We present 8 tips on how to succeed in college with ADHD. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most prevalent pediatric neurodevelopmental diseases. It is often diagnosed in childhood and frequently persists into maturity.
Fortunately, there are various tactics you may use to assist you in staying on track. Here are Wright’s recommendations for college students with ADHD.
1. Get started on time!
Staying on top of class hours, assignments, examinations, and extracurricular activities is neither simple or automatic. However it is a key factor on how to succeed in college when you have ADHD. Students with ADHD frequently struggle with planning as well as recalling when homework and examinations are due. By utilizing a calendar, you can avoid missing critical dates and deadlines. Each course syllabus will include information on class dates and hours, due dates for assignments, and exam dates. Schedule these events as quickly as you obtain a fresh syllabus. A digital calendar may be set up to give you email or pop-up notifications a few days or hours before assignments as well as examinations are due.
2. Confront Your Tendency to Procrastinate
While this may seem counterintuitive, if you have an inclination to postpone, give in to it. When you have ADHD, the only time anything gets completed is shortly before the deadline. 1
Nothing else takes precedence at that time, increasing the urgency and penalties of failure to act immediately. These characteristics are what will ultimately enable the work to be accomplished. Therefore, deal with it.
Procrastinate, but stack the deck in your favor. For instance, if you’re assigned to write a paper, ensure that you’ve previously completed the required reading or research and have a general concept of what you’re going to write.
Determine the number of hours required to write it, block those hours out in your calendar, and then sit down and complete it with the deadline in sight.
Understanding your procrastination tendencies might assist you in planning ahead so that you are not left scurrying to complete jobs at the last minute. Nipping these tendencies in the bud will help you succeed in college despite having ADHD.
3. Study Wisely, Not More Effortlessly
If you’re an online student, you may minimize distractions by carefully selecting your classroom arrangement.
Synchronous courses, which require students to log in at specified times and watch live video lectures, may help you maintain concentrate — or they may provide possibilities for distraction. Determine whether or whether working with and attending lectures with other people distracts you from the lecture or lesson’s substance, and adjust your class arrangement appropriately.
Them who are easily distracted by people and prefer to study alone might enroll in courses that are delivered asynchronously, allowing students to work at their own speed and on their own schedules.
4. Establish a Study Schedule
Numerous students with ADHD are highly intelligent. They often get a passable grade, if not a good one, in high school just by studying the night before examinations. That method is unlikely to succeed in college. Two to two and a half hours of study time each week for each unit of course credit is a decent rule of thumb for college.
5. Schedule Your Time: Evaluate and Prioritize
While this may seem unusual, it is critical to intentionally schedule time to plan. Without this habit, you will always be reactive rather than proactive. It can be beneficial to create a high-level plan for the week on Monday and a weekend plan on Friday.
Then, over breakfast, check that plan daily—possibly adding essential details—to ensure you’re aware of what’s coming your way that day. When you can differentiate between what you need to do and what you could do, you can prioritize what needs to be done first and complete it.
6. Adhere to Your Strategy
Adhering to a plan is often the most difficult aspect of ADHD. Utilize incentives if you like them. For example, you may tell yourself, “I’m going to read for two hours and then go to the coffee shop.” You may also bargain with your parents about prizes for high grades.
Utilize your competitive nature. Choose a classmate whom you want to outperform and go for it. If you are aware of how you react to social pressure, establish arrangements with classmates to study together to ensure you do not disappoint them.
Make tutoring appointments for the same purpose. Although you may not need tutoring, you may require scheduled study time. As these recommendations demonstrate, there are several strategies that might assist you in sticking to your strategy.
Focusing on time management, target planning, goal setting, organization, and problem solving may be beneficial for kids with ADHD, according to research.
7. Take Charge of Your Medication
Keep taking your ADHD meds according to your doctor’s instructions. Avoid missing doses and restraining yourself from abusing your prescription to prepare for an exam. Not only would it be dangerous to take your prescription in any manner other than as recommended, but it will also alter your sleep cycle and make concentration more difficult in the long term. If your current medicine does not seem to be meeting your requirements as a college student, consult your doctor immediately.
8. Social Success is Important
Interpersonal difficulties are very prevalent among college students who have ADHD. While venturing out on your own may be thrilling and demanding, kids with ADHD often experience extra challenges when it comes to forming and sustaining connections.
Several pointers that may be beneficial:
• Interact with others throughout orientation. Bear in mind that your classmates may be just as delighted (and a bit overwhelmed) as you. Maintain an outgoing and receptive demeanor when you meet new individuals.
• Seek for opportunities to converse with others. You could meet new people at class, your dorm, the school cafeteria, or other campus locations.
• Join activities or groups. Colleges and colleges are excellent venues to pursue interests and connect with like-minded others. Consult campus bulletin boards or your school’s website to learn more about available possibilities.
• Maintain communication with existing pals. Do not let your high school friendships to drift into obscurity. While you’re both busy with new endeavors and may not see each other on a daily basis, maintain contact by phone, text, social media, or email. Your present buddies may provide invaluable social assistance.
Keyword: how to succeed in college with ADHD