How to Handle a Medical Issue in Your College Application

Torn ACL. Lyme disease. Depression. Crohn's. Scoliosis. Cancer.

Over the years, I have read applications from and worked with students who faced all types of medical challenges. Their sports careers are put on hold. Appointments, surgeries, and treatment fill up their school days. School is missed—sometimes for weeks at a time. Grades are impacted. Extracurricular activities are put on the back burner.

Many of these students want to write their college essay about their medical history. They want to explain why they missed so much school or don't have as many activities as their peers. They want to tell their story. I want to tell them they can. But I know how these are viewed in the admissions process. Essays about medical challenges are extremely tough to pull off. Admissions officers glance at the essay and minimize it down to "another medical essay."

Admissions officers can be unfair, insensitive, and harsh. Unless these admissions officers have been personally affected by something similar, they just don't know what these kids are dealing with. I wish they did.

While an essay about struggling or overcoming a medical issue may not resonate the way we want it to with admissions officers, other approaches do. There are ways to mention the medical issue without it taking over the student's application.

Here's what you can do:

If a student's activities have been impacted by an illness, they can reference that in the activity listing. For example, if a student misses the high school lacrosse season because of a torn ACL, they can add that to their high school lacrosse listing. Granted there is only space for a 150-character description, but it is amazing how clever one can be. The student could write this: "I missed last season recovering from a torn ACL. I’m back this year, scoring goals and stronger than ever. Chasing my dream has never felt better!"

RELATED READING: A Plan for Extracurricular Activities for Every Year of High School

If the student's academic work took a hit, they can have their school counselor contextualize their grades in the letter of recommendation. The counselor could say something like this: "This student has a C on their record. The rest of their grades are all A's. It should be noted that the C occurred during 10th grade when they were dealing with an illness that lasted months until it was diagnosed and treated halfway through the year."

And, for the student who applies to colleges that don't require a counselor's letter or do not have a school counselor who knows them well enough, they can use the "Additional Information" section to make a brief statement if they choose. I recommend a few sentences—no more! Anything that is too long, sounds like an excuse, or sounds like the start of an essay seems to annoy an admissions officer more than their lack of empathy annoys me.

READ MORE: 5 Ways to Make Your Counselor Letter of Recommendation Even Better

Maybe things will change. Maybe in the future students can write essays about their medical issues and not be labeled in a negative way by admissions officers. Maybe medicine will improve so fast and effectively that injuries and diseases are easier to diagnose and treat. Maybe empathy will rule the admissions process instead of judgment and criticism.

It wasn't until I became a mom that I was a lot more understanding as an admissions officer and dean of admissions. Life is precious. We will all face medical challenges in our lifetime. But when our kids face them, our hearts break. When kids are not feeling 100%, we need all adults to be supportive of them.

Have some heart, admissions officers. That kid is my kid. That kid could be your kid too.