The Forums › Forums › Tools, Techniques & Treatments › College › Re: College
College is always a big transition, and it usually takes about a semester before it really hits you. It took about a semester for it to really hit me, though I’d felt totally out of my depth from day one. That was a long time ago, before anyone knew of a disorder called ADD. For me, we just thought it was major depression. And it didn’t help that I was in a shoebox of a dorm, which I shared with another girl, who kept bringing a half dozen friends into the shoebox, where they’d all babble away in Chinese. Finally, I snapped, and my parents had to pull me out of the dorm, and we had to make special arrangements with my profs, because (surprise, surprise), I’d left all my assignments ’til the last minute and was completely overwhelmed by the fact that they were all due in the same week. Several years later, I used the experience to write a song parody called “The Last Night ‘Til It’s Due”, so at least I could laugh about it…eventually…after I’d graduated…
The biggest adjustment I made for my own sake was that I decided to study part-time and take 5 years to earn a 3-year B.A. This meant that instead of being swamped by a full course load, I could participate in student drama groups, and work part-time in a theatre. Even so, I was clearly in the wrong program—English, which my parents had insisted I study, as a more sensible degree than Theatre, even though everyone else who knew me could see that I ate, slept, and breathed theatre, especially comedy. Somehow, I managed to just barely get that B.A. in English, and to go on to discover that there’s a reason why there’s a song called “What Do You Do With a B.A. in English?”.
But that’s enough about me.
Since you have been diagnosed with ADD, and you are taking your medication, but still struggling in this new situation, I’d suggest a meeting with a counsellor at your college. He or she can help you assess your situation, and may be able to help you approach your profs and TAs for special accommodations or extra help—like having someone else take notes for you, so you can focus on absorbing what the prof is actually saying. You should also meet with your psych/ADD specialist, as you may need an adjustment to your medications or some behaviour modification therapy, in response to this new environment.
Most of all, remember that it’s not just you. College is a huge and overwhelming place. It has a very different approach to learning than elementary or high schools. And most people have some trouble adjusting to it…and that’s the “normal” ones. People with ADD, when faced with having to sit through long lectures, in which the prof talks AT you, while you try to absorb what’s being said, AND take organized notes, will find it particularly tough.
Good luck! We’re all pulling for you.
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