Budgeter44
New Member
- Joined
- Aug 3, 2019
- Messages
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Hey guys, looking for some advice here. I had a leave of absence for medical reasons during the first semester of my Junior year, and I had a few questions on how to handle this tactfully on applications and during interviews, because it will obviously come up. I have used the search function regarding this but I think my circumstances are pretty unique.
Without getting too into details, only a few days before I was due to return to school I was witness to a violent sexual crime against a close family member, which left me with severe depression. Ultimately, I was not given much choice in the matter of returning to school or not, my parents did not feel comfortable with it and I was in no state to argue against them. I wasn't hospitalized or brought to a psych facility or anything, but I did seek therapy and take medication to resolve the issue. I was able to begin working again after ~2 months, and the next semester I returned to school and continued receiving good grades. Besides the LOA itself, the experience has had no ill effects on my application.
Now, I want to write about this LOA on some application questions that ask about hardships I've had to overcome. I am aware of the giant stigma against mental illness, so I don't mean in the sense of overcoming depression, but working through the difficulties that came with being out for a semester. Due to a change in major the semester prior to this, I was already a bit behind in the classes I had to take, so this LOA resulted in me having to drop the honors program I was in, which I really enjoyed. Despite this, I was still able to complete my degree and keep my GPA as high as it was before. I have a lot to say regarding this topic, but I am wondering if its a poor choice since the reason behind the LOA will definitely be asked about. I was considering a blanket statement like "I was diagnosed with a medical condition a few days prior to when I was due to return to school, and ultimately had to take a medical leave of absence for one semester." Is this too vague? Will they pry for info? I am not too keen on delving into the details of what happened, and I am worried this may happen if I choose to write about the LOA. I don't mind explaining if I have to, but like I said I am worried about being discriminated against because of it. I don't want a situation that was out of my control to hurt my chances.
I am looking for any tips on how to handle this situation, as I am worried this will be held against me due to a mental illness diagnosis, and it seems like it will be a hard topic to avoid admitting during interviews. It's a shame, as it wasn't just depression because I couldn't handle a project or work or something dumb like that, this was an extreme situation that will likely never happen again. Having something like this recur would be like a person whose been struck by lightning getting struck a second time, yet I feel like if I mention this situation at all I will be unfairly grouped with people who are unable to handle a large workload or a tough situation. I think, given what I experienced, any well adjusted human being would've had the same reaction, or worse.
Any advice is appreciated.
Without getting too into details, only a few days before I was due to return to school I was witness to a violent sexual crime against a close family member, which left me with severe depression. Ultimately, I was not given much choice in the matter of returning to school or not, my parents did not feel comfortable with it and I was in no state to argue against them. I wasn't hospitalized or brought to a psych facility or anything, but I did seek therapy and take medication to resolve the issue. I was able to begin working again after ~2 months, and the next semester I returned to school and continued receiving good grades. Besides the LOA itself, the experience has had no ill effects on my application.
Now, I want to write about this LOA on some application questions that ask about hardships I've had to overcome. I am aware of the giant stigma against mental illness, so I don't mean in the sense of overcoming depression, but working through the difficulties that came with being out for a semester. Due to a change in major the semester prior to this, I was already a bit behind in the classes I had to take, so this LOA resulted in me having to drop the honors program I was in, which I really enjoyed. Despite this, I was still able to complete my degree and keep my GPA as high as it was before. I have a lot to say regarding this topic, but I am wondering if its a poor choice since the reason behind the LOA will definitely be asked about. I was considering a blanket statement like "I was diagnosed with a medical condition a few days prior to when I was due to return to school, and ultimately had to take a medical leave of absence for one semester." Is this too vague? Will they pry for info? I am not too keen on delving into the details of what happened, and I am worried this may happen if I choose to write about the LOA. I don't mind explaining if I have to, but like I said I am worried about being discriminated against because of it. I don't want a situation that was out of my control to hurt my chances.
I am looking for any tips on how to handle this situation, as I am worried this will be held against me due to a mental illness diagnosis, and it seems like it will be a hard topic to avoid admitting during interviews. It's a shame, as it wasn't just depression because I couldn't handle a project or work or something dumb like that, this was an extreme situation that will likely never happen again. Having something like this recur would be like a person whose been struck by lightning getting struck a second time, yet I feel like if I mention this situation at all I will be unfairly grouped with people who are unable to handle a large workload or a tough situation. I think, given what I experienced, any well adjusted human being would've had the same reaction, or worse.
Any advice is appreciated.
