Many people with ADD find it very difficult to stick to a four-year program at college and to get their degrees. College can be hard for anyone when there are 5 papers due to all on the same day. But you have the added handicap of being easily bored and quickly finding a distraction. So, though it’s no cakewalk for any college student, getting your degree can be particularly hard when you have ADD.
How can that be helped?
Find a school that will work with you and your ADD. Most colleges require 15 credits to be classified as a full-time student, but most will also allow you to take fewer credits, though you’ll only be classified as part-time. If this isn’t a tax issue for you or your parents, being a part-time student with fewer classes to worry about maybe a solution for you.
Another solution would be to take fewer of the required courses that you find it hard to deal with. Maybe take one of those per semester, and fill your schedule with classes that you do like. For instance, what if you absolutely, positively have to take Algebra and Trig during your first semester, and find it very difficult to deal with math? One solution would be to take creative writing, art history, and psychology 101 or any other low-level class, or whatever classes appeal to you, as asides. When you’re studying, be sure to give yourself a half-hour of math (if you can concentrate that long), a half-hour of something you like to do, and then, back to math of another half hour. Or, if your attention span is only 15 minutes, start with math, move to creative writing for 15 minutes, then art history for 15 minutes, and psychology 101 can make up the rest of your hour. Just keep doing this for as many hours as you need to really get cranking with math.
Or, you’ll have to find a more flexible college. Some will allow you to design your own major, which is ideal for people with ADD. That way, you’ll be concentrating on subjects that you know you can enjoy and really put your hyperfocus into gear and make it work for you.
The whole thing should be about finding a college that’s right for you. If you’re in school now and having a terrible time at it, transfer to a school that understands your ADD. That comes even before you look for the money because there are always scholarships that you can employ. Yet, if you don’t find the right school, you may end up only hoping for a degree instead of really earning one.
