<p>I am concerned about the fact that I haven't mentioned my unmedicated ADHD in my college apps. I was afraid that schools would judge me negatively based on the fact that I'm not taking medication for my learning disability, but I've had side effect complications for every brand of meds I've tried. Do you think that I should let the schools know, just so they can see that I'm a very bright student whose B's don't mean I'm slacking off? Here's some more info:</p>
<p>I'm a HS senior who has applied for music programs in the realms of contemporary(pop, rock, etc), jazz, and recording industry at the following schools:</p>
<p>University of Southern California (2 programs)
The New School
New York University
Berklee College of Music
University of Miami (2 programs)</p>
<p>All 5 programs that required a prescreen recording have called me back to perform a live audition. The other two only require a live audition or portfolio, which I've scheduled/turned in. Academic information:</p>
<p>UW GPA: around 3.5
Weighted GPA: 4.2
SAT composite: 1360
SAT: 2000
Prev AP scores: 4 in Language & Comp, subscores of 2 & 4 in Music Theory prior to taking the course
Current AP classes: Literature, Music Theory
Specialty Center: Musical Theatre Level IV student in county's Center for the Arts</p>
<p>My music resume is highly extensive, impressive, and varied, and many professionals have been impressed with my voice and music/performance knowledge.</p>
<p>Talk to your counselor. See what s/her said about this.</p>
<p>I guess that’s the best thing to do. My out-of-school counselor suggested that I talk to them about it but my mother disagrees. My first two auditions are tomorrow at USC; if I have time for a Q&A session with some faculty, should I bring up my ADHD or wait and e-mail them later if my school counselor thinks it’s a good idea?</p>
<p>“Whether childhood ADHD is a valid and useful diagnosis is disputed on many grounds, including lack of physical or psychological markers, high comorbidity rates, difficulty in differentiating normal symptoms from pathological ones, inconsistent clustering of symptoms, differing cultural perceptions and variation of diagnosis across sex and class,3 and serious adverse outcomes being more strongly related to co-occurring problems such as conduct disorder and familial conflict.”</p>
<p>It’s not a big deal. If your resume is extensive and impressive, then lean on your resume, not on the crutch of a so called “condition” that you chose to not medicate for. Many students suffer from attention deficit to some degree. Claiming a diagnosis will not make up for any poor grades.</p>
<p>Thanks for the reassurance. I’m pretty sure they’ll notice my resume and how it explains for the time I “could have spent doing homework to get As in every class”… Most renowned schools are more lenient toward their talented students as far as academic qualifications go, if they’re majoring in the arts or play a sport. I probably won’t bring up my ADHD tomorrow. </p>
<p>I should probably talk with schools about it after acceptance though, just for accommodation purposes, right?</p>
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<p>Yes and no. Depends completely on the school. From your list, Berklee is solely auditioned based, NYU and USC/Thornton insist that you meet the academic bar in addition to an audition that is competitive within the audition pool. The New School and Miami/Frost seem to be a bit more flexible for applicants with top tier auditions and less than stellar grades/stats. There’s more detail and a dedicated music sub forum here [Music</a> Major - College Confidential](<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/music-major/]Music”>Music Major - College Confidential Forums)</p>
<p>As for the meds, I would hold off any detail until you decide where you’ll attend. I would however suggest mentioning it to both your academic adviser and your applied instrumental instructor once you matriculate.</p>
<p>Your college will probably have some sort of office that coordinates accommodations similar to an IEP or anything you might currently have at high school. This could include leniency for spelling, deadlines, absences related to illness, notetakers, distraction reduced seating, time extended testing etc. If you have paperwork related to your ADHD, it’s a good idea to visit this office and get the letters sent to your professors, even if you decide not to take advantage of any accommodations.</p>