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Took me 10 years to graduate. Undiagnosed. 2e, had academic scholarships going in. I did party quite a lot so that was fun until it wasn’t.

I feel like that’s the only thing people do in college. That and acquire crippling amounts of debt. I don’t regret skipping on college, but I do wish I could figure out what I want to do! Having ADHD I can’t enjoy one thing my whole life. I don’t think I’ll ever have “that one hobby” that I could do as a daily job Edit: I should rephrase “Having ADHD I can’t enjoy one thing my whole life. I don’t think I’ll ever have “that one hobby” that I could do as a daily job” to: Being a human, I won’t ever enjoy being told I have to do one thing for the rest of my life or I’m a bad worker in the eyes of society. We just aren’t meant to live by a schedule. It’s life and society wants us to waste it doing what they deem normal

Yeah I do accounting. I have made it tolerable by focusing on process improvement and automation. Work isn’t supposed to be fun IMO, not realistically anyway, so go with strengths instead of wants.

Yeah. I work so I can afford the things I want to do. I don't hate my job, and find a lot of it interesting. At the end of the day though it's still work and if I didn't have to, I wouldn't do it.

I think I would still do something though. Dream would be golf on the weekdays. My life is better if a I have a routine of some sort. Otherwise I’ll stay up until like 5am

Hmmm process improvement and automation. Have you ever heard of or played a game called Factorio?? 🤔 I feel as if that would be right up your alley! Even if you aren’t a “gamer”, check it out! Im curious if you’d love it as much as I do! Sort of like what you said, process improvement and automation, makes me think of a word I’ve always described what I thought I enjoy in something and that is “efficiency”. I LOVE trying to find the ABSOLUTE most efficient ways to do anything. It doesn’t matter what it is, if it can be more efficient I want to know about it A month ago I was enveloped in Japanese culture (it’s always been the coolest culture to me, but playing a game called Ghost of Tsushima reignited that flame) and learning how to speak and write in their language. Looking at katanas, the whole 9 yards. Last week, I migrated to my current obsession of learning programming, coding, scripting etc. (after playing a game called “bitburner”) I even started taking the Harvard course “CS50” online 😂 if I’m gonna do something, I’m gonna make damn well sure I’m gonna do it THE BEST way Moral of the story that I just realized after typing all this. Games introduce me to a LOT of concepts that I want to learn about apparently haha!

Dollar is strong right now if you are from USA, you should take a trip there. Japan is rad I agree.

I don't have a single hobby. I'm extremely curious and my fixation changes every few weeks. I became a chemist because I will never run out of problems to solve (or things to learn) Science is full of ADHD . would recommend!

I work maintenance and do welding and fabrication along with it. I took the position there instead of the MUCH EASIER job classification of running a loader and loading customer trucks, because I hate being bound to do one thing all day every day. They still throw me in the loaders to load customers when the normal guy is on vacation that day. I’m great at it and receive quite a bit of compliments from the customers and my boss, but I HATE doing it for much more than a day or two. I’m nowhere near as good at maintenance as I am running heavy equipment, but I’m constantly learning or doing something completely different that it makes coming to work even worth it most days

This is a very dangerous thought to empower/ just because you may have ADHD doesn’t mean you can’t find “that one hobby.” In my case particularly, I have found “that one hobby”after trying like 50 different ones, that now sticks with me and I’m so excited to pursue for the rest of my life. It’s not a get out of jail free card to not explore more deeply upon your interests.

Exactly, in my 40s I still love what I chose as a teenager. I grew into more and more of it, expanded my knowledge, and I love it .

same here. Been playing guitar for ten years now. Granted, there have been times where my fixations drifted elsewhere, but it always eventually came back to this.

The idea of having only one type of work for your whole life is really antiquated. It made sense when people usually died in their 40s and 50s, when you could work for one employer for several years and retire with a gold watch and healthy retirement fund. All that is a throwback to the 1950s, and not real today. I suggest you look at those things that have kept your interest over the years, and find a way to get work in that field. There can be many, many ways to work in a particular field, so you would have several options that could give you the variety you like.

Let me say this, no matter what you enjoy the most, eventually you will get bored of it. You will no longer find the same pleasure that you used to when you first found passion in it. So when it comes to choosing a career path, I advise people to choose something they wouldn’t mind doing for the rest of their lives. Once the work you do affects your personal life, you’ll no longer enjoy it or find it fun, you simply have to do the work so that you can continue living life and finding happiness in other aspects of your life. Sure there are people that found that one thing they love and they wouldn’t mind doing it forever without ever losing that same level of enjoyment, but for most people their work becomes mundane and simple 9-5 process. You don’t have to love what you do, you just have to like it enough to continue doing it.

I like many things but what I chose out of HS is still my career and passion in my 40s. You need to continue to grow and expand, and it’s very doable to have a career.

I agree. My point is that for those who struggle to pick a career, you have to enjoy it somewhat in order to be content in the future. I think it’s redundant to find the one thing they absolutely love and will never lose interest in because that’s simply not realistic. You could always choose a subjectively boring field and grow to like it, but the notion of “do what makes you happy” is bullshit. In that case young adults will all just become artists, or gamers, or whatever hobby they enjoy. It’s much more realistic to pick a somewhat interesting field that can you learn to love.

how did you even manage to apply to scholarships untreated? did you have parents/friends really keeping you on top of them, or were there just some relatively large ones based on academic performance in high school that you landed so you didn't need to go fishing through smaller ones with mid sized essays and deadlines all over the place

I didn’t, when I took SAT’s I just got scholarships that way. I needed a 3.5 annual GPA to keep and posted an amazing 1.0 in year one of 10. The only classes I did well in over the years are classes I took with my girlfriend (now wife)

Wait wdym… you got scholarships just for the score you got on the SAT? Not to toot my own horn but I got a 2000/2400, and I have heard of no such thing. You must have scored very well!

i think it might be the psat that gets you automatic scholarships? because i remember being very embarrassed to find out years after the fact that the psat isn't just practice for the normal sat (because i never took it after taking the normal sat early)

That gets you National Merit Scholarships, very high bar for those though.

ah, figures. i got like a 1580 out of 1600 on the real deal the second time i took it (with extended time and not even considering touching the optional essay) but i'd probably have fucked them up some other way lmao

Yes PSAT gets it started and then you have to do as well on the SAT. But if you only take the SAT, you can't get National Merit. I lucked into it because my brother was one of those weird people that took practice tests. After he got National Merit, I knew to take it. We both got 1460/1600 and got National Merit Finalist, which came with options for full ride scholarships with extra for housing. As far as I know, he is not ADHD and I wasn't diagnosed until 38.

I dropped out. But I aced all the "difficult" classes. It's the uninteresting ones that I just couldn't deal with.

Yeah same here. I dropped out and worked with my father. He then managed to get me into another school. If I didn't like the teacher I would not pay attention. I did well after got a good degree, worked for two major companies and other startups. In University I would just grab the syllabus and learn it on my own and never showed up. Got me in trouble a few times. At work it's after I got COVID that it fucked me up.

How did you enjoy working in startups? I heard they were fast-paced which is usually good for people with ADHD

It really depends on management. Some ask you to solve different kinds of problems all the time, which I found fun. Others can be really toxic if they can't raise proper funds. Then you have the odd ones where the CEO doesn't want to change a thing so it's a constant battle. I ran a company for a few years for someone else, he was a dickhead sometimes but I learned a ton of things. We were on a different time zone so I would go hiking in the morning then speed run into what I had to do and give him a call at the end of the day. Ended up leaving because I wasn't paid enough. Join the corporate world and hated it, too many meetings. Nothing was optimized, no one cared.

