graduate school

I don't think you should volunteer that info, it might backfire like you said.

If your overall grades were good enough to apply that should suffice.

Good luck Sephora!

Then how do I explain why I have two terrible marks? Because I'm not even being offered an interview. Should I submit a letter saying I was I'll? (Rather then say UC)

No. I have amazing expereince from all around the world not just where I live. And pretty much straight As aside that one semester

I agree with marauder. Talk to an adviser. Pass or retake those? You might have other semesters like that and need to know the best way to handle it. It will work out!

PA programs are incredibly competitive right now.

There are a lot of people with IBD who work in the healthcare field, and PA and similar programs tend to be more forgiving toward people with chronic illness than corporate environments. A lot of the time applications have a specific section for you to explain any special circumstances that might help them to understand your record, if not I think it's completely appropriate to explain it in your essay. With the PA situation as it is right now -- with FAR more qualified applicants than available spots in school -- I think your only hope of getting an interview is to provide an explanation and hope it's received by an understanding admissions committee. Will some people be turned off? Yes, maybe. But some people will be understanding and that might be enough to get your foot in the door for an interview.

Your strong record aside from that one semester is (IMO) enough evidence that you have things under control and can excel in a PA program.

Thank you all for your responses. I feel that my disease has had a large impact on my life and i feel i would like to let people know that i am a fighter and not willing to give up on my dream. Ive taken harder classes since then and have done very well. So i feel that disclosing this information may be beneficial for me and will allow me to stand out, but at the same time may ruin it for me. Im still debating. If i get an interview i think i would explain my grades then...but i need to first get the interview

I regret not having written that in my personal statement. If I dont get in this time around i will be including that the next time.

Thank you so much elw for that reply. It made me feel a lot more confident in my decession to give over that piece of information about myself. I'm assuming I will probably have to reapply. But that's ok with me. I could use a year off to get back to myself.

Congrats Sephora!

I recently graduated and have my license for Registered Nursing. I am interviewing currently...I hope this disease does not control my life either.

Congratulations Sephora, that is great news!!!

I'm in medical school now, maybe someday we will work together :-D

Congrats! That's great!

I was dx with UC during grad school. I had my first flare and my program director was great.

Good luck!

I started med school about two years after my takedown, so I don't have experience with living with UC in school per se (I don't think surgery is a cure, but I don't take maintenance meds and I would say my fear of flaring is way less with a j-pouch than before surgery). I'm lucky in that stress has never been a trigger for GI issues for me.

That said, I do have a much higher frequency than someone without UC or a j-pouch, but thus far I haven't had an issue with it. I used to work with a surgeon who literally didn't even urinate for eight hours and that was a challenge for me (more because my pride kept me from taking a bathroom break if he wasn't going to), but once I got to know him better it was no big deal for me to duck out to use the bathroom between cases. I am more diligent about eating well and getting enough sleep than my classmates, I think partly because I am very health conscious and also because I am older than the typical student.

Overall UC hasn't held me back at all. I think it has helped me a lot because I'm more familiar with medical procedures and how things work in the hospital than my classmates (many of whom have never even had an IV!) and I've been told that I'm good at communicating and empathizing with patients (probably because it's so easy for me to imagine being in their shoes).