The good grade pill

[evitaperon]

Urine tests before and after the SAT and ACT. That's the way to roll.

Academics is not the Olympics. Academics is about the pursuit of the mind, and every person should pursue all means to improve his or her mind. It's ridiculous to suggest that using study drugs is analogous to cheating. Looking at someone else's test or stealing the answer key is cheating, because the mind is not improved. But someone who takes a study drug still has to do all the work. The mind is improved. The student learns.

Those who suggest it's cheating or somehow morally wrong are simply biochemically-bigoted individuals who believe they have the right to tyrannise the social order simply because they think their natural-born neurochemistry makes them superior and that all artificial methods of augmenting one's neurochemistry should be banned.

she takes them to get the better grades which she naturally cannot receive.

____ nature. Nature is naturally, unfair.

[MommaJ]

@evitaperon, your comments are a breath of fresh air in this thread!

You know what really ticks me off? Those cheaters who do better on tests because their brain development in utero was enhanced by their mothers' constant popping of pregnancy vitamins! It's sooo unfair!

The following Time magazine article puts some perspective on the NYT's sensationalistic piece:
Teens Taking ADHD Drugs to Get Good Grades: How Big a Problem Is It? | Healthland | TIME.com

[wwlink]

There is a negative though: I've heard of people using adderall as a study aid and then getting hooked on spending hours on facebook or a news site by accident.

The important thing to note is if you don't need it, you probably shouldn't use it - getting good grades in classes is mostly about concentrating on your work and being a good listener at lectures.

I'm not sure that getting As in say, calculus is tied to natural ability but rather (1) that you really want to do it, and (2) that you dedicate to it.

[choatecolate]

Some people were born taller and better than me at basketball. can we chop off their legs please?

[Lemaitre1]

"I'm not sure that getting As in say, calculus is tied to natural ability but rather (1) that you really want to do it, and (2) that you dedicate to it."

Natural Ability does play a very significant role in how well you do in Calculus. There are probably exceptions but generally if you received a Math SAT score of less than 600, Calculus for Math, Physical Science and Engineering majors is going to be a real struggle for you whether you are at a UC or a CSU. On the other hand if your Math SAT score was over 700 you have the potential to do well in the course if you apply yourself.

That has an important relationship to drugs like Adderal and Ritalin. While it is uncertain if they can really improve your ability to do Calculus there is little doubt that they increase your motivation to study and help you study longer and more intensely.

[inaweoflacs]

Regardless of what the statistics that Time has dug up point to, I still believe there is a lot of truth in what the NYT says. I attend a CT boarding school, and Adderall XR is much, much too easy to obtain. If it weren't, I believe students would put more time and effort into their academics, as getting away with last-minute cramming is very hard without stimulants. I can't comprehend why several people on this forum are reluctant to condemn the use and prevalence of these pills - surely you wouldn't want your kid to become dependent on a drug at such an early age?

@choatecolate - What's your point? Also, when did you graduate from Choate?

@Lemaitre1 - There's hardly a correlation between a person's SAT math score and his ability at Calculus. The way the material is put forth in a Calc class and in the SAT is so drastically different that you can hardly compare the two.

[evitaperon]

If it weren't, I believe students would put more time and effort into their academics, as getting away with last-minute cramming is very hard without stimulants.

Who says that people on study drugs don't put in more time and effort? They can study more intensely, and their studying rate dS/dt is higher.

[parent1986]

I find it hard to believe that people are SERIOUSLY promoting the use of these drugs that are especially dangerous to the immature brain - those under 25.

I find it especially disconcerting that someone is claiming to be a medical doctor and promoting these drugs - even if he/she adds disclaimers. This is a forum read by young kids.
What is your problem? Perhaps the stroke you discuss resulted in you having poor judgement.

I suggest you review the Hippocratic Oath.

As to others who claim to have mental illnesses - perhaps your symptoms would be less if you stayed away from party drugs that are well known to CAUSE SYMPTOMS OF MENTAL ILLNESS.

[evitaperon]

I don't know where you went to school, but the science in your above post does not make sense. Study drug doses and abuse (euphoria-chasing) doses are quite two different doses, even for common study drugs, and then there are non-dopaminergic study drugs (modafinil) which have no dopamine toxicity at all, and very little addiction potential. Also the threshold of brain maturity is not 25, but even if it was, younger brains are more neuroplastic and have more vigourous stem cells and therefore more likely to recover from any sort of brain damage, the chance of which is slight as long as recommended dosage is never exceeded.

The phenomenon of late brain maturity you refer to may be the result of a handful of studies which suggest that younger individuals have cooler prefrontal cortexes than older individuals, but does not at all correlate with susceptibility to study drug damage, as there would be no mechanism for the age differentiation.

[inaweoflacs]

@evitaperon Yeah, but truly applied, intellectual students shouldn't have to unnatural methods. Our culture is too centered around drugs...
Also, there is the moral argument... A student's use of Adderall, Ritalin, and all those other meds (or even coke, pretty common nowadays) is, in my mind, analogous to an athlete taking steroids...

[jym626]

inaweoflacs,
For students with diagnosed problems with ADHD, stimulants should hopefully be considered more like giving a person with vision problems prescription glasses so they can focus as well as those who don't need glasses.

[inaweoflacs]

@evitaperon Yeah, but truly applied, intellectual students shouldn't have to unnatural methods. Our culture is too centered around drugs...
Also, there is the moral argument... A student's use of Adderall, Ritalin, and all those other meds (or even coke, pretty common nowadays) is, in my mind, analogous to an athlete taking steroids...

[parent1986]

re my post #99 - I was referring to unsubscribed drug usage and not to medication prescribed by a physician for ADHD.

[evitaperon]

Also, there is the moral argument... A student's use of Adderall, Ritalin, and all those other meds (or even coke, pretty common nowadays) is, in my mind, analogous to an athlete taking steroids...

A silly argument. Academics is not the Olympics. See Post 92.

re my post #99 - I was referring to unsubscribed drug usage and not to medication prescribed by a physician for ADHD.

So a prescription naturally immunises people against the bad effects of study drugs...riiiight.

[Midwestmomofboys]

Ok, parent of soon-to-be college freshman here. My child drew the short straw when it came to brain chemistry. He has OCD and ADHD, which often are found together. He is stuck with brain chemistry that stymies his ability to realize his talents. He brings so much to the table, but is stuck with awful glitches in his chemistry. Simply creating a circumstance in which his brain works without glitches would be a god-send. As it is, he has managed to keep his OCD within mild range so he does not get meds. Now, before college, he is getting tested to see if meds for the ADHD would make sense.

I wouldn't expect someone with diabetes to manage without their meds -- I wish folks understood that my son's challenges -- and kids like him -- should be accorded the same understanding and tolerance. Just because we, as adults, did not grow up with the treatment options that kids nowadays have does not mean that diagnosed kids should not get the help in adjusting brain chemistry.