I know others have it worse than me, but...

Parents Forum
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<p>I'm a junior biology major at Boston College, and I'm a bit frustrated. My GPA is 2.9-ish, I am pretty much unable to take more than four classes at a time (learned the hard way), and because of a few W's, I'm deficient in course credits, and even with summer courses, won't be able to graduate on time. I had always struggled with attention, both socially and academically, and even in first grade, teachers noticed this, but it wasn't until a few months ago that I was finally diagnosed with ADHD. I still haven't started medication. Since the most basic things have taken so long for me, it's hard for me to participate in extracurriculars. I get envious of people who can balance five classes and extracurriculars, because I have struggled even with four.</p>

<p>Don't ask me why I chose a Bio major - I honestly don't know myself. I used to like science, but math is extremely hard for me, ruling out physics, chemistry, etc.</p>

<p>I'm pre-med, but I dread even thinking about what's going to happen to me after I finally graduate.</p>

<p>I pretty much feel like a failure. :( I'm constantly envying even those I shouldn't envy for any good reason.</p>

<p>I always feel like I'm waiting for something great to happen, some revelation - and perhaps it will - but where do I begin?</p>

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<p>You begin by walking into the counseling center on campus first thing tomorrow morning. Ask for specific help with mastering the skills you need to have in order to keep your life on track. It may well be time for you to give the ADHD medication a try. Some people find it makes a huge difference.</p>

<p>You do not need to go through this alone.</p>

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<p>Why haven’t you started the medication? Please do it. Things are going to go better for you once you get this issue handled.</p>

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<p>Along with what the other posters have said, I hate to state the obvious. If you don’t love and feel strong in biology , pre med may not be for you. While it is late to consider changing, I suggest you talk to your counselor about other options for you. Med school is grueling, makes college look easy. It might be better to change your path before you graduate.</p>

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<p>I assume you are seeing a therapist and are working on techniques to help you focus? If not you should be. And definitely discuss meds with your therapist. My freshman S is just finishing up a dreadful year. He was diagnosed with ADHD/EFD late in his sr year of HS. We just had him start meds a few weeks ago. Believe me I understand your frustration, we have lived it. Nothing has frustrated me more than to see my high IQ S fail. Don’t worry about not graduating in 4 years, many kids take more than 4 years to graduate. Make up the classes you can over the summer and take it one course, one day at a time. Good luck</p>

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<p>I agree with the others. With the average you now have, getting into med school is unlikely. You should focus on getting the classes you need in whatever major to graduate as soon as possible. If it is still possible to supplement your requirements with courses from local colleges that are less expensive in tution cost, you should do so. </p>

<p>The fact of the matter is that you don’t need to be a bio or any science major to be premed. You just need to take certain coursed that are required for med school admissions. I’ve known many Art History, English, any other majors taken by those who ended up in med school. </p>

<p>At this point, getting your degree with the highest grades possible as soon as possible should be your goal. Perhaps, later a graduate school stint, can shore up your average to make medical school a possibility. I know a number of doctors who were turned down directly from college or had to take extra couses later, in order to make to med school. Also other health related fields with criteria not as stringent as that of med school might be something to research. I know many people who have done that as well.</p>

<p>Getting ADHD and any other mental/emotional issues is going to be on you. Employers and others in the adult world don’t give a quarter to those issues. Good luck in dealing with your challenges.</p>

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<p>Hi everyone,</p>

<p>Yes, I’ve been seeing a therapist and psychiatrist, and was scheduled to go today anyway. I have been put on medication. I understand that I still have to work hard, but the medication will allow me to get more out of my efforts and time. Its effect, overall, is “leveling the playing field.”</p>

<p>About my future plans - that’s a more complex puzzle.</p>

<p>I will keep everyone posted :)</p>

<p>Thanks,
Soarer</p>

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<p>Future plans are always a complex puzzle. Just a tip, that has worked very well for a number of kids coming out of college without a degree that shuttles them directly to a desired field of work: find a community or local college program that will train you, give you a certificate in some field that needs trained technicians. Whether it’s dealing with medical equipment, medical transcribing, billing,etc, those niche jobs pay an above average salary and need people specifically trained in the discipline. It gets new graduates a foot in the door of employment and as opportunities arise, access to jobs where a BA is required. It’ll also give you a medical setting if indeed you want to go to grad school later and give it a go for medical school with a better gpa. </p>

<p>But for now, get your mental and emotional heath in order, and just get out of college with the best grades you can and with any degree.</p>

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<p>Soarer, both my daughters are taking longer than 5 years to graduate from selective schools,due to health conditions. One of them has a health condition that makes taking ADHD meds impossible, so be grateful you can take them! They will make a big difference. </p>

