Have you ever wondered if it’s a good idea to tell the law school admissions committee about any mental health or wellness concerns that you may have? Or if disclosing your mental health situation is required for your application? Let’s talk about it!
In this blog post, we’re going to be talking about what reasons you may or may not decide to disclose your mental health concerns on your law school applications may be. We’ll discuss how to understand a school’s mental health and wellness support services, questions admissions may ask, and how to make the right decision for you.
Would you rather listen to or watch this blog post? Watch our recent YouTube video on this topic by Associate Law School Consultant Alice Foley!
Do Your Research
Like many parts of the application process, we always suggest that you start by doing your research on the schools you are interested in applying to. When it comes to mental health and wellness, that means looking at the law school’s support services available to professional students.
During this process, it’s important to remember that applying to law school is not a one-way process. You are picking the law school you want to attend just as much as they are choosing you. If mental health is a concern for you, it’s important to look at schools that have the services that you may need throughout your time at law school.
Law schools that are attached to a larger college or university may not have a dedicated counselor or support services to support you. You may have to go through main campus, and if that’s the case, it’s best to reach out to the school and ask.
A great question to ask is whether or not a counselor center, crisis center, or whatever the wellness office is on campus prioritizes professional school services. It’s important to know if you will be able to access these as a law school student, especially if your law school is connected to a greater university with undergraduate students.
A lot of times this information won’t be easily available on their website, so it is best to give the school a call or send them an email. The information they give may not be super detailed if you aren’t a student yet, but you will get an idea of whether or not professional students are prioritized in their counseling services.
If you know someone that goes to or graduated from that law school, that is also a great resource to ask. Invite them out to coffee and ask questions about the campus climate and what wellness resources they had access to.
Another key piece of research that you should do relates to where you want to practice law. If you already know what state you are interested in practicing in, see what the state bar asks in their character and fitness questions.
Most of the time they are not going to ask broadly about mental health issues or concerns. Instead, they are going to ask very specific questions, like whether or not you have a mental health issue or concern that will affect your ability to practice.
This is a very important phrase to understand. If your mental health issue is managed or have a support system that works for you, there is no reason to tell them because it should not affect your ability to practice.
Focusing on the Questions Asked
If there are questions on your law school application (or state bar character and fitness questions), make sure to read them carefully and answer only what you are asked. You don’t need to give law schools any additional information about your mental health and wellness.
Character and fitness questions on your law school application typically to four core areas, none directly related to mental health.
Academic Disciplinary Actions
When it comes to academic discipline, they are asking if you were placed on academic probation, if you were accused of plagiarism, if you were caught cheating, or anything along those lines.
Non-academic disciplinary actions include being suspended or expelled, if you have a bunch of dorm violations, or something like that.
Criminal Offenses
This one is pretty straightforward; law schools are interested in what your criminal history looks like.
The description will usually sound something like: Any criminal law violations that you were arrested, cited, ticketed for, or charged with committing.
Don’t panic if you have racked up a lot of parking tickets because they don’t typically ask about non-moving traffic violations. However, if you ran a red light, had a fender-bender, or something similar, those should be disclosed.
They don’t expect you to talk about your expunged or sealed records in your law school application.
Professional Organization Discipline
If you belong(ed) to a professional organization and/or you held any type of professional license before law school and your governing body disciplined you, suspended you, or revoked your membership or license, they want to know about that.
Significant Financial Events
This includes major debt default or a bankruptcy.
If this question is answered yes, it signals to the admissions committee that they want to make sure they’re not putting you in line for a worse financial position. It’s likely not going to impact your application decision by itself, but law school is long and expensive and admissions committee members want to make sure they are setting you up for success in law school.
These character and fitness questions serve two main functions: The admissions committee at your law school will look through them, and they will go to your state bar.
Most state bars require you to include your law school applications as a part of your application to sit for the exam. If there are major discrepancies, they are going to ask why. This is why it’s important to disclose any infractions in your application.
Make sure to answer the question you are asked. You do not have to elaborate to indicate why these events happened, unless that is something that is prompted or you feel necessary. If any of these issues were a result of mental health issues, you do not necessarily have to say so.
How to Decide to Disclose
You can absolutely tell the admissions committee about your mental health issue or concerns if you want to, but with the exception of some specific circ*mstances, you do not have to.
Sometimes a mental health issue or concern will come up in your personal statement. diversity statement, addendum, or elsewhere in your application. That’s okay, but you don’t necessarily have to go into more detail than what is provided in the place that it showed up first.
At the end of the day, the law school application process is about convincing the admissions committee that you belong in law school. If your mental health is a concern that comes up in your application materials, if it is an important piece of your history and the story that you want to tell to that admissions committee in your application, you can absolutely tell them.
If you choose to self-disclose, make sure you know why you are doing it.
It’s important to recognize that sometimes - not always, but sometimes - disclosure like that can raise a red flag.
There is no reason that a mental health issue or concern should keep you from law school, but law school can be difficult. Admissions committee members don’t want to put you in a position where you will be unwell, that will stress you to the point of breaking. But if you are telling a story about how you have it managed and are taking care of yourself in the way that you need to make sure that you are healthy, that is what admissions committees want to see.
The other thing that self-disclosure may provide is a chance for you to get connected with the law school support services (that you should have researched already!) before the start of the semester.
At some schools, the process to get accommodations can take a really long time. If you can start if before even going to orientation, that means come mid-terms and finals, you will be ready to go.
Some schools may also have a waitlist for you to see any counselors. Especially if it’s a counseling center that you share with a larger university, if you can get on the list before the semester starts, you are ahead of the game. That can be helpful, especially if they don’t prioritize professional students.
Final Thoughts
Law school can be really hard at times, as any law school grad would tell you. Knowing that you have the support services that you need and understanding whether or not you should disclose your mental health concerns are key in the application process.
There are lots of reasons to talk about a mental health issue or concern that you may have in your law school application, but at the end of the day you want to make sure that there is a why behind telling the admissions committee.
The team at Barrier Breakers® Admissions Advising is here to support you through this law school application cycle! Whether it's through discounted advising for BIPOC, first-generation, and LSAC Fee Waiver applicants, our essay review services and courses, or just downloading our free Essential Guide to Applying to Law School, we're here to help make this process easier.
As always, feel free to reach out to us at hello@barrier-breakers.org with any of your questions! You can also submit a question to be answered on our weekly Break Into Law School® Podcast, streaming wherever your favorite podcast service is.
