This is a confidential forum, so I thought I’d just say this and be prepared for my anonymous persona to get beaten up…First of all, I respect that some kids legitimately need Adderall or other meds because they have a real diagnosis. But I wonder what would happen if kids wrote in their college essays, “I got my grades and SAT scores without coaches and without taking any prescription drugs.” What would happen? Would colleges care? Would they be offended? Or do they mainly care about what’s on paper and not the artificial means a kid might have used to inflate it?
Maybe no one wants to touch this one, ha!
I honestly think the majority of kids could write that essay…
How does Adderall improve an applicant’s competitiveness? I would think ADHD makes it more difficult for students? As for private college coaches, that’s certainly not the norm in the midwest. I don’t know anyone that used one at my daughter’s school.
My point is that kids use Adderall without having ADHD. In high school and in college. To focus, pay more attention, get better grades. I hope it’s true that most kids could say they don’t use it for that purpose.
Can anybody get that stuff. I could use it on afternoons at work.
I don’t know any high school kids taking Adderall without a true need. Its not an innocuous drug. It causes headaches, insomnia and high blood pressure, among other potential issues. I don’t doubt that some college kids might take one from a friend in order to pull an all nighter before an exam, but I doubt its as much help as they imagine it is.
On the other hand, I know lots of high school kids surviving on coffee.
Really? I would think that using Adderall without having a need would cause all kinds of side effects that would make learning harder. Maybe I’m living in a bubble, but I’ve not heard that this is a problem. Big thing in my neck of the woods is the opiate epidemic.
Some AO might think your child looks for scapegoats for their lack of success. Even if this is your child the essays should focus on the positive aspects of who they are and paint a more positive picture.
Nope, no sour grapes here! 
My kid performs great with NOTHING, which is one reason why I was wondering if it would be viewed as a positive statement in college essays. Sounds like you don’t think so, Dolemite.
Apparently people DO use Adderall at work, BrianBoiler. Netflix just came out with a documentary, “Take Your Pills,” about stimulant abuse at work and at school.
@ArtKidsParent I agree with @Dolemite concentrate on the positive without bringing down others.
It would be like saying something like you made a perfect score on the SAT the first time you took it without studying. If you are that brilliant then your application should reflect that without stating it.
If you are from a wealthy suburban area AOs are going to make assumptions based on your demographics and there’s no reason to try to dismiss them even if some aren’t true because there’s inherit advantages for students from there no matter what you do.
I started with a snarky comment (still cranky, sorry CC), then remembered that I had an analogous reaction in my kid’s high school experience, so softened a bit. There were times when I was frustrated that my kid “did the right thing” – worked hard at his sport and music so that he was recruited as an athlete and sought after as a performer, got his homework done on the bus ride home from a late match or weekend tournament, and took the lumps for not finishing something or not making it perfect because, well, he needed to sleep. At the same time, some of the tippy top students were exchanging test questions and getting their parents to pressure administrators to raise that A- to an A to preserve their perfect gpa. Other than their peers, no one really knew they were cheating their way to the top.
But life is short, and I figured those kids will hit a wall at some point, and it is not my problem or my responsibility. I think that, in reverse engineering the focus of my kid’s essay, we moved from a sense of “look how amazing – top student, athlete, and musician” to figuring out what he really could contribute to campus, beyond just saying “yay me.” And his record and achievement led to him being at the right, and best place for him, where he is happy, challenged, and growing.
I’m not a college, but if I read an essay along the lines of “I accomplished _____ without doing [anything controversial],” my first thought would be, “Well, now, aren’t you full of yourself.”
Surely, a student can find a much better topic for an essay.
@Midwestmomofboys - your comments reminded me of a sci oly event in middle school when my daughter was a 6th grader. We walked out of awards behind a pair of boys who one first in their event and one said to the other, “my dad is going to be so proud his tower won”. My daughter just looked at me and rolled her eyes. It was the fodder for good conversation. Life is definitely not fair but it’s good to learn early that you only cheat yourself. Plus that kind of stuff catches up to kids eventually.
I would take that statement as being pretentious and self-aggrandizing. Many many students excel without tutors and prescription drugs.
Do administrators really change kids grades because parents complain??? I’m astounded. I would never dream of doing something like that. Why would any administrator succumb to pressure like that?
People do use methamphetamine, which has similar effects as Adderall, so simply not having a need is not sufficient deterrent against such wanting to use such drugs.
@momofsenior1 reminds me of a lot of school projects that were clearly done by parents. They were always perfect. My youngest doesn’t have an artistic bone in his body so his projects always looked like a wreck. Fortunately, they were factually correct, so his grades never suffered. I always found it funny that his teachers would comment on how they appreciated us letting him “do it on his own” :))