<p>The word I get from people is that you can take a dose that you do not “feel,” that is still effective. Be patient if the first med you try isn’t the best fit. And continue to work on other approaches such as time management, doing work in small amounts at a time, exercise, sleep and so on.</p>

<p>Lose the resentment over time: you are right, others are worse off, and you may see them every day without knowiing their story. But resentment is a natural stage toward acceptance of your diagnosis and situation.</p>

<p>Clearly you are bright and motivated. Don’t let anyone tell you there are any limits on what you can do.</p>

<p>Have you talked with the disabilities office? You should submit documentation of your ADHD and get accommodations on record, such as single room if needed, reduced course load (with financial aid for the extra semester/s),extensions on assignments outside of class, extra time on tests or projects in class, excused absences for appointments, extra advising or tutoring and so on. Colleges prefer that you ask for the maximum, but then you don’t have to use them. BC’s disabilities office will give you letters to give your professors and it is up to you what you share with them.</p>

<p>Some people use a coach, but they are expensive. Hopefully, meds will help you.</p>

<p>And there is still time to study what you love rather than what you think you should be studying. Perhaps with medication and counseling help you can make a change. As someone said, you can go to med school with any major: you just do some prerequisites between college and med school. But maybe you don’t want to be a doctor, who knows?</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>Next steps:
1- go to the BC career center and talk to them about the options other than medical school. For example, the biotechnology industry might be a natural fit for someone with your background, and the salaries are very good. </p>

<p>2 - You can start researching on your own…[AIBS</a> Careers | Careers in the Biological Sciences](<a href=“http://www.aibs.org/careers/]AIBS”>Careers in Biology | AIBS)</p>

<p>3 - Talk to your professors! They are a wealth of information about career paths for bio majors. And they want to help students :-)</p>

<p>Don’t sweat the 4-year thing, 13% of BC students don’t graduate in 4 years, you are NOT alone. The number is often higher at other schools.</p>

<p>You should be proud of how much you managed to accomplish while struggling with an undiagnosed learning disability. </p>

<p>Good luck! Please post some updates so that others can learn from your experience.</p>

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<p>Thanks for the advice, everyone. Unfortunately, I’m not feeling so great about the end of this semester. While of the four classes I’m taking, I’m doing well in two, one (bio) has been shaky, and the other (bio lab) has already gone to hell in a hand basket - I don’t know if I can get it back, even though I’m trying my best to finish my project for tomorrow. Great, more bad grades. Just what I need to explain to my parents. :(</p>

<p>This just isn’t a good time in my life. I wish I could fall asleep and wake back up in a few years - maybe I could get a fresh start.</p>

<p>And I continue to blame and beat myself up over everything. I continue to feel like an idiot even though I have a well-above-average IQ - my seeming incapability to do math (any advice on this?) and ADHD untreated until now have really humbled me.</p>

<p>Whenever I tell an advisor/counselor, “I’m concerned about my future - I need to consider my options,” they always tell me something like, “Oh, but you’ll be a BC graduate - you can do anything you want!” Gee, thanks for the help, buddy.</p>

<p>Sorry, I just needed to vent.</p>

<p>P.S. I really, really don’t want anything more to do with bio unless it’s A.) professional school (MD/DO - I pray that’s still possible) or B.) environmentally related. Biotechnology and biology-related graduate programs are things I can’t even stand the thought of.</p>

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<p>Soarer - Have you tried using a tutor? Going to see the professors during office hours? WRT math, you may have a poor base with which you are trying to build on. It might be that you need to retake a lower level class before you start taking upper level classes again. Take one day at a time the rest of the semester, get some help: tutors, professors, try a study group with other kids from the class. Accept the fact that this far into the semester you may not be able to pull it out, be a realist. See your adviser and get a realistic plan of action for what is left. Good luck. Believe me you are not the only one who is/has gone through this.</p>

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<p>I’ve been trying to get tutors. I guess it’s something I have to get used to doing properly (you really need to have a question list before you go in). But yes, they certainly help.</p>

<p>Thanks everyone! I will keep you posted if anything else comes up, and please feel free to ask me more questions.</p>

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<p>Soarer, you are not going to believe me but I’m going to tell you anyway.</p>

<p>The vast majority of kids who enter college thinking that they’re going to med school don’t go. The corollary to this is a wonderful secret which I’m going to share- millions of adults have happy and fulfilling careers and they’ve never stepped foot in a college bio class.</p>

<p>Once you mentally confront your demon- med school- and actively decide that given your academic struggles, the labs, not liking math, etc. med school is probably not the right path for you, a whole bunch of other options are going to open up for you.</p>

<p>So glad you’re getting help. Lots of posters here would be happy to share their own professional experiences- most of which do not involve bio or med school!!!</p>

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<p>I need to find my strengths, somehow - but how? How does everyone else inherently know what they’re good at?</p>