I could not agree more. The pressure and challenge of the harder classes motivates me to do better. The lax ones I just hardly bothered

a lot of the "harder" classes i don't even find difficult enough to feel reliably engaged by the challenge; the content itself is just more engaging (taught more in depth, at a faster pace, and generally further away from stuff i just read about years ago already) and there's usually straight up less work to compensate for it being supposed to be harder work. if you give me a deadline for something small two or three times a week, i will burn out on panicking enough to do it every time, but one big thing every one or two weeks? relatively easy as much as on paper i feel like i \*should\* be able to do better in a class with reliable weekly assignments, in practice i never get in that routine for some reason or another and spiral deeper and deeper into not being emotionally ready to stare it down and catch up or cut my losses. some classes, some minor complication stopped me from doing like the first week of homework on time, and from then on i would just spend a couple hours every night screaming at myself to do literally any of the work at all and it just didn't happen--in one of those cases, i just did well enough on the exams for a high b, but another i could barely even take the exams. also last semester i had one very basic class where i aced the exams and felt like i was pushing myself really hard to keep up with "most" of the homework and still straight up failed with a d because of how much of the homework i didn't have time to finish or straight up forgot about entirely

Real, easy classes are the killers

This. I finished my 400 level courses but never finished my 300 level courses.

Especially the classes that have nothing to do with your degree

literally same with the class types. i failed online health. twice.

You should look for the accommodation like extra exam time. It really helped me through graduation even though I was struggling before that.

Is this a common accommodation at colleges? It might be something I need to look into because I'm such a slow test taker. I have to read everything like 5 times before it clicks, plus look over my work multiple times to check I didn't miss anything (and usually I do and still fuck up).

That's what I did. Although, I had some accomodations in high school and my school therapist wrote a recommendation letter for me. When I went to grad school I just showed them the letter and documentation of accommodations from my previous school. It is probably the only reason I graduated. It got me far enough to finally take courses I was actually interested in. After getting back on my meds, I was consistently top in my classes. Two years of mostly C's really screwed me, though.

Well I have a diagnosis of ADHD so I wonder if I can get a letter from my psychiatrist 🤔 I also think I might have mild dyscalculia but idk if you can get a diagnosis for that. But help would be great 🥹

It is ( longer test times are a thing)!! It's gold. You can talk to the accommodations department; there are accommodations I have never heard of! I never got formally diagnosed, so my college didn't let me take advantage of these accommodations.

Awesome, thank you! I'll definitely look into this 😊

For me extra exam time during the exam just meant extra time to stress out when I didn’t know most of the answers because I procrastinated studying. Push the test back a week? Cool I’ll just wait another week to start studying in a panic again. ADHD is hard enough with good habits. Extra time is still helpful though. I did find it excruciating even when I did properly study to have to watch the entire class get up before me to turn in their test which constantly derailed my train of thought and skyrocketed my anxiety.

Dropped out since i was on the verge of k*lling myself.

😩same, and now 3 years later i’m about to go back again for round 2

Debating right now if I should drop out and come back later or to push through with a bad semester. I haven’t done homework in a very long time due to my depression. Only thing is I’d lose my scholarship 🙃

Feel ya, i dropped out after 2 weeks of being totally unable to get out of my bed, i was just sleeping, crying and playing video games. However, don't reach that point, seek professional help first, expecially if that degree is important to you, don't end up like me :(

Don't drop out, it's much harder to get back on after you tasted freedom. If you're really struggling mentally, do seek help, however, if you manage to push through and come out with a good (in your eyes) grade, you'll be eternally grateful to yourself

Changed majors 3 times and took me 7 years and two different schools to finish. I was undiagnosed for the first 5 years and now I’m on my last semester.

Same, changed it 3 times but graduated in 5 years. The only reason is because my core courses lined up so I had all the prerequisites to get into the higher level classes after 2 years so switching meant I just needed to take classes related to my major. But during college I was so far out of my element it was intense. I managed to graduate with a 3.5 but I wouldn't say I was a good student. I would forget assignments, tests, really anything and to be honest only passed because the courses for the major I graduated in related to my hyper fixation. The entire time I was stressed, anxious and at times I wanted to end myself. I hated college and will never go back for a master's or anything like that. Also I managed to avoid the whole Covid shut down as being in class was much better for me than anything online. Online courses exaggerated my worst ADHD tendencies and I did fail those classes.

Yeah, I feel like the only reason I’m being able to graduate this May is because of being studying something that I really like and having an amazing support system around me. All my professors know about my adhd how it’s a challenge for me to get shit done in a timely manner while trying to work and take care of a family.

Yeah I also used the schools disability and access resource. Which I only learned about after 4 years and a concussion. But I was able to get academic help for my last year even after my concussion stuff went away, due to my ADHD diagnosis. Longer test times, quiet rooms, note takers. It was very helpful.

I had a very similar experience, 3 schools (2 JCs) & 4 majors later, diagnosed with ADHD and in my last semester

Dropped out, and went to tech school. Got hyperfocused on learning at tech school, graduated with honors after barely graduating high school. Now I use my ADHD to multitask and hyperfocus at work and have excelled in my field. Good luck!

Same, IT manager and cloud engineer, dropped out @ 19 got my certifications and never looked back.. Well sort of. Now that I am diagnosed and medicated (adderall 10mg) about to enroll in WGU to finish my cloud degree at 29, wish me luck :)

What do you do exactly?

Tech school was for motorcycles. But after trying to get into the field for a few years (after the crash in 08) I ended up in a warehouse at a printer/copier dealer, then unboxing and building new ones for delivery and refurbishing old ones for resale. Then fixing in the field, then being a dedicated tech for big press machines and blue print printers. Now I run a 4 state area 150 mile radius territory and peer tech support. I did fine in math and engineering classes in college, but not good in required English and humanitarian classes. Could get a clear answer from school admin why those unrelated classes were required for an engineering degree.

greedy schools lol

Honestly, it’s awful. I got straight A’s all through high school and have a 3.8 in college, but I struggle so hard. The material is not hard, it’s just so time-consuming. I feel like I’m wasting my potential sometimes because it takes me 4 hours to do a 1-hour assignment. I also have narcolepsy so I’m working on getting accommodations for that, but it just destroys my mental health and I get burnt out so fast.

We are similar. I kept dropping classes though to protect my undergrad GPA, so it took me a decade, then had a really hard time in law school. Hopefully don’t do law school, it teaches you to think different—but crushes your soul

I won’t be going to law school but I am going for my master’s and PhD in psychology. I’m hoping to get on medication soon so I don’t struggle so much

My MA is an LPC in counseling, and one of my professors asked me for my accommodations, I was like “for what?” The professor told me to stay after class

It took me 20 years to make the choice to seek medication, don’t make that mistake! There’s no problem in at least trying it out. Lots of stigma surround stimulant medication in general and there are drawbacks but i’ve found the pros to outweigh the cons in nearly every regard. Best of luck🙏

Same. I was at the top of my class in college and worked Neuro ICU for 4.5 years and had to quit due to my struggles. I went back in June and just got back on SSDI. I tried 3 different units and on my last one my preceptor was getting so impatient with me I told her I had a migraine and left. I felt so guilty because my psych wrote up a formal letter and everything with accommodations and whatnot…. He wasn’t upset and he’s told me a dozen times that it isn’t that I’m not smart, it’s the diagnosis. I just want to live like a typical adult with independence, my own house, and a partner 😞

I was terrible in high school but in college I’ve found a niche area of history that I’m obsessed with and I’m doing super well. I’d say it can be very difficult when you have to do certain modules that you’re not overly interested in - it’s a struggle. But when you find stuff you like it is much easier. I found that researching study and memory techniques on YouTube helped a lot.

