Any College 'kids' here?? Share your stories, please!!

[Anonymous]

Just wondering if there are any college students on this forum.

I was diagnosed in April 2011, after desperate attempts to pass my winter classes in an intensive Apparel Design program (5 days a week, one 6 hour class each day, with homework in the school’s lab until 9pm. The homework doesn’t get done; it adds to the next day’s pile). To get an idea of how crazy it was, for one class, 20+ hours of homework is normal. To add to it, I live 60 miles away, and commuting by bus and driving ate 3-4 hours out of each day.

Now, I’ve officially broken my probation agreement by having late assignments and missing classes (staying up too late to finish the assignments.) I won’t be back at school until next Spring.

Before that, I spent 5 years fully trying to get my AA and finally succeeded in 2009.

Even though it’s all so bad…it’s a good thing I know why. I’m planning on learning everything I can about ADD, getting all possible help, and returning next year to school better than ever. But, I do wake up feeling down. I spent two weeks crying about failing at school, again. I know things will be better as long as I put the effort into getting help.

Just wondering if anyone wants to share their college stories? I’d be glad for the company. Also I hope “College” is added to the Forum topics…

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[shutterbug55]

I will be going back to school to get my second PhD, does that count? 🙄

The first couple times I went to college to get a degree, were abysmal failures. I was spending WAY too much time on homework, and studying and still failing. Nothing seemed to work. I was in pre med and the memorization was driving me nuts. I wanted to be a Psychiatrist. It took me 6 months to figure out the only classes I did well in, were the math and sciences. So now I am an astrophysicist. How I got there is a whole long story.

The moral of the story, is to find something you enjoy doing that you can do.

I don’t know about you, but I tend to do things because they are a challenge. In the process I overlook the things that are fun. I hope this helps.

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[Shadow Nexus]

Failed out my first year in community college till I got tested for learning disabilities and got help. My grades got much higher with the quiet room and double time.

I started university in 1998 and it ended in 2001. It was an insanely hard and intensely rewarding experience of my life. I had no social life, just one class after another. I just barely kept going, but graduated with Cum Laude.

B.A. in Cinema and Television Arts with honors.

Nothing compares to the thrill on that final day with the cap and gown. I threw that cap really high that day. Nothing can take away that achievement. Hang the degree proudly on your wall.

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[Anonymous]

Hi, I am a collage student, and was diagnosed as ADD in 5th grade, i am now 30 years old and both of my children are ADHD a girl and boy. i have difficulty getting started on assignments for school, staying on task and completing assignments. however, unless i have been sick i have turned in every assignment on time and made it to every class. I attribute this to being able to learn coping skills. I know that i can only focus for about a half hour at a time and i frequently take what i like to call…. brain brakes. I also do my homework at night when the house is quiet and their are fewer distractions.

My children seem to have similar problems and so I’m teaching them these same coping skills. I know it is hard, TRUST ME, I KNOW it is hard… however it can be accomplished.

one thing i constantly tell my children, they may have ADHD, and things may be harder for them then they are for others, but that doesn’t give them an excuse to quit trying,

keep trying… keep working hard… and find out what you struggle with and search for coping skills to tackle those issues… and remember….

they don’t say practice makes perfect for nothing.

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[Anonymous]

Hey, joining in the College thread.

I’m currently a university student in a Computer Science program. Haven’t been officially tested for ADD/ADHD, but I’m trying to get there.

I want to take the approach of ‘as long as I actually learn and I pass my classes, who cares what my grades are’ but I’m on a scholarship and my family’s finances are tight so there’s a huge pressure on me to maintain it. I’m a good student, or at least get good grades, but lately I’m getting left behind.

My main difficulty is how hard it is to focus on schoolwork. I almost never study or read lengthy materials because I can’t keep it up for very long. The mental effort it takes is intimidating. Anxiety on what I’m going to do after graduating compounds my stress. I feel like I have to learn things aside from what’s being taught in class to keep competitive in my field, which I think is very true, but I never do that either because, again, self-study requires a lot of self-discipline and concentration.

There’s coping and trying and I’m getting by. The free university counselor has been wonderful for me though I just started seeing her last month. It’s been alright so far and hopefully it’ll keep up until graduation. Mostly, I’m hoping for a diagnosis and, if I can somehow afford it, medication (which I think would really help).

University really is just that intimidating sometimes though, especially during examinations. Finals week is an extra kind of hell for everyone. Some days I just don’t feel like I can do it, that I’m vastly underprepared and not putting enough effort and I’ll just fail in the end. I feel miserable when I go into classes and leave miserable and dreading the next time. It’s hard, really, but there are some things I do actually find interesting learning, even if I feel like I’d be no good at doing it. Just have to keep thinking it’ll be worth it.

My course is demanding, but not insanely so. I always find time for myself. I’d go crazy if I didn’t.

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[laddybug3]

I am not really in college, but I am getting my naturalist certification. If really wanted to could get a master naturalist certification through University of Illinois. Since I graduated in ’10, I don’t want to go to university anymore. It would not be a real degree anyway.

The funny thing is the credit hours. I took an 8 hour, 12 hour, and now 18 hours for one class. Okay so the 8 hour felt like 1 hour credit course, 12 hour felt like 2 or3, and 8 hour–not sure. The new class starts next week and I have no interest in plants. The course is introduction to botany. Hated botany in college and now I have to take the stupid course again. Okay it is different.