<p>Another thing - my parents know I have a high IQ (one point below Mensa level!) because this was done in the ADHD evaluation, but they always take this fact out of context and say, “You’re smarter than them, therefore you should be able to do better!” How do I address the fact that I’m technically very intelligent, but it’s hard for me to utilize?</p>

<p>Also, I simply feel like I’m having a “quarter-life crisis” - lost in terms of direction. Can anyone else relate?</p>

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<p>^Just wondering how many AP classes did you take in Junior year and what subjects? Also what level of math did you take in high school?</p>

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<p>I didn’t take any AP classes junior year. I did, however, take AP Spanish and AP Bio my senior year. I believe I got a 4 on the Spanish and a 3 on the Bio.</p>

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<p>Is there any way a professional can meet with you and your parents (like whoever tested you) and explain some things to your parents?</p>

<p>How are the ADHD meds working for you? Hopefully, they will help you access that intelligence of yours for work, but there are other things that will help too: time management strategies, even exercise.</p>

<p>Since you are a junior, but not taking a full course load (good move) is it still possible to major in something else?</p>

<p>We all recommend the same things: forget medical school as a goal for now. That is not a failure, it is smart. You won’t make progress in finding a path until you give that up (again, for now; you can return to it in a few years if you are still interested, but I’ll bet anything that you find something else.)</p>

<p>The Learning Center at BC is very comprehensive and should provide many of the services you need.</p>

<p>You seem depressed. Is anyone helping you with this? The ADHD- and its effects on your work- are not your fault. The diagnosis can be hard to deal with but it can be the start of a road up for you. You are a worthy, deserving person who is struggling with the confusion of your age group (none of us would want to be your age again, believe me) along with the challenge of a new diagnosis. Give yourself a break. And I hope you find someone to talk with who is insightful, whom you can trust. Good luck!</p>

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<p>As a sophomore in high school my son scored in the top 3% of high school seniors on the SAT, but got Cs and Bs in his classes. We had to teach him, not to be shy, speak to his teachers, get material about when and where information and deadlines were being posted and keep a calendar of what was coming up. After all, one cannot earn good grades if one does not complete assignments and on time, no matter how much you know the material. He is getting better at managing his time. I was wondering if you had similar problems and if we should get my son tested for ADD too? </p>

<p>On the PSAT he scored in the top half of one percent this year, but his GPA is still quite weak. He is taking 5 AP classes (AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Lang., AP Comp Science, AP US History) as well as Pre AP Physics and Pre AP Pre Calculus. We basically put him in this type of heavy course load because we wanted to see if he had developed the habits to handle the stress of Engineering in college. In other words, we would much rather, that he fail in High School (and try to solve his problems now) than go to college and find out he is having trouble there. He will probably finish second semester of junior year with 3 As (Physics, Computer Science and US History) and 4 Bs. He takes his AP classes next week. Depending on how he does on the AP tests and his class grades, we will guide him to a suitable major at a suitable school. Quite honestly, I would not advise my son to sign up as a Biology major at a top college such as BC with just a 3 in AP Biology and high SAT scores etc. I think that was a clue, but your parents missed it. I think you are on the right track now and be happy that BC has helped you identify this issue now, when it is not too late to fix it. Also, do not get rigid about medicine, there is more than one path to the top of the mountain. Thanks for sharing your situation.</p>

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<p>Soarer – I hope relating my experience will help. I started out pre-med, and hated Bio (but I liked Chem). My dad was a doctor, my mother was a nurse, so a medical career was all they knew. I think for many of us, we just don’t have a way to get real info about all the careers out there – we think of the familiar ones (doctor, lawyer) with no inkling of all the different jobs you can have and how to prepare for them.</p>

<p>I felt completely lost, and decided to switch to a double major in Art History (which I loved) and Econ (to be practical). A double major was a piece of cake compared to pre-med classes. I got a job at an auction house, left to get an MBA, bounced around in a few jobs, found one in sales, stayed there, left to start my own company, and now I’m self-employed.</p>

<p>I guess my point is: the college/career path is anything but linear. You think it’s like getting shot out of a cannon and you land on the moon, but sometimes the cannon doesn’t fire, or it does, but you land in a tree, or on a completely different planet, like Saturn. </p>

<p>The key thing is: take the time to know what you like to do and want to do. Most of us end up in jobs that combine what we like to do, what we’re good at, and what someone is willing to pay us for doing. Explore. Re-evaluate. Redirect. Take some time off. Start again. Most importantly, listen to your dissatisfaction (which I think is what prompted your post). This isn’t working. The unknown is scary, but go back and ask yourself what initially attracted you to pre-med. Do you like helping people? Are you fascinated by research? Reacquaint yourself with your core interests and new careers will suggest themselves. </p>

<p>Good luck. Keep us posted.</p>