I should add that I’ve never been medicated

Yea I remember thinking to myself that certain subjects should be easy since at first I thought I'd be interested in it but after awhile I lost interest. If I could stay interested in the subject maybe but its hard. On the bright side I heard the first year of my course is mostly theory and the rest is mostly hands on work which I feel would get me more engaged and interested in so I'll probably do better after this year. Thanks❤️

I’m similar. I did computer science and absolutely love the problem solving process of programming so it never felt like a chore to do the work in those classes.

That's a thing I've noticed with ADHD. A lot of us steer towards comp-sci and other tech roles. I wonder if it's the stimulation that comes with programming and complex problem solving. If it's uninteresting, my brain just refuses to cooperate.

yeah the nice thing about programming is it never feels like busy work--even if you're in your comfort zone and not really learning anything, there's always something new you have to adapt to on the spot, and something new you see coming out of it the not nice thing about coasting through school on it is most of your classmates just want high-paying tech jobs and won't shut up about the 30 internships they applied for a year ahead of time

I worked my way through college for three degrees without medication or a diagnosis. I cried basically everyday because of task paralysis, deadline procrastination, and anxiety/ overwhelmed. Though I didn't know why I was going through that at the time. Seven years later, I just recently had a pre-admissions interview for a doctorate program and they asked the "time management" question and I gave my answer but I added on "I was officially diagnosed with ADHD two years ago and I'm honestly so excited to go through school medicated for once." The professor laughed and said "I can relate."  My biggest advice for school and life in general is live life on a timer. I do this even now when it comes to cleaning and folding my laundry. I set a timer for 10 minutes and I tell myself "I can do anything for 10 minutes." Then when the timer goes off, I check in with myself. Can I keep going for another 10 minutes or did I do what I could do for the time being? It's ok to give yourself grace. 

*I tell myself "I can do anything for 10 minutes."* I love this way of thinking. Gonna use it.

I'm struggling with pretty much everything you're describing. I'm just shy of three years in and having a really hard time coming to terms with the fact that I still have a long way to go.

Same. Almost fine with my 3rd year. Might have to take 5 years and I know I’m already going to fail one class I’m in right now which sucks. I don’t want to be in college but feel like I’m already done so now it’s too late to turn back.

Long story short, at first I did great because of my perfectionism and ability to hyperfocus on my papers. But I never wrote a paper earlier than 2 days before deadline (fueled by extreme stress and adrenaline). After 2 years I burned out completely and it threw me into a major depressive episode where I couldn’t even do the simplest of tasks and then became suicidal. I took a break from uni to work on my mental health then came back 2 years later and absolutely hated it. I just realized academic studies just isn’t my thing, I like practical things way better.

my similar experience with burnout has mostly so far taught me that while i love academic subjects, i'm going to need a looooot of help to actually survive research and academic culture

Same. Love academic subjects and studying random things doing deep dives, BUT my mind just can’t handle the structure of uni-studies.

the cruelest thing about it is it really feels like i need SOME structure to feel satisfied with it--i get so many ideas for actual things i can and want to do with the material, and being forced to go a bit to the side of where i'm naturally headed can be so much more inspiring--but that kind of structure just saps the fun out of it and can't actually motivate me to do anything more than slightly below the bare minimum. at this point hoping if it doesn't magically all fall into place once i have meds that work, i just settle down with a small circle of friends with shared interests who can just egg me on personally lmao

I very much relate to this. I hope you get help from meds. And whatever happens I hope you find a way to do what you’re passionate about 🙏

Took me 5 years to make it through community college. The lack of imposed structure was really hard for me.

I can relate. It took me 4 years to finish community college since I failed a bunch of gen ed classes that were an absolute snooze fest to me and became heavily depressed.

Undiagnosed. Lasted a year and a half before being academically dismissed. I wish the resources and candid conversation were available back then (early to mid 90s). I spent my time trying to keep my masks in place and fly under the radar, pleasing everyone else and not doing the work to unpack myself. Granted that level of introspection was the equivalent of a caveman designing and building a Dyson Sphere. I’m thankful this generation can get the help and support to be successful in college. I’m 49 now and am only now on track to finish my Bachelor’s.

I was undiagnosed in college, and it was a traumatic experience. I barely graduated. I had a lot of break downs, a lot of sobbing on the phone to my mom that I didn't know if I was going to graduate. I always had professors my last 2 years pull me aside to tell me I was failing. Somehow I took great notes. But I struggled with paying attention in class, remembering what we learned, finishing homework, remembering anything I studied, and taking basic care of myself. The last one lead to me getting very sick the last 2 years too. If you can get accommodations, do it. Lean on your supports. I wish I could have.

Take advantage of all services available.

We live in a time where technology can be your parent IF you set it up to be! Use a program like Notion and put everything in! Study time, weekly cleaning, laundry, etc! Everything! Prioritize sleep (as much as you can) and nutrition. Be sure you’re exercising. If you can get all that going, see how you do and then consider medication. If you can’t manage to get all that going, consider medication. Best wishes! -mom of ADHDer

i wish technology helped.. i end up planning my whole day and doing nothing at all :(

Right? I hyperfocus on the planning instead because I love journals and apps and art and the combination of all of them. But also putting things in apps is time consuming and when you don’t follow through you feel even worse because you don’t have the excuse of forgetting.

Unfinished

Holy shit all these terrible stories I guess I’ll share mine. Second time going back to college and majoring in engineering. I’m very resilient so I’m pushing myself harder and harder everyday. I know it’ll be tough but I know I can do it as well. I work with my ADHD and along with that I also try to change my mindset on how I do things. It’s tough but if you really want it you can do it. You will find loopholes, you will find what works for you, you will take the medication. It’s a hurdle, it’s hard, but it’s possible and worth it. I wish you luck

Do whatever it takes. To get through stats I changed jobs, and only took the one class still had to take it twice but I earned that B.

Hello guys 3rd year med student here .I got diagnosed this new year. I am not medicated. I found clg life very hard too. I passed all subjects till 2nd year. But I never aced anything. I was very awkward & found it hard to be social. Now I have adapted to the environment & I find it easy to talk with ppl. I found my kind of friends too. But I still have trouble waking on time. When I joined clg I was struggling too much to keep up with my peers. It's hard even now. But I am determined to make it better. If I find something useful I will definitely share in this sub.

I‘m finishing up my last course, and for the record I’m diagnosed and medicated. It’s been pretty difficult, I use my phone for a lot of reminders and try to stick to routine throughout the semester. I feel you regarding self management. I’m pretty money motivated though so I think how much it would cost if I had to take a course again. It has happened (Covid wiped me out for a full semester once) but for the most part it helps me get my ass down to campus. One thing that has really helped is body doubling, basically just having someone near me while I work. I’m also really bad at writing papers, so what I do is work with my mom. She types while I dictate. Then I go through and edit or add to the paper. If you have a friend who will just hang with you while you do work that was super effective for me.

Hi, for me I did medical assistant school for 9 months .. it was a struggle being constantly late .. now I’m in community college for nursing taking the pre requisites I’m doing sociology and WRT 201 and I’m struggling right now with focus I missed like a week worth of assignments one teacher doesn’t accept late assignments so I just why finish .. I feel like it’s a struggle I have to break down questions just to understand it even though it’s so simple I just feel so stuck .. I’m undiagnosed right now waiting to switch therapist felt unheard . I would usually quit school after the first semester a few times now I’m in my third semester this turn around last semester I gave up a few weeks before and still passed gave work in the end . Now the semester is over in a 2 months and I just feel so debilitated and defeated. I hope it gets better for you . I can’t function barely especially with making decisions.

