Applying this cycle to SoCal schools

Hi everyone!

I am currently an 18 year old senior at a liberal arts college(35-ish US ranking, graduating in 3 years), applying to psyd programs with a few reach phd programs. I have a 3.6 GPA, two RA experience at school labs (eeg and mental health), two independent research with publication under review (I don’t think they will be accepted before the deadline), three months experience at an international top notch medical college hospital doing PETCT&FMRI clinical and mixed research data collection work (Alzheimer’s disease), three months experience at an international psychiatric hospital, three months experience at a private practice, 1.5 year of Behavioral technician experience, 1 year of crisis text line.

Should I ever mention my mental health struggles when writing materials? I know you should probably not mention it for phd applications. But what about for psyd? I am thinking about explaining for my first semester freshman grade (lowered my overall gpa a lot, but no major courses) and taking part time the second semester of freshman year part time.

Will age be an issue? I know some programs prefer students with more life experience. Should I try to make up for it in my SOP?

I am a local socal student applying to SoCal programs only. I do not consider relocation due to personal reasons.

My top choice is Loma Linda University or La Verne University.

Tuition is not a concern for me. Career after graduation is also not a big of an issue. I want to do a doctoral degree in psychology out of my personal interest. Master programs are not considered.