Should I be totally honest in the disability section?

And as for Chaplain's "shagging" people. I strongly suggest you don't make such allegations unless you want to be on the receiving end of a libel case.

I wouldn't want to discourage someone from going to a British university because of a disability alone. However I would give you the same advice I would give anyone, disabled or not. Double-check any information the university provides and get everything in writing.

Also remember that however alluring the prospectus, there is no concept of student welfare at British universities. For example, when I wrote to the college chaplain asking for her prayers after my parents died unexpectedly, she could not be bothered to reply. Despite being married to someone else, she was too busy shagging another don. Also when a student commits suicide - which is quite a common occurrence - the natural instinct of the institution is not to investigate the causes and try to prevent it happening again but to intimidate anyone from talking to the press.

And take my advice that total honesty is the very last thing you can expect from an admissions tutor.

The bit in bold isn't really true, at least not for me. I've had nothing but help from my university, I got an email and a letter telling me to go in to the disability office in my first week, I got details of reasonable adjustments and a letter about the student mental health service.

It's a tough one. I would err on the side of being honest from the outset as:

1. Do you really want to be in a place that treats students with illnesses or disabilities with contempt?

2. If anything goes wrong with your course you can be very sure that the university - which almost certainly has more firepower than you - will use your application against you if you dare raise a complaint.

3. Er, IM me because I have similar experience.

Speaking as someone who suffers from similar issues you should not note it down on your UCAS form. Firstly if a university accepts you and you firm that university they will generally ask for evidence of this. The university will also want to know why you haven't applied for Disability Student Allowance if you note it down, something you can only do with a letter from your doctor. To me it would look a little odd that you say you suffer from depression with no medical evidence if I was in the university's shoes.
Secondly, although you say you suffer from chronic depression how do you know this besides self diagnosis? If you have been feeling depressed for such a long time you maybe bi polar for instance. Some people say they are depressed when really they are just mildly unhappy for a short period. If you have felt this way for so long then chances are you do have mental health issues but without proper diagnosis you have nothing to back up what you are claiming in the systems eyes.

Thanks for all the responses. I've been in regular counselling since the beginning of August and that has been really helping me. I am concerned though that should I have to drop out soon, things will quickly deteriorate again. I am considering talking to my UCAS mentor about their opinion on disclosure, or another teacher at school who is already aware of my diagnosis of chronic depression as I am still undecided about what to do.