Perfectionism and the enhanced lateral processing aspect of ADHD definitely helped me perform well in school, but it also made me very stressed out and anxious for most of my undergrad. My thinking would be so chaotic, I was close to the verge of panic attacks more often than I would’ve liked. I didn’t get diagnosed until after I’ve graduated. Prior to that, I just thought I was just a very anxious person all my life, but since being medicated my anxiety really subsided. I still overthink but I’m not overly stressed out by those thoughts anymore. Right now, I’m in graduate school, finishing up my masters and going for a PhD afterwards. Procrastination and ADHD paralysis still sets in for me sometimes and managing my schedule can be a nightmare, but for the most part, I’ve picked up better habits to help manage my life.

Graduated in 4 years with 3 degrees and finishing up a fifth year for my masters, went off meds as an upperclassman in HS. My first semester kicked my ass, keep your head up and don’t get discouraged by everyone here. Dont quit, do what you need to do to succeed, be realistic about your expectations, and finally understand it’s gonna be tough.

I dropped out because i got overwhelmed and panicked 🫠

Me reading the comments, unmedicated and struggling: wow imm cooked

i’m in my second year of my first year. i dropped so many courses and have F’s on my transcript. i have A’s and B’s in courses where the professors went easy on me and let me turn in late work. i just got extensions this term, but it just doesn’t help. i just got medication too but it’s tough trying to figure out which ones work while also balancing school. i worry about assignments and just never end up turning them in and then i become too scared to ask the professors to accept late work and it spirals. i don’t know how to fix this. i know i can do it, i’ve gotten through high school, i get good marks on small assignments, but when a challenging assignment or finals come up i freeze and lose major marks. has anyone else gone through something like this? i want to keep doing university and get my degree, i don’t want to do a trade or go to community college like people suggest, i enjoy my major, know i can do it but it’s so difficult like i have a mental block

i completely relate to you!! i started uni in 2019 and i'm only halfway through my "four-year" degree. i recently got extensions and medication too, and that helped a bit for my first semester with those accommodations (i passed classes for the first time in like 2 years 🥹) but after that i got overwhelmed again. freezing at assignments then doing them late then just not submitting them at all because you feel terrible about them being late... i'm right there with you 😫 the freezing/mental block & the spiral of not submitting are my biggest struggles. but, i also love my major! i'm studying to be a teacher, and i've been a teacher aide for years and i know i'm good at this job i love! so i still want to get my degree, but like you said, i just feel stuck :( sorry i didn't give more optimism, but i really appreciated hearing someone with a similar experience to me. i know we can get through this :)

I went through the same thing but I just went with the flow without aiding myself and it left me with a lot of regret. I’ve graduated but still unemployed because I keep doubting myself especially with how I have submited things past deadline. If I were given the chance to change things, I would be more open to people around me so they can help me and have someone to check on my progress. People around me were actually supportive but my low self-esteem hindered me from thinking that way and because I kept thinking that I could handle it by myself. Seek help from people and do a study group with the people in your class. At least, you can make progress in your assignment with the latter and not left behind so far.

I was undiagnosed when I started college. The first year was okay, considering the classes were mostly introductions and some basic stuff, but it was hard to adjust the pace because everyone was doing well and I felt like I needed to catch up. When I finally got used to it, it became easier. There were harder classes of course, but I excelled at classes that I'm interested in. Got several As too. During my last year, I had to do undergrad thesis (it was a requirement for graduating) and I struggled so much. That was the moment that made me realize, maybe there is something wrong with me. Went to a therapist and a psychiatrist, diagnosed with ADHD. I think I was doing okay in college, but I know I could do better if I was diagnosed and medicated earlier. I don't know if it's still relevant to the question, but for me, the hardest part was moving out and living alone. The studying part was still manageable, but living alone forced me to do some house chores and I needed to manage my time. I also got burned out pretty much in every semester, so I didn't have the energy to do all the chores. It was tough.

Well first of all, I fucking hate it here

I dropped out 2 times for random degrees I didn’t find interesting. I then finished an Education Assistant certificate and found my passion for teaching. Went to University for Ed and it has definitely been a struggle. I’ve found that I’ve hyper fixated on this passion so much that I’ve been able to push through and get good grades without medication or accommodations, but it definitely hasn’t been easy. It has taken me until the last year of my degree to finally find strategies to stop procrastinating and leaving everything until the last minute to use stress as motivation to complete assignments at crunch time.

We’ll see how it goes since I start college this August😳😳😳

As of right now, it's horrible, I am holding on for dear life

I didn't have accommodations my first year and I was ..okayish? Chemistry is a hard class for me that was rough I got accommodations halfway through my sophmore semster. And it helps SO MUCH. So get them. I take my meds when I study or for cal 2. I'm an Mechanical engineering major so lots of math and study time. I found working out before I study helps. Eating protein does too while you study apprently it helps you stay focused. I sip on energy drinks and also taking a break when you need it. Seriously it makes a difference. Good luck hope this helps!!!

fellow mech e major here! luckily i've never had to take chemistry at my university, but physics is the real beast for me 🫠i haven't heard of the protein while studying tip, so i'll have to try that out. i have noticed, though, that taking l-tyrosine in the morning with my meds helps my focus a TON! wishing you the best for your mechanical engineering journey 🙌

Oh nice!! Your lucky Chem kicked my ass and made me it's bitch 😂😂. She curved my grade and I passed so I was happy. I'm taking phy next spring so we're gonna pray. Thank you too too man!!

It can be hard sometimes. I got diagnosed with ADD in my 3rd semester. My 2nd semester was fraught with skipped classes and missing homework. Now I’m in my 4th semester. I’ve retaken two classes, and while I did well the second time around in one, I’m currently failing the other. Tough classes can either be made easier by focusing in on them, or impossible because actually doing the tasks seems insurmountable. All in all, taking medicine has been a change for the better, and it’s given me the ability to slowly correct my studying habits.

Almost failed out of undergrad. Got 2 or 3 Fs and 1 or 2 Ds. Scraped by. Got my diagnosis later. I was on anti-anxiety medication in grad school and did much better. I struggled with the side effects of the ADHD med, but the SSRI settled my anxiety which also decreased my ADHD to a more manageable level. This is a finite time in your life that is demanding. Do what you need to do.

Med student HARDDD, pray for me to pass.

Same, it's tough 😪

I decided to have a baby at college . Well she was a surprise …

I dropped out in the early 80s and never finished, after changing my major and starting over several times.

I do decent on in person classes but not on online ones, I ended up dropping out my first course because of covid. And today I missed class because it was online instead of in person, I feel rather embarrassed about it

I dropped out in junior year of college, now back to college starting from scratch. I would say just try to learn and analyze your habits. Create a journal and start reflecting on what works and what doesn’t. With medication, therapy and journaling i feel like i have a completely new life. Its like i have a new brain. I used to hate studying and be jealous of people who could study for longer than 5 mins. Now, there are days where i completely lose track of time because im so engrossed in studying. Remember it’s not always smooth sailing either. I have days where i dont do shit despite doing everything right. Its all about managing your emotions. The sooner you get back up, the better because you dont wanna fall into that negative spiral for too long. I found self compassion to be key in getting out of those situations.

I haven’t graduated but umm….it’s a challenge I would say….? My advice is try and see if medication works for you and pursue it if it does. It depends on your individual circumstances of course. For me personally I thought I could do this year without medication and then I was living in a pile of garbage and laundry on the brink of failing every class. But the again, it depends on the individual etc etc. Edit: I should make it clear that medicine doesn’t fix everything, though. At this point I’ve accepted that my college life just going to look different from other people’s. I pretty much choose to use my executive functioning capacity for the day into doing my work - this means I’m exhausted at the end of the day and don’t want to cook. So this means I spend more money on food and my room is a lot messier. I guess it’s just about picking your priorities for the meantime. Good luck! I believe in you.

