[superfly47]

Ten years in high school I graduated with 80% and was diagnosed with depression. In first semester of University I struggled with some depression and got 59% with one failed class. In second semester I spiraled more, had delusional fantasies that I would write amazing screenplay and never went to class. Also self-medicated a lot with marijuana.

I got diagnosed with bipolar in the summer when I went home. I never went to class or take any tests and got 0% on every class. I never formally withdrew so those 0s remain.

Fortunately, I found good mix of medication over next couple of years. Went to community college for marketing and finished with 4.0 GPA. Haven’t found much success work wise and am planning to go to University for business.

How do I go about explaining my previous failure at University? I’d prefer to just say I had health issues and they’re better and point to community college grades and leave it at that. Don’t think I should have to reveal specifics.

Yet what if they really press me on it? What if I do have issues with bipolar at school and need assistance? If I say it was health issue that was dealt with, they might get angry when find out it was mental illness and think, it’s not dealt and that I lied about it. Should I mention I self-medicated with marijuana?

[DesigningWoman]

If it's a public Uni, like a state one, they can not ask for diagnosis or anything like that for admittance. I would be cautious and say health issues. They can not press you. I have faculty family members at different schools, all state run public. When the AIDS crisis really got bad, a lot of safeguards were put in place in higher ed to prevent discrimination based on health.
Now if you need accommodation under ADA, you will have to get more specific. However that is also highly regulated. You only present a doctor or therapist info to an office that handles it. Different names on different campuses, but They are very easy to locate. Health issues covers mental health as well. I have asked for and been given accommodation at two different stats unis, everyone was very nice. They deal with mental illness related requests all the time. They won't be angry or accuse you of lying due to bipolar.
If you aren't currently using marijuana, that is info you do not want to give them. Basically don't admit to previous illegal drug use. If it has no bearing on how you will do at Uni now, they don't need to know.
As i said, I have bipolar and am a grad student. It is doable.

[Strive4health]

I would suggest starting small before going to a larger university again. Have you considered looking into a community college and what the transfer curriculum is? Then you could start out by taking a couple, asking for reasonable accommodation and seeing how you do. In my experience, community college teachers work with less students, so they seem to be way more flexible and understanding.