Does it look bad to Med schools if you take a leave of absence from college for medical reasons?

Question

I have mental health issues and need to know if in the future, I can change my leave of absence to a positive. Ex: Its better that I took it off and volunteered at a medical clinic rather than failing my courses. It is going to put me behind, but I can always graduate a semester late, right?

Answer 1

Absolutely!  I work with physician applications and it is not uncommon for people to take a semester off for health reasons or sometimes for personal reasons (death of close family member, etc.)  

It speaks to your character that you realized you needed to take time to address your health concerns and should be looked at as a positive  

Answer 2

Taking any leave of absence is not going to affect your medical school application. Like you said if you did not and got bad grades it would but taking a little extra time for yourself is fine. A lot of people will also take a year off after graduation to work before starting med school while they study for the MCAT.  It's all part of building your character and knowing yourself. You'll look responsible and I doubt if in evaluating your application that they will even notice. The question may come up in interview but I am sure your answer will be accepted just fine. Good Luck.

Answer 3

It is far, far better that you take time off and get your issues under control. It is far, far better that you withdraw now so that you do not fail these classes. Even if a leave of absence looked bad to medical schools, it'll look a h**l of a lot better than failing classes. So take your leave. Get your issues under control, and then return to school.