope that it will help me be stable longer than a few months.
My GPA is a 3.4, I'm a psych student. Also, what would be the best way to explain the withdrawals, since most school ask for an explanation for any absence of school. How much is too much information?
The longest I have been in school consecutively is three quarters and this has been in the last year - so do I point to that as an attempt to show them that I am becoming more reliable and better adjusted?
Any help would be appreciated - thanks.

Please understand this is nothing personal, but are you sure you're ready to make a bid for medical school? It's exponentially more challenging, both intellectually and emotionally, than undergraduate or postbac work. If you can only, at this point, handle 3 quarters of undergrad work, I can't see medical school working out. It's smart that you're getting effective treatment, but you honestly don't sound healthy enough yet. For your own sake, wait a few years.

When you are ready, I can tell you that what you've told us is too much information. Med schools have the duty to churn out the best possible physicians in the face of a looming doctor shortage and pressure from many different parties to increase enrollment. I can promise you -- they can have anyone they want, basically, and are actively LOOKING for any reason to toss your application aside and save themselves the time. An extensive history of poorly controlled manic-depressive episodes is above and beyond what they'd need to think twice about you, I'm afraid.

I wish I could tell you exactly what you ought to say, but you're in a difficult situation. You certainly can't lie about your withdrawals, but any degree of detail and the red flags will start flying. Your only chance is to put a good number of years between your application to a postbac/med school and your last episode; I'd argue that's what you need, anyway. Good luck.

 

[womp]

You'll also have to report all past mental health issues when you are trying to get licensed, although they might be changing that soon.

http://www.jaapl.org/cgi/content/full/36/3/369

Over the past decade, researchers have examined questions about mental health and substance use on medical licensure applications. Hansen et al.11 compared medical licensure applications (osteopathic applications included) between 1993 and 1996 and found that the proportion of state medical boards asking about functional impairments due to mental illness increased from 33 percent (in 1993) to 75 percent (in 1996).

Some states specifically inquire if the applicant has ever had a diagnosis of, or been treated for, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, paranoia, or other psychotic disorder or for pedophilia, exhibitionism, or voyeurism. Case law from New Jersey has determined that specific questions about bipolar, psychotic, or sexual disorders are acceptable based on a higher perceived potential of posing a direct threat to the public, and on the relapsing-remitting courses of these illnesses.

 

[gl0baltrader]

So I am currently an undergrad at UCLA and I am planning on going into a post-bac but am I wondering how good are my chances with 5 withdrawals under my belt...My withdrawals are due to medical reasons (bipolar) and not just me wasting time. I've tried really hard to be consistent and go to school and I don't give up until it's a matter of life and death. I'm currently under intense treatment and hope that it will help me be stable longer than a few months.
My GPA is a 3.4, I'm a psych student. Also, what would be the best way to explain the withdrawals, since most school ask for an explanation for any absence of school. How much is too much information?
The longest I have been in school consecutively is three quarters and this has been in the last year - so do I point to that as an attempt to show them that I am becoming more reliable and better adjusted?
Any help would be appreciated - thanks.

Although I can't say much about other post-bac program, but I have 3 or 4 withdrawals in my transcripts and it never came up during my UCSF Post-bac interview. And I also got accepted, may advice is to do your best, be persistent, and passionate.