Help? 17 y/o with ADHD afraid of not getting into college? Any help is greatly appreciated.

Parents Forum Learning Differences and Challenges - LD, ADHD
1

I’m Olivia. I have never been great at school. But I will hand it to myself, I am intelligent, but I didn’t understand why I always got extremely low grades. I took hard classes, too, because I believed I could handle them. Freshman year I didn’t do that well, maybe one or two B’s, C’s and one D? Sophomore year I did worse, all C’s, one or two D’s, and I even brisked an F. My school is split in 4 quarters each year. This year, first quarter I received C’s and B’s maybe, second quarter, as we got deeper into the material, I plummeted. My report card came out and I had 4 F’s. Mind you, I take 4 honors classes and 2 AP’s. Still though, I was failing these classes.

It wasn’t that I didn’t understand the material. I would be in class, and leave an hour later, not thinking “I don’t understand what I just learned”, but I would be thinking “WHAT did I just learn”. It wasn’t a matter of not understanding things, they just went right over my head. I tried to take notes, but I would read them back and not understand them. I had a planner for homework, but I would forget to write in it. When I got home I had to think back to class to remember my homework, and would usually get it wrong, simply because my memory was terrible or because it went through one ear and out the other.

Someone at work mentioned to me, as I was playing with sticky notes, that it often seemed I had ADHD. I, of course, believed it to be absurd, until I looked up the symptoms. After a couple of weeks I brought up the possibility to my parents, they agreed to look into it and I got a doctor’s appointment. After the appointment I was diagnosed and given an Adderall prescription of 10mg every morning before school.

I began taking my Adderall at the beginning of the third term. We are now half way through the term and my lowest grade, in an AP, is an 80. My reaction to the medication was certainly impressive and helpful. I am happy I turned my grades around, but I still fear for myself.

I want to be an Emergency Physician. To do so, I want to go to a good college with a four year pre-med program, and later medical school for four years. But my first 2 1/2 years of high school were absolutely awful. What do I do? Should I tell colleges of my ADHD? But, I also fear that colleges will see my disorder as an excuse and will brush it off, will they? Again, my grades have drastically improved, I have all A’s and B’s. But how will a college know my story? ADHD isn’t my excuse, but it is my explanation. I, obviously, still have it but I was given the correct treatment and I am an honor roll student now. But, I also fear I may get accepted because of my improvements, but not given enough money in scholarships. I don’t have a lot of money but I do need it for 8 years of schooling.

So, if you have any advice for me, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you so much for reading.

2

Olivia our family has a cousin who didn’t graduate high school because of ADHD, got a GED, did 2 years of community college, transferred to UCLA, graduated, had to do his medical school out of the country where it was cheaper, did his residency in a top US hospital, and is now a well respected ER doctor. He’s amazing in the ER, but could never clean out his garage, because he’d get too bored and distracted with his ADHD. He was determined, never doubted himself, he just didn’t worry, but kept plodding along despite obstacles. It is a lesson to all of us who worry too much. It may not be on the perfect path, but it can be done.

3

There’s a whole cohort of people who start college (or finish college) later than the usual path. If you think about it, it’s kind of weird that the world is set up for you to do certain skills at certain times, as if all of us are made the same way. Like we were manufactured by a factory and all work like the same kind of machine. We are expected to be able to Add at age 6! Multiply by age 8! Read by age 4! And school is really really boring for most people, but some can pretend it’s not boring or they find it actually interesting enough. If we can’t do this, then we are labeled defective. Given a diagnosis. And given drugs to Keep Us On Track. If you decide to do this, it’s okay, but it hasn’t always been this way.

These ideas are relatively new, of the past maybe 20-25 years and was limited to the USA, and the idea is creeping into other cultures and countries now.

