Hi All,
Was hoping for some advice from the experts about potentially including my struggle with mental health issues (Bipolar 2 disorder) during undergrad. I went untreated during this time and because of this I struggled in several ways. The first was my academic performance, went to a top 50 university and finished with a GPA of 3.3 after graduating in 3 years. During this time I was trying to get in and out of school as quick as possible as I was really struggling with my mental health and felt that the university environment was causing a lot of the difficulty. Additionally, I was using alcohol during this time to try and cope, I was charged with Underage Alcohol consumption several times.
Since graduating college, I've sought treatment for my Bipolar 2 disorder as well as the alcohol use (I see a Psych, Therapist, and have attended AA meetings in the past as I got through the alcohol issues). During this time, my career has flourished and I've discovered a desire to pursue an education with my full head and heart. I see an MBA as a chance to learn from and work with the best and brightest and truly work to grow and develop, this was not my attitude toward education at all during undergrad. Additionally, I feel my experience with mental health issues and its' impact on my life gives me a unique and valuable perspective for any community.
I'm wondering what you all think about including this as part of my admissions story? My applications will be fairly strong for the schools I'm intending to apply for (Tuck, Columbia, Yale SOM, and possibly Wharton, MIT, and Kellogg pending my GMAT score) apart from the underwhelming undergraduate performance.
Any thoughts you may have are greatly appreciated!