Normally, I was a half an hour to 15 minutes to classes. I got extended time on tests and quizzes, even got to leave the classroom. Talked to the professors about accommodation and that was hard, but they were really nice. Oh yeah, my last year got swine flu, which caused me to fail my ecology course. The professor felt awful because she really thought I could pass the class. I was getting an A and went down to an high range F. It was the fact that I missed labs. Those labs will kill you, so don’t miss anything.

My advise is work with professors, go to the disability center, join a few clubs (few being the key word. Not like me who had one almost every day. Not to mention the times when I left at like 8 in the morning and came back to the dorm/townhouse at 11. I am not night person.), take course you like, and there will be some you hate.

There was this one class I thought I would hate. The university required us to take a charity class. So, I talked to my adviser and ask if their was away out of it. Had to bit the bullet and take the course. My professor made us write down every committee, organization, club and what ever I forgot to mentioned. I nearly panicked when she wrote see me after class. She actually told me I have to quit some of the stuff I was doing or I would fail her class. Most of it was my sorority. She pissed me off, so I added more things just to prove to her and myself I could do it. The class was supposed to have 60 hours of charity work. I ended up with 70 hours. That and I was only taking 12 hours. In the past I took, 19, 20, 21, 18, 19, 20, and my new adviser made me take only 12. The fewer the hours the worse I did in college.

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[Anonymous]

7 years post secondary right here! I’m finally graduating this year!

I graduated from high school in June 2004. In September 2004 I went back for a “victory lap” (as I like to call it) to gain some credits and bring up some marks *NOTE: I had not been diagnosed with ADHD at this point.*

In September 2005 I went to Niagara College and took their one year Pre-Health Science Program so I could pursue Nursing. When it came time to apply for the Nursing programs I was all psyched to apply for the Nursing degree program but when I discussed this with a academic counselor at Niagara College (a women I had never met before), she told me something that I was offended by but knew was true in my heart…. let’s put it this way, this lady predicted the difficulty that I would have in the degree Nursing Program. As we talked she encouraged me to go the route of RPN, a 2 year diploma program in Nursing, as opposed to the 4 year RN program (I’m bringing this up as it plays a key role in the story later on.) I ended up having a mind opening discussion with this counselor and after we had finished talking I headed back to my dorm and proceeded to change my program choices on my college application from degree Nursing to diploma Nursing. When I shared this with my mother, long story short, she was upset with the counselor for telling me to switch to the diploma program, and basically told me that I’m bright and that I would be able to get through the RN (degree) program no problem. So, there I was, switching my choices yet again . Diploma back to Degree.

Fast forward to September 2006… I was accepted into the Loyalist College/Brock University Collaborative Degree Nursing Program (what a mouth full), which meant that I would spend my first two years at Loyalist College and the last two years at Brock University.

My first two years in the program were okay, and I attribute it to the fact that I was a smaller institution, with smaller class sizes, and a lot more supports. *Again, I still had not been diagnosed with ADHD yet.* 2 years into the program, when I made the transition to Brock University that’s when the proverbial shit hit the fan. Everything came to ahead and I had a mental breakdown. In my third year I was diagnosed with Major Depressive Disorder and Anxiety, which I knew was right, but that both were a result of something else.

I continued to press on in my third year but I withdrew from some of my classes and became discouraged and stagnant. Everything seemed to come to a grinding halt. When the new school year started in 2009 (which would have been my 4th and final year), I found I was just going through the motions of life and I was also in denial, but I also knew I didn’t want to feel like this for the rest of my life and I also knew that I was fully capable of being a Nurse… so I had to press on, I had to figure this out, I was not going to give up that easy. I advocated for myself over, and over again, which is hard when you’re depressed but I knew my depression would never be fully resolved unless I found the route of it (besides a chemical imbalance.)

In 2010 I finally sat down with my folks and discussed how I needed an in depth psycho educational exam ( I was 24 at the time and had lived on my own for 4 years at this point…my poor folks were completely in the dark about how bad my situation had actually become) but knew enough to take my plea seriously and I finally got the in depth assessment I had been longing for. The assessment confirmed my suspicion, and as I found out later, my parents’ suspicions as well. I took some time to build my confidence and self-esteem back up and in January 2011, I headed back to Loyalist college to complete the 2 year Diploma Nursing program… and I’m doing awesome!! I take Ciprolex for my Anxiety and Depression and Ritalin for my ADHD and it’s an awesome combination for me and works beautifully. I also talk to an ADHD Life Coach on a weekly basis and I utilize the schools “disability” services.

Because of my experience I find that I’m very self aware and I also feel that it will make me a better Nurse. I’m so proud of the progress I’ve made and how far I’ve come. I’m glad I didn’t give up on my goal of becoming a Nurse, even though it has taken me 7 years. I may have flunked out of University but I certainly did not fail when it came to achieving my goal. In April, I will graduate from the Registered Practical Nursing Program and by the end of this year I will be working as a full fledged Nurse; and I can’t wait!!

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[Anonymous]

I’m in college. I was only diagnosed with ADHD a few months ago, even though my kindergarten teacher still remembers when I used to lay across the seat of my chair on my back, watch the board upside down, and blurt out the answers to every question. Absolutely ridiculous.

Now I’m learning American Sign Language, and it’s honestly the first time in my life I’ve ever looked forward to going to a class. Even when I forget to take my meds, the class is interactive enough that I can usually pay attention Now I want to be an Interpreter, and I’m so impossibly excited!

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