It seems to be part of the parental handbook that Under No Circumstances Should You Ever Tell Kids That School Is Boring! This is because it’s terrifying for parents to believe that kids MIGHT find it boring and then not “succeed” at it. For the most part, though schools try hard, most schools are pretty boring. And it’s no wonder that kids’ brains wander . . . . . especially kids with huge imaginations and creativity . . . . that used to be called daydreaming. Daydreaming was considered kind of good, something that smart kids did, and was given a pass by teachers and parents, largely, because the daydreamer would come into his or her own naturally. Now it’s labeled as ADHD/ADD and they give meds for it to keep kids On Track. You’ve discovered this for yourself and if Adderall helps you, then okay. You need that help now.

But also please be kind in how you’re interpreting your past performance. And please don’t be fearful of your future performance. The current zeitgeist treats a wandering mind, a huge imagination and creativity, and not being able to laser focus by age 4, as a bad thing. And maybe doing things one or two years later, is a disaster.

To my mind, this is all false.

So many highly successful people did TERRIBLY in high school. Many of the world’s most brilliant people were high school (or the equivalent) disasters. Expelled. Failed. You name it. And they went on to become the people who changed the world: Einstein, half of the people in my husband’s graduate-school program messed up high school, Roentgen Nobel prize winner of discovering of x-rays. We are not hooked to a timeline. Doing things a little later or getting off the track, can be wonderful. There’s a whole world out there waiting for you to discover.

Once you get out of high school, you will be allowed to do more things that interest you and won’t have to do quite as many things that don’t interest you, although there are always boring bits of life. Even the most exciting jobs have their boring sides. I have a feeling that you will find your path. Most people in your situation do.

So at any rate: Give yourself time. The prefrontal lobe of your brain will not fully engage before about age 25. It’s a gradual process and each year you will get more of that part of your brain more fully engaged. That means that over time your brain will be able to give you more executive functioning skills. Those are the skills that help you organize things and to override impulses to do one thing with the logic of doing something else. Your impulse might be to go out with your friends or to play video games instead of studying. At age 17, this is completely developmentally appropriate. You’re supposed to be feeling impulsive at your age! Later, your prefrontal cortext will come on board and say: You can still do these things, but not until you finish your homework. You get less impulsive as you age. The world knows this exists. Insurance companies determine rates by our age, in part, and car companies don’t like to rent to people under age 25. Because they tend to be impulsive and crash cars. But for some reason, schools and parents still act like this isn’t a thing. All Students Must Have Prefrontal Lobe Fully Engaged By Kindergarten. That’s how elementary middle and high schools act.

It’s unreasonable.

Fortunately, colleges don’t act that way. You can enter college in a variety of ways because colleges seem to recognize that people are made differently. We aren’t machines. We mature at different rates. Some have laser focus at Age 4, which is terrific. And some are hugely imaginative and creative and exciting and can do several things at once–which is also terrific! And some are all of the above. And that’s a good thing too.

The largest cohort of people will be on track to start college at age 18 and then many will graduate in 4 years and will be on their ways–and often not know what they really want to do because they’ve never been given a chance to actually figure that out. Many also will dissolve into party animals at college, now that parents aren’t keeping them on track, and graduate not in 4 years, but in 5 or 6 or 8 or never. And some start college later.

Starting college later allows 1) your brain to mature; 2) experimenting in the world so that you better know what you want to do; 3) doing all of this BEFORE YOU HAVE TO PAY BACK SCHOOL LOANS; 4) you won’t waste tuition dollars by getting off track in college.

