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Neither revealing nor concealing a mental health condition on a medical school application would significantly affect a student’s chance of being accepted, according to a study published last week.
Turns out, discussing mental health condition may benefit a student’s application if it explains a temporary decrease in academic performance or highlights the student’s resilience. “However, understanding the extent to which a candidate’s mental health condition is being managed, the severity of their current condition, and the extent to which they anticipate medical school negatively impacting their mental health and in turn their mental health affecting their experience in medical school would also be important to convey in an application,” the authors of the study explained. “Overall, this study suggests that students should not be discouraged from revealing their mental health conditions on medical school applications and highlights ways to maximize the likelihood that revealing a mental health condition is viewed favorably by admissions committees.”