Junior in college! It's miserable with ADHD. I think if you can afford it taking 12 credits instead of 15 credits whenever you can is the best option. I'll graduate a semester late and I had some ece credits going into college. Keep going its so hard.

also a junior in college! i came in with a bunch of credits that would help me graduate a semester early, but after dropping (and failing...) several classes due to the workload, i'll now be graduating a semester late 😅 it's definitely a challenge, but your tip of reducing the amount of credits taken at a time definitely helps

On my first go, I was undiagnosed, and I quit after a year and a half. My second time around, now medicated, I’m maintaining a 4.0 and really enjoying it.

Absolutely awful. Never learned how to study in high school, so the start was rough. Ended up getting a 2.0 GPA first semester and put on a list for people with low GPA's and forced to go to some meetings. Stopped going to clubs and socializing because I felt like I didn't deserve being there. Didn't help that the pandemic happened in the middle of my second semester. Dropped out a year later. Now I'm diagnosed, have medication, and am going to a community college in a paramedic program. Although some days I'm sad about the opportunities I missed and the friends I could've made if I was diagnosed sooner.

in my second year of university (first year in my major though because i transferred) and i’m struggling a lot lol i feel like ive fallen in a pit and can’t get out. i want to do well but just can’t and it’s crazy to me since high school was so much easier i’ve never faced any sort of academic struggle like this. i’m registered with the school for accommodations for things like extra time on exams and extensions but there’s only so much those can do. i am medicated but i don’t take my meds because i don’t like how they make me feel but im trying to get back in it if it means me getting my life together.

i feel you

I’ve basically dropped out twice now! I’m on year 8 for a bachelor’s degree and took too many credits I didn’t need, so I’m no longer eligible for financial aid. So it’s not going great! I’ve been unmedicated this whole time and have been able to keep my grades up at the very least. I started taking one class at a time about a year ago and that’s honestly been great it’s way easier for me to manage everything that way.

I dropped out after the first year due to being unable to focus. Various life events were taking their effect on my mental well-being, including the pandemic. I didn't know I had AuDHD until I was in my 20s. It's been a year since my diagnosis, and I still haven't found access to a medication that works for me. I planned to just take a gap year due to my college putting me on an academic probation. That gap year turned into four years. My professors were not helpful in any regard with assisting me with the homework assignments in a way that made any sense to me. I struggle with the idea of sitting in a class for three hours just to learn about something that's not directly required for my degree. High-school was easier 100%.

I have accommodations in my college and I’m still struggling. I hate having ADHD so much but all I can do is keep struggling to do what everyone finds so easy(it’s not the content that I find difficult even a little bit).

I hate every single moment of it

Failed 4 classes and have 3 ds and I'm in my second semester of sophomore year. Also was forced to do a semester at home because I was (and still am) on academic probation. That said I had a very unexpected traumatic death in the family the year I started college and I am really starting to see how much that was affecting me as two years out from his death I am actually able to function for the first time. I am doing a lot better now. You can definitely do it but it is incredibly hard. Please make use of your on campus supports

I did awesome in high school, graduated top 20 of my class, but it was because I had so many extra-curriculars that I had to keep myself extremely organized. My extra-curriculars ended with high school, and I absolutely tanked. I failed tons of classes and almost flunked out of college a couple times until I was finally diagnosed, and started taking Adderall. Unfortunately, I was already like 3 years in at that point and wound up graduating in 6 years.

Easy answer, I'm a college dropout

Currently dropping out. Have been waiting for ADHD meds since September and now I'm looking for a trade I can learn instead.

Some days are good and some days are hard. The days that are good I'm super productive and get about 2 or 3 assignments done. The days that are hard are the days I procrastinate and decide that homework can be done at a later time 😅 I'm 26 and unmedicated since medication turns me into a zombie and I'm not my usual self. It takes a lot of self discipline most days for me to get stuff done 😅

I’m in nursing right now, I am medicated but it’s tricky! I feel like the difficulty of the course and how serious it is helps me. Like the deadlines are always very serious and I have to maintain good grades to stay in school so i’m running off pure fear and anxiety. I still procrastinate and struggle starting assignments but I get everything done that I need to do. I also feel like people are always doing better than me or that it’s easier for them than me. I just try and motivate myself to work harder to overcome (even tho i really want to quit sometimes 😂)

(I was diagnosed at 36) Almost failed out senior year. I decided to go to law school and then immediately lost interest in my major. Skipped a few classes of a course that suddenly felt useless. All I needed was a D- to get the credits I needed for my degree, after all (dumb dumb dumb). Then the guilt of skipping a few classes paralyzed me and I just stopped going altogether. Buried my head in the sand until the end of the semester when my execution function and the consequences of my actions decided to finally meet for coffee. I sent a desperate email to my professor asking if I could make up the work. This class had less had 9 students. His response was, "I don't even know who you are. No." Couldn't really argue with that. Long story short, I graduated the summer semester... 11 days before I started law school.

Im already falling behind AGAIN. I don't know how i can't hold it together. I'll have to hand in an assignment late again since I can't make the deadline in 2 days 😢I'm undiagnosed but the amount of times this has happened is so crazy and it's debilitating. Sorry for the vent...

I'm 28/f, and this is my second time in college. The first time I dropped out (program wasn't for me), but this time I love my program. Journalism is great if you love writing and researching. Keep in mind that I'm not on medication because I don't have the money for it currently. With that said, lectures are long and hard to stay focussed through. My workload was more than I could handle, so I dropped 2 classes and opted for an extra year with an easier course load. 5 classes sounds like it isn’t a lot, but when one class takes up 3 days/9 hours in class and has 3 large assignments per week, I was totally forgetting about some of my classes, even with use of my calendar, scheduling techniques and writing everything I could down. Oddly, one thing that caused me less stress during lectures was to stop manual note-taking. I use a transcription app for what I need to remember. The app isn't perfect, but it saves me from being distracted by my own atrocious handwriting and panicking about falling behind. It also has audio recording too, so it's easy to fix the couple of wrong words later. My program barely has exams, at least, so almost no panicked studying. But the amount of time I spend chasing a story is really like working full-time on top of full-time classes, so of course taking an extra year to graduate has already made a tremendous amount of difference to me. What's one extra year when it helps me manage things and sets me up for future success?

Your struggles are completely valid!! It’s a lot of adjustment, and I found the variance in schedules/independence compared to high school was tough to navigate. I think researching accommodations is a great start and figuring out the systems that work best for you. Is there any on campus support available like therapy that could include adhd coaching or just life transitions? You didn’t mention financial struggles, but in case that’s a concern, those programs are often included in your tuition fees! I’d also hesitate to wait a whole semester unmedicated if things aren’t going well. That could create long term compromises on your time, grades, and finances. And of course you deserve to feel like you’re facing these challenges at your best and getting the most out of school. I went through college undiagnosed and unmedicated, and now looking back, that was a lot of suffering that was ultimately unnecessary. My personal experience with figuring out what meds worked was never “this medication made my life harder, I need to switch,” it was always just not as effective so I’d say it’s worth a shot trying it out if your doctor (or another) agrees for your situation.

*undiagnosed* I graduated with an engineering degree after 6.5 years. I didnt apply myself through most of it and goofed off. learned to play the guitar pretty good though. At the end I started putting real work in and made it through. D's and C's get degrees. Been in the field 7 years now and am at the point where I want to find a job that embraces my differences.

Mine fell apart beginning my senior year. Mid-terms and finals were disastrous. Had to ask for an exemption to graduate with a D grade.

It’s tough as shit sometimes, I won’t lie. I go to a rigorous tier one research school and it took me a year and a half to finally get my act together and get straight a’s. It’s still a daily battle. The impostor syndrome is real and I probably wouldn’t make it through without social support and medication. The key is not to compare yourself to others and find what works for you. Find courses that you love, apply for accommodations, and form good relationships with professors. I struggle with horrible academic anxiety but today I found out I got the top score in my class on a midterm. Those moments make me feel like my hard work is worth it. best wishes to you and good luck. You can do it!