Colleges tracks for older students include:

  1. Community college to raise grades then transfer to 4 year college is a great option
  2. Lower-tier four-year college to higher-tier four-year college
  3. Taking gap years, several of them maybe, is a great option and you can fill that time with all sorts of things a) get a job and earn money for college and get experience. Any job is great, from scooping ice cream to repairing bicycles to becoming a camp counselor to asking your mom for a gig at her law firm to asking dad to teach you his culinary skills, or whatever; b) volunteering on the side: shadow a doctor to find out if you like medicine; helping at a homeless shelter; tutoring kids; build habitats for humanity; c) interning for free at a publisher or law firm or in a laboratory; d) working for Student Conservation Association; coolworks.com; volunteer.gov; workaway.info; Americorps.
  4. Then apply as a non-traditional student. There are a variety of schools that welcome nontrads: if you’re female the top women’s colleges have nontrad paths (check ages for each and FA issues). Columbia and Penn have nontrad undergraduate colleges (check financial aid for those. it’s not the same as for the other groups). Reed, Grinnell and several other top schools welcome older students because they add to the culture of the campus; Tufts has a special program for nontrads. Your nontrad path may include direct entry into these schools and/or community college and transfer.

Take your time. Believe in yourself. There’s a huge world out there. It’s fun and interesting! And you, with your huge imagination and talents, are especially welcome in it.

4

@Dustyfeathers has great advice. The thing to focus on is that now you know and now you have a clear path forward. Do your best for the remainder of high school. Assume that whatever college option you choose (community college or lower-tier 4-year school) is one where you’ll continue your upward trend, and then you can potentially transfer to a school more befitting your new progress. Colleges actually love a triumph story when someone can show that they’ve found a way to be more successful. You have time and lots of options. Keep working hard and have hope!

5

I agree with the previous advice, and also want to say that you have a medical problem, colleges are more evolved than they used to be, and will consider those factors, when you apply, if you let them know. Normally there is a spot in your application, where you can add additional notes, that the reviewer should know about you. Don’t get discouraged, community college, gap years, and volunteering time, might be a great option for you, as well.

6

Keep going! I would argue that your path provides a depth of experience that makes you an interesting asset to a college… there are lots of cookie cutter students out there. Your challenges give you some grit. That’s a good thing.

Virtually all colleges large and small now have offices specifically for working through accommodations for their students who need them. My son is at a liberal arts college that sets up accommodations between the student and-- get this-- the specific needs of each separate course he takes. Really helpful and no big deal.

Mainly - find some colleges (smaller ones - the larger universities may not be as helpful) that you like. Just open up by phone or email to the admissions officer and see if you and they connect. Almost all of them are great people trying to help match kids and colleges. Don’t have the first conversation with the college you are most interested in - have some practice conversations with schools that interest you less, first.

Just ask them if they would take an application from you, or if they think a year of community college would be important first. Just be honest and see what they say. Don’t hide your early grades - and don’t hide how much batter you are doing now.

Most kids don’t realize that while you might be a number in a large university, there are fantastic schools out there that are smaller (one to five thousand students) and in these schools they want to know each applicant. Call them, talk to them… they will want to talk to you. And if not? Then it’s not a good fit and that’s good to know.

Also - take the SAT and ACT just as soon as you can. Don’t send in scores to any college - just see what results you get. Plan on taking the test several times. Study hard for those tests (perhaps focus on either the ACT or SAT on which you get your best scores.) The point is that solid to high test scores will help tremendously, given your story.

Hope some this helps. There are many really bright kids out there that hit the wall because of some learning issue. Sounds like you are finding a way forward. Keep going! It will be worth it.

7

Prepare for the sat and act. Register right now on Khan academy and start prepping. A good score will do wonders for your application.
Try practice tests for both act and sat, figure out which one 'fits ’ you best and go for it.
Don’t forget to apply for accommodation. It’s a long process so start thinking about it.

Take rigorous classes : 3-4 years of a foreign language, AP stats, AP human geography, all three from bio/chem/physics even at regular level, honors classes whenever you can especially in English, math through pre-calculus if you can. Show you can handle a strong schedule now that your disability is being treated and medication has leveled the playing field.

Look for schools with holistic admissions and graduation rates of 50+%.

You may have to apply away from home in order to increase your odds. Instate public universities + oos small, private colleges will likely
Run the NPC on a few colleges listed below as well as the public university closest to home and your state flagship’s. Bring the results to your parents and discuss what is affordable.

