I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 9 years old. I was wondering what college life is like with ADHD. Is it harder to study in the college atmosphere? What is the social environment like if you take medication (social pressure for selling drugs, people taking unprescribed meds, drinking with medication)?
I recommend you go to the website for each college you’re considering and check out their resource offices for disabilities. The colleges have a lot of information and you will get a general feel for the level of accommodation provided. Princeton, for example, recently built a center for students with disabilities. The center includes quiet rooms where students can take tests. Most colleges offer workshops, coaching and tutoring for students. A variety of accommodations are available including note taking, extra time on exams, staggered due dates on assignments, and so on. You need to register with the disability office at your college in order to receive accommodations, and in order to register, you will need current documentation. Again, each college website will outline the documentation needed and the services provided. ADHD is very common but I recommend you look closely at each potential college because some are more disability-friendly than others.
As for medication, I recommend you simply keep that to yourself. Nobody needs to know what medication you take. This will eliminate any problems with other students wanting your meds.
@UrbanMum gives great advice. Also, there are probably some good self-help books out there about coping with ADHD in college. You could frontload by reading such a book before you go and planning strategies that will help you succeed. You got through high school with ADHD, you can do college as well.
Have a plan for locking up your meds.
You get get accommodations for many of your classes for things like extra time or specific settings to take your tests… many schools are very accommodating but you should check with the policies of the college you are going to.
I went to a very high-achieving and academically rigorous college, and later found out that many of the traits that I had exhibited were ones that were associated with ADHD. I think the biggest struggle I had (this was when many of those things were diagnosed) was with focus/procrastination and getting easily distracted in the college environment, which was really amplified with ADHD. But my situation was definitely not as severe as some of my peers and overall I was able to do fine throughout my four years.