Hello all. I am very new to this website and my diagnosis of ADHD. I was diagnosed a month ago and put on the medication Vyvanse to help control my symptoms. I also am seeing a therapist to help sort through what is in my head. I will be going back to school at the end of the month and will have to either hold off on therapy during the semester or find someone at school to talk to. This will be my last year of my undergraduate studies.
Some background:
I have always struggled with my grades, despite getting high test scores and scoring high on an IQ test. My teachers, family, and I assumed that laziness was the cause and I just needed to work harder. I agreed with this, however it wasn’t as simple as just working harder. There seemed to be a brick wall in between failing and succeeding for me. I was always interested in music, and in 7th grade found the instrument that I knew I would be playing for the rest of my life. I was naturally talented so I didn’t need much practice time. All through high school I was musically successful with not much effort put out, but was at risk for not graduating. I pulled my grades up to a 95 average my last semester in high school and graduated. I was going to school on a large music scholarship, but was told that I would not have gotten in period if it wasn’t for the staff at the university pulling for me. Nothing much changed in college. I did not do well in any of my classes until I was at risk for losing my scholarship. That semester I pulled up to a 3.5GPA (the highest I have ever gotten). After that, I decided to transfer to a school with a better music program. I was accepted musically and academically there. I thought I would have an easier time at this new school, however I became worse. I didn’t practice as much as I used to, and my grades were even worse here. I ended up having to change my major this summer to ensure that I graduate on time because of classes that I would have had to re-take. My current GPA is a 2.4
My dream is to get my Masters and Doctorate degrees, however I am not sure if it is even possible anymore. My boyfriend (soon to be fiance) is the complete opposite of me and plays a similar instrument. He has a 3.9GPA and practices all of the time. We don’t want to part once we graduate, but I can’t imagine getting accepted into the same schools.
I am wondering if graduate schools will listen to my situation about the recent diagnosis and give me a chance to prove that I am worthy of their programs, or if my application will be laughed at and tossed to the side for “making excuses”. I have never met another person in a similar situation, and feel a bit lost.
Any advice you could give would be so appreciated. I am so scared for my future and embarrassed by my situation.
Thanks,
C