Look for small colleges that provide a lot of individual attention (Hendrix, Goucher, Susquehanna, Lewis and Clark, Concordia Moorhead, Eckerd, Milsaps…) as well as larger 4-year schools with good Disability Service offerings.
What state do you live in? Depending on the state, your path may include cc, but look into state allocations and budget cuts, as community colleges and directionals are often the first impacted.

Do you know what your current GPA is, weighted and/or unweighted?

8

Thank you everyone for your replies. You helped me adjust myself to the right track and feel more confident. :smiley:

9

When you are looking at m- ed schools, don’t discount osteopathic schools (these grant the D.O. rather than the M.D.P Lots of them are really non-trad friendly.

And yes, there are plenty of ADD doctors (probably more ADD lawyers, though.)

Check out Edward Hallowell MD - “Driven to Distraction”.

10

If OP is on a positive trajectory now, by all means stay on it and continue your education at CC before transferring to a 4 year university. While I understand the good thoughts behind the “Take your time” approach, for women in particular a delay in education more frequently leads to a different path than originally intended as other responsibilities can intrude. You didn’t mention if you get extended time but if you do you need to check the latest rules on that for the MCAT. At one point it was disallowed due to the time sensitive nature of providing medical services. I don’t know the current status

11

My ADHD son will be starting community college in the Fall, and participating in TAG (a transfer admission guarantee program) to a four-year school. The community college he will be attending has a DSPS dept.—“Disabled Students’ Programs and Services” which allows him early registration for classes, and, based on results of meeting with a counselor, accommodations that will help him work along neurotypical kids. I would look into services available at your community college–get the help you need so you can compete on an even playing field. By the way, I’ve heard that Emergency Medicine is a great choice for someone with ADHD who can think on their feet and respond quickly, and not having to worry about the follow thru. It won’t be boring or repetitive and this suits an ADHD mind. Good luck!!

12

Am I the only one that is concerned that the OP went to the doctor, got a diagnosis, and was handed a prescription without testing or IEPs/504’s? She may have better focus, but what about all the other skills that are lacking due to the ADHD? I’m also wondering why the school and her parents allowed her to continue in honors and AP classes with those grades for so long? There was clearly something not right, and they all dropped the ball. It never should have gone on this long. What a disservice to this poor girl.

13

Check out Landmark College in Putney, VT. It is geared for students with LD and ADHD. Great school, great support. 2 and 4 yr programs available. https://www.landmark.edu

14

Students with ADHD attend frequently attend postsecondary education from undergraduate to graduate school, including law or medical school. It is illegal to deny to admission to students solely on the basis of disability. Those students and you, must meet all admissions requirements. Therefore, you should only to schools for which you are qualified. Second, never disclose disability while the admision decision has not been made.

While you are in high school, think about what specific academic problems you can attribute to ADHD and request accommodations for those problems at school. A record of accommodations is helpful in obtaining accommodations on college entrance exams.

I see ADHD was diagnosed by a,doctor and medication was prescribed. Please look at the ACT or SAT websites to find out what kind of information is required, called documentation, to obtain accommodations on admissions tests. That same information will be required by college disability services to receive accommodations there.

ADHD requires extensive thinking on your part to identify specific, practical problems on learning or behavior, called functional limitations, due to ADHD. Think about how those problems could be helped by accommodations.

You can attend colleges without disclosing disability and requesting accommodations. While in high schol, you must recognize how you learn best and what causes difficulty. Ultimately, it is you that attends and succeeds in college, irrespective of the impact of ADHD on your learning and performance.

15

Would it be possible for you to do a PG (Post Graduate) year at a boarding school with an academic support program,? This would allow you to boost your grades, prepare for the SATs and do some more advanced coursework to show that you are ready for a competitive college. The other great thing about academic support programs is they really teach you how you learn best and how to advocate for yourself.