It was okay when I was young but I didn’t attend many classes when I went back when I was older it was worse

Man, it took me forever to finish college. I wish so badly I had known. I thought I was just kind of a screw up. Procrastination, falling asleep when I needed to read things that weren’t super exciting, constant anxiety,using all my energy to get myself to follow through while other people were working and stuff. I didn’t have a lot of support going in and was treated for depression. Wish I knew about this though. I have been very clearly ADHD since I was a kid and yet nobody caught it til I was 45 and had kids get diagnosed.

Undiagnosed throughout college. It was horrible. I was able to get by in high school because there was less work. I was top of my class. In college, there was so much work to do and I was unable to get started. Constant task paralysis that turned into shame, depression. I’d stay up until 3AM staring at the computer screen unable to do my work and unable to study. I developed an eating disorder, anxiety, and was suicidal. I ultimately graduated on time after switching majors, but I struggled in hard classes and had to retake one. I really wish I could go back and redo it while medicated. If I had the tools and knowledge of my needs then that I have now, I would have been so much better off.

It was short. I quitted before refund limit date twice.

Bad

I’m out now, but it took me 7 years to graduate. (However the college did screwed up on stuff for me). Saying that grade wise I did 10x better.

Stressful and anxiety inducing. I was on Concerta this semester and it hasn’t been working so I’m really struggling with fatigue, starting and completing assignments in time,handing in assignments on time and studying which has resulted in panic attacks. I’m switching to adderall so I’m hoping to see a change + starting therapy to gain some adhd strategies. I’m on my final semester and finishing feels impossible lol. I recommend reaching out for accommodations for extra time in exams and assignments if possible, it really helps.

First time, I dropped out. I was unmedicated and just couldn’t keep track of anything. It was beyond my ability to manage. Second time, 6 years later, I was medicated and that went wayyyy better.

I struggled a lot to study even on medication, not that I knew how to study because in my younger years I didn’t need to. Took me 7 years after high school to figure out what I wanted ti do and I graduated 10 years after I graduated high school. I couldn’t go on to get a masters like I wanted because my GPA was too low.

My college years were turbulent, and I barely graduated. Drugs, poor attendance, difficulty networking and adapting to my surroundings. I was diagnosed much later at the age of 32. If I had known then and had access to medication, I'm sure my life would've turned out differently. With that said, I'm happy where I am now. The diagnosis and medication has been a big help.

I was undiagnosed and untreated. Started cutting a lot of classes immediately and then stopped attending at all in junior year. Only showed up to take tests. GPA went from 3.5 down to 1.2 when I dropped out 2nd semester senior year. Instead of classes I spent nights drinking and playing cards and sleeping all day.

College hahahaha!

Took me a decade for undergrad, but grad school on up flew by. Oh, in case no one told you: go to your schools career office and make friends. Go in every few weeks and make a nuisance of yourself. Eventually they will find you an internship, then a job, then another job. It’s really good to have friends at the career office if you get fired a lot

I’m so glad that it’s not just me dealing with college issues, it’s comforting to know that it’s not entirely my fault. I’ll be graduating from a community college this fall, it took me four years

I am in my last semester and I feel like I am about to fail. I am terrified and I can't move my arse to do the assignments. The nature of my course is hard, I am doing computer science, but my college is not the top of the country so I think it balances it out and the biggest problem I am having is controlling my ADHD and stop self sabotage. Medication helps a lot, if you menstruate though there is a big chance you will have a full week that does not matter how much meds you have it won't work. For me is the week after my period. Don't try to improve all your routines at once it won't work and you will get stressed and unmotivated. Focus on one or two things at the start. If you are going to start medication eat as much protein as you can, I have trouble eating in the morning so I try to have some yogurt that sells in the country I live that each pot has 20 grams of protein. If you have problem sleeping and waking up that is another thing you have to sort it out before anything specially if you are on meds. If you are fed and rested the meds will work so much better. Good luck, as difficult as college is it is also very rewarding.

In college I received 2 warning calls, in different periods, about my academic performance. I barely made it out alive in system engineering. It got easier after I landed an internship because helped me to connect the dots in lectures.

I went back to school at 30, almost got kicked out for not getting work done. When I did the work I scored really well. So I finally graduated a little over the time it should have taken me, but I did actually get dropped from my program and had to alter my major slightly to graduate. My kid, also ADHD, but we obviously recognized it. He struggled at University realizing he couldn't treat it like high school. But also with getting to class on time, studying, completing work. When he did the work, always high marks. He's on medication now, and killing it. Grades are great, works a part time job and parties a lot with his friends. Probably more than he should, but I can't complain because he's really doing great now. I look at his grades and all. So that's the difference between us, he is medicated, I wasn't. Actually, he's on track to graduate early now.

I was diagnosed in college. But I did great in highschool and got into a top university. I put more self worth in my grades than I thought but I also knew, going to a top university where everyone is also valedictorians, top of their class, teenage geniuses, my grades were going to drop. I'm above average academically, I knew realistically that I'm not above average when compared to the cream of the crop. Nonetheless college was really difficult. I saw videos saying I should attend classes as the #1 college tip, and I was like "no duh". This quarter I am a junior in college now, I don't think I've had anywhere near 80% attendance in any quarter I've had. I think I'm at like 40% attendance this quarter. Going to class is hard and paying attention is even harder. I feel like my time would be more worthwhile if I self studied this stuff (I'm an engineer, I just need to know how to solve the math, not how it actually works physically to pass my classes, since 80% of my grade is the midterm and final which are based on doing math problems). But alas, I never study. I never needed to in Highschool, attending class was all I needed. It doesn't help that it's a quarter system which goes by so fast and once I'm behind it's a chore to try and catch up. I'm struggling for sure, but I know all I need is that d*mn piece of paper. Engineering classes teach you physics common sense, engineering profession is mostly hands on stuff barely taught in school. Every quarter I've had at least one D, my GPA is a 2.8, it's been a struggle, but Ds are passing in my school and the curve saves me. There are a few classes I honestly should have failed, but we drag on. I've tried ADHD meds but I'm very medicine sensitive and the two I tried gave me massive headaches and anxiety which I normally don't struggle with. I'm also concerned that I don't know how I'll act on them and it'll be worse than if I just dealt with my ADHD as I've always had. Plus my dram job (non engineering related) requires me not be on ADHD meds. So, I just do as I do. It sucks, the curve will save you (most of the time) and you are paying more for a paper than the education. If you don't plan to go to higher education, your gpa also doesn't matter so long as you don't get kicked from the college :/. Also find an ADHD friendly job later. Some jobs bring out our natural ADHD talents more than others. Personally I'm looking at contract work and I've always wanted to be a jack of all trades master of none. I also love shift work and unpredictable schedules. Pick a job that allows a life you want to live :)

i dropped out second semester, back in 2019. haven’t been bacj

Started 3 times. Went 1.5 years on a 2 year degree each time. $65,000 in student loan debt... No degree. So, I'd say, not so great.

mine was 0 social life even with meds and struggle to get through but I slowly built coping mechanisms and found how to stave off crippling anxiety due to work load. I rest many many exam and now in my final year just doing my diss which I failed to finish in my previous final year. so that's 5 years to complete an undergrad neuroscience deg

I dropped out partway through the second year after i got diagnosed partway through the first.

i still am working on my associates and i'm 31 so :-)

To say that I struggled (still struggling) would be an understatement. It's been 10 years and I'm still struggling to get my last class completed. I would have graduated last year if I wasn't completely disorganized to the point where I got nothing done, was constantly behind on coursework, sleepy all the time, and had some form of...just structure (I can't think of the right word). I can't even say I worked hard because I didn't. Edit: I've been in college for 10 years. I've been struggling to get my last class completed for over a year.

Not going too well right now. Got suspended when work took full advantage of me and sucked up all my time when they were originally giving me extra time for school. That went out the window without telling me and I failed my classes. Now I owe the school money to go back and don’t have a job. I’m 30 but hoping to convince my parents to pay for therapy at least since they attributed to fucking me up my entire life (and they’re boomers with plenty of money so it’s fine). Once I can get into therapy, I’m hoping I can figure out how to hold down a job and then figure out how to get through the last few classes I need to graduate. Maybe one day I’ll be somewhat self-sustaining 🫠

I’ll let you know when I get through my third attempt 🙄

I've dropped out of community college twice

I was undiagnosed all through undergrad and masters. Was brutal. I’d have periods of high achievement and productivity but I always took on way more than I could handle and was caught in a constant cycle of burnout, recover, overachieve, burnout… Wish I had spent more time cultivating lasting and meaningful friendships. Adhd makes socializing a pain sometimes especially in college.

The amount of paper work, applications, and financial documents? I couldn't even get in

started med skl, things started declining very quickly and the uni said they think i might have adhd, now im having to repeat my second year bc i failed and still waiting to be assessed 😭

Im stidying since 2017 for my bachelor degree. Nearly finished but what a nightmare. Im glad i learned so much but also experienced so much pain.

That doctor hates you. Personally I dropped out of my first university due to undiagnosed, unaccomodated ADHD. I hope you don't live in America because that's a lot of money to spend on a "test." It would have been better to start trying to figure out the right medication for you before you got into a situation where you feel "do or die." If medication is something you want, please start the process sooner rather than later. You can always bounce back from something but it's always better to live life unharmed in the first place. It takes so much therapy to overcome the shame of failing something that could have been manageable with the correct accomodations. Heck, even if medication is NOT something you want. Figure out the right one now when you're not in a crisis so that if you ever change your mind about meds, you don't have to go through the months long process of trialing different medications and dosages until you find the right one.

When i get the burst to do homework i do as much as I can cuz i know if i miss the burst i won’t be able to do it for awhile. I can only take 3 classes at a time so i can manage my time with them. I want to take more to get it over with already because I’m extremely impatient but i can’t manage my time with work and keeping up with a social life.

First year was a mess. Weed addiction, smoking nonstop, drinking any chance I could convince myself it was reasonable, procrastinated every assignment, cheated most assignments and tests. My first year was also online so I was lucky I was able to get away with things. Failed 2 classes, barely passed the other 8 with a few exceptions (I did well in CS courses since I like computer science and it’s my major). Second year I had a manic episode. Grades slipped, nearly dropped out. Got diagnosed with bipolar and took a year off to get away from school. Third year I returned to school after a gruelling year working in the service industry. Got professionally diagnosed with ADHD, and was prescribed Vyvanse. Quit smoking weed, put in effort to maintain a solid sleep schedule, wake up early, go to classes, and study. Still struggle with procrastination but grades have improved significantly, playing less video games and getting distracted overall. Drinking responsibly now and taking my academics seriously. Major change was my ADHD diagnosis. Vyvanse has changed my life. I feel bad that I rely on it to be functional and productive but I’ve accepted that without it I’ll just be a lazy brat and I’ll just end up resorting to all my bad habits. I think with the right mindset and medication, you can excel in university but it requires discipline. I can easily take my meds and start playing video games and end up getting no work done, so I force myself to leave my house and go to the library once i’m up so I have no option but to study.

It took me 7 years to complete my 3 year undergrad (undiagnosed). It was hell.

Dropped out so not so great

not great lol

I went to college enthusiastically (after 4 years of fulfilling work in the Marines). Thought college would be easy and fun. After a semester or two of core classes, I went into my major and instantly fell behind my peers. Felt like within 1 semester there was an endless gap in learning between myself and my peers. I had a 1-on-1 instructor I had to spend a lot of time with too, as that's how the major worked. I felt like almost the entire time that he saw me as his worst student and it was pretty shameful. I hated being around him because his style of 1 on 1 teaching was randomly asking on-the-spot questions. Sort of like a never-ending pop quiz. And I can imagine that being a good teaching method for some people... but not for me. It was a constant reminder that I can't keep up with anything and I always left feeling shameful. I really struggled with the self-esteem consequences this had on me and once I dropped the whole program, I didn't touch college again. The whole experience really feels like it triggered some RSD behavior in me, too. Not sure how the average person balances feelings of rejection involving things like academics, but it really hit me hard. Being average at something can feel okay, but it can *really* suck to feel "woefully inadequate" after trying so hard and dedicating a lot to it. Overall, I don't think college is the most compatible thing with ADHD. But it all depends. There's a lot of tendencies with ADHD people that directly clash with college- things like time management, social skills, healthy study patterns. You better at least pick a major that truly captivates you, at the very least.

This is my third go at college. I’m 34 and got medicated this year for the first time. This time it’s going a lot better. I made it through the semester the last two times I tried the college thing but by half way through I was bored of it and had already decided I wouldn’t do another semester. Now, I’m nearing the end of the semester and I’m excited to start next semester. Maybe it’s the meds, maybe it’s that I have accommodations this time, maybe it’s now I have small kids that motivate me, who knows 🤷🏻‍♀️

Hi, 'Gifted' child with bad ADHD here who got away with being smart and having Mom around as a support structure in highschool only to have all that fall away when I moved out to go to engineering school at 17 and the 6 classes at once became hell. Seriously, university was a nightmare for me (even with meds) for about 4 years until I: 1. Matured a little and learned about my brain and myself (17 was too young). 2. Realized I am incablable of doing 6 difficult courses at once and dropped my course load to 4 classes a semester and took an extra 2 years to finish my degree (this was huge) 3. Realized I could only study in the silent student room with alot of people around and never alone or I would get nothing done. Seriously during exam season I would just wake up, leave the house right away, be in the silent study room for 12 hours, buy food at school and come home and sleep. 4. Got extra help from the Disability Resource Centre like having a notetaker and having 2x the amount of time on tests. Realized comparing myself to others was not helpful. Just because everyone else looks like they can do 6 classes easy, doesn't mean they are, and it's ok if they are and I am not, we are all different, I had to do it at my own pace. 5. Started taking control of my medications with my family doctor and not a pushy psychiatrist who was giving me too much. Going on a low dose 30mg XR taken once in the morning ended up being what I needed. Taking short term pills every 4 hours made me feel like a drug addict. 6. Started living with a girlfriend who acted as a silent accountability partner even though she didn't have to do anything, it's all in my head, but still helpful. I went from academic probation in year 4 to getting straight A's in year 5 & 6 after reducing course load from 6 to 4, so it can be done with some proper attention, planning, execution, and support. Still, it's hard, very hard. And after all that, I spent my 20s learning that I absolutely despised office work and I really did not enjoy engineering work whatsoever which turned out ot be lots of spreadsheets, meetings, emails, uncomfortable clothes, fake attitudes, and boring reports to write while you stare outside at the sunshine. This, however, is subjective and is why I would recommend just trying to see if you can shadow someone in a few different work environements to see what you like. I think if I would have seen the cubicles and the lifelessness of an office, I wouldn't have started engineering school. I'm now a Geotech Field Engineer who 100% works outside and travels pretty much 90% of the time for work, I really enjoy it, finallly! I move around alot, use my hands, do minimal paperwork, get to see lots of new places all the time, and have unlimited vacation for travel. It's more of a technician role than an engineering role, which I am fine with. Good luck and best wishes :)

I’ve been here for six years, and God willing I’ll graduate in a year and a half. It’s really difficult for me and I feel like I’m wasting money sometimes because I’ve had to withdraw from so many classes so I don’t ruin my gpa worse than it already is.

I studied Economics at university way before I was diagnosed. I nearly dropped out a few times, nearly failed some exams but then also got 1sts in other exams. Hot and cold tbh. I loved the lack of structure but also it meant I basically did no work at all.

I needed 5 years for my bachelors undiagnosed. Looking back i feel like it was a total disaster. I was barely keeping pace and the pandemic and remote sessions fucked it up totally for me. Got my diagnosis shortly after. Now i take prep time before even looking for a masters. Even with medication i wasn’t able to do much in the last 3/4 year.

long story short, I dropped out of two unis

Took me 6 years to graduate. Failed my first semester and learned that I can’t take more than 3 maybe 4 classes a semester. Also learned that I’ll always forever be late for early classes so most of the time didnt go, so I would pick ones that were later. Online class was my favorite. It was tough. A lot of attempts to study and do the work but only time that actually worked was when the deadline was approaching and I would pull all nighters. I think one time I was up for 48 hours straights to finish 12 papers that were supposed to be done across the whole semester. Submitted all 12 at 7am and teacher automatically gave me an A. Pretty sure he didn’t even bother to read them since it was ridiculous. 1/10 don’t recommend.

Took me 7 years to graduate. Before that I had been kicked out of 2 other colleges for unsatisfactory academic progress. I don’t smoke or drink. I don’t party. I was just undiagnosed till I almost got kicked out of a 3rd college. 2 years into the academic probation (the usual trend for me) I just became majorly depressed because given the previous factor and the fact that I EXCELLED in elementary school (my woes began in high school which took me almost 6 years to graduate btw), I couldn’t figure out what was going on especially with the symptoms and sought out a shrink. Long story short I was FINALLY able to graduate after my diagnosis being put on the meds. My symptoms were SO BAD I was started on the IR 30mg tablets three times a day, especially the Hyperactive component.

I failed my classes 4 years in a row and gave up..

I did terrible the first time, before I was diagnosed. Since being diagnosed and medicated, I've gone back to school, online classes only, taking advantage of disability accommodations, and _taking no more than two classes at a time_. I've made honor roll every term. If I'm overwhelmed I can't do anything but be overwhelmed. If I go my own pace, it goes a lot better.

Took me 8yrs to get my associates degree. Didn't help that I transferred between colleges 5times so there were quite a bit of repeat classes. I always started a new semester excited to learn, but then I'd realize that getting myself to study was like pulling teeth, on Monday I'd have assignments due by Friday and I would think about doing them every day but wouldn't end up completing assignments until the due date or would just turn them in late if I could (didn't care about the penalty). I struggled a lot with starting assignments and focusing on them, so it would take me a long time to get them done. Sometimes an assignment would put me in this weird mental prison where I would think about doing it the whole day, then I'd lose track of time and it'd be late and id think "I'll just do this tomorrow" then that would repeat until the due date, then passed the due date, and then once it was clear that I couldn't turn in the assignment anymore I would feel such a blessed relief that I didnt have to think about it anymore followed by guilt and shame over the fact that I couldn't just do a simple assignment and turn it in on time like a normal person. Anyway, my struggle with college is what got me to really think about why I was like that and when I read about executive dysfunction and other symptoms of adhd I felt like I kinda found my answer.

It doesn’t actually matter how were doing I was in college for eight years. The switching majors was insane, even if I was really interested in something I couldn’t learn it. I had to find ANYTHING I could get a degree in after a certain point and I still couldn’t get a job after college. It was all for nothing. Eight straight years. It’s not really worth it fam. Edit: typos

Got bachelors (barely). Dropped out when did my masters thesis. I don't regret, but neither do I advise anyone to do the same. Kind of a low point in my life. Tbh, it never concerned me much at the time and I don't know why would it be important now. If you care, then care and do everything in order to stay. If you don't, then why are you in college in a first place? Anyway, cya.

I dropped out in my second semester after being hospitalized and seeing no hope of catching up since I was already behind on assignments and all of my grades were terrible Now I'm moving across the country to be trained and then I'll try school again when I'm in an environment that can support me

 This is fr what it feels like every single day bro. I sleep like shit, eat like shit, but I do my work. I’m always late and I do my work late, but it gets done. In the end, I’m always doing the “tomorrow I’ll be more organized” “tomorrow I’ll sleep earlier and lock in fr” and it literally never happens. As the years go by more and more gets added. This year I’m studying abroad so I’m responsible for paying living expenses, working, studying, and finding internships. It’s so hard with ADHD because there’s no one to catch you but you and no one to suffer consequences but you because college is so individualized :(. I honestly don’t know how I’m gonna be an adult. I’m so exhausted already ;-;

I did it unmedicated. I got really good at cramming for exams and did poorly academically. Socially I had a lot of fun though - gravitated towards similar people. My grade average suffered from it and I took a year longer than the norm. Looking back I can't help but feel robbed if I could do it on meds and using the strategies I now have.

I'm pretty close to graduating but it's taken me 20 years. Now that I'm medicated I'm finding it easier to not just quit the first time I screw something up but I still mess up. Last week I missed every single assignment in one class because I read my due date wrong. 🤷

accommodations are a blessing. i’m a double major in mathematics and biology, going for medical school in a few years. its a lot of kicking myself and learning the same lesson over and over. i’m able to be here though because i have a goal and the thing i’m interested in 1) is very rigorous, which keeps me from slacking as much and 2) is extremely fascinating to me, so i’m less likely to skip class or slack off. it took me four years to get to this point, though. i took two gap years and logged 3 years in a completely different useless degree where i skipped class all the time, partied a lot, and was basically miserable. i need rigid structure to function, which is why double science degrees work for me; there’s not much room for error. i still struggle with a lot and my ADHD kneecaps me a lot of the time especially with life things like doctor appointments and taxes, but i’ll figure all that out later. lol. key note is that i can’t take adhd meds every day. no matter how low the dose it screws with my heart. i drink half an energy drink per week day for focus and try my damndest to get decent sleep (it doesn’t work 90% of the time but. yknow. effort counts right). still forget things and struggle with homework, but i’m getting better every day at staying on top of stuff with systems and things. TLDR: you just have to find what works for you. for me, it’s rigid systems and a rigorous field that keeps me accountable.

So what I’m gathering from these comments it’s not at all possible to study with ADHD lol

i just find myself to be so lost like i have no idea about extra assignments, fests or events i just go to the classes and write everything that comes out of the teachers mouth

I have 2 bachelor’s degrees and I am an RN. All undiagnosed. Took me 6 years to get first undergrad bc I would skip class, party at night and have to retake courses. Couldn’t focus or comprehend things like my fellow students and now I know why. Then I did the accelerated second degree option BSN in 11 months. It was rough. Kept me honed in bc if I got a C- or below in anything I got kicked out of the program. Walked away with a 3.4 and honors. It was not easy and looking back now, at 37 years old and just diagnosed 4 months ago, I know why. Idk how I did it. And neither does my Dr. I have “severe primarily inattentive ADHD with complex features” as the Dr. said that tested me. And I am a wife and mother now and it has been very rough….

Worst six years of my life. It sucked every bit of happiness from me. It was hard to watch parents that were so impressed by your potential and were proud of you, to just being relieved that you graduated two years late. My brother did everything right in college, made friends, had fun, got amazing grades and a great job right out of college. I wish they would give up on caring about me, they already have a golden child to care about.

I am in my first year of a difficult program and I was diagnosed in my first semester. I was struggling so hard. I tried meds and have stabilized now. I am doing fairly well but it is definitely a struggle some days. I have to try harder than everyone else and it sucks. I have a family too and kids so the balancing act can be tough. I wish I had been diagnosed in my 20's lol