I want people who were beating me up in this thread earlier to have the courage to respond to the many who are now pointing out the fact of Adderall abuse. Or at least acknowledge (even if it’s privately to themselves) that theirs is not the only way to look at the issue.
Or actually, never mind. Don’t have courage. I’m realizing that it’s more important to me not to allow this to get any uglier. How about, instead of getting down and dirty about whether neurotypical kids are trying to give themselves an edge with drugs, if we all take a vow not to use any mean adjectives for the next 24 hours? 
We’re parents after all, not journalists. We should support one another.
@artkidsparent I am going to venture out on a limb to say that no one here thinks your topic was a good idea. The extent of stimulant abuse in high school is irrelevant. The fact that some kids can take an SAT class is irrelevant. The various benefits and draw backs of Adderall are irrelevant. You asked for feedback and you got it. Regardless of the extant of the problem, your post sounds like you are simply whining that other kids had advantages that you didn’t have. They did. They always will. Someone will always have advantages that you don’t have. Now you know and you can go on and write a wonderful positive essay about how you made the most of the hand you were dealt.
Here’s the last thing I’m going to say: Anyone who NEEDS prescription meds should absolutely HAVE them, and not feel like they’re gaming ANY system. No question about that.
@gallentjill Yep, I asked for feedback and have no regrets about getting it. So there. Part of my intent was to find out whether it was a good idea or not. I still don’t think it’s irrelevant that some kids can afford SAT tutoring and take stimulants, and I never will.
Your proposed essay line does not address that difference. Nor do you address that your kid likely has had “coaching” that some kids don’t get purely from growing up in a household with some privilege. (Which I partly glean from another post where your kid is able to attend a summer program on a college campus this summer). Heck, the fact that your kid has a parent who is mulling over a 15 year old’s future essay topics is a sign that she’ll likely be getting some coaching from you.
It’s not irrelevant to life that some kids are privileged and others aren’t. (I’m going to go out on a limb and say that any child of a person who posts on CC is by definition privileged.) But that wasn’t the original question.
I’m generally not in favor of writing “life is unfair” essays. While discussing overcoming challenges might be okay, if dealt with carefully, I don’t think it’s a challenge to not use drugs, prescription or otherwise.
@rosered55 Earlier you said that we should have discussed this issue as an issue, and I should not have proposed the college essay that I did. I agree, having read your feedback and everyone else’s.
It kind of is, though. To say you didn’t get “coaching” — were parents there to help with math homework? Did they buy SAT study books? Pay to live in a better school district or for a private school? All that adds up to a boost in SAT scores. Even if they didn’t hire a private SAT tutor, their kid is lucky enough to live a life that tends to correlate with higher test scores. So bragging about “no coaching”
Is disingenuous.
@intparent You’re right; my kid has taken outside enrichment classes in other things, so that does count. I don’t know why I didn’t think of that before. I think the SAT stands out in my mind because tutoring leads to higher scores. But enrichment classes lead to higher achievement too. I don’t “coach” one-on-one and don’t help with homework. But I wouldn’t say I never do anything to help! Here I am, trying to get feedback about college…
The other thing that sticks in my mind: I never had an SAT tutor. I did OK, but not great. Still got into a good college. Frankly, I’d love to feel great about getting an SAT tutor for my kid, but I just don’t think I will if I do.
I’m not sure what you are saying here . You have the means to get your kid help, he could use the help, but you don’t want to do so based on some kind of principal?
@gallentjill Well, my kid actually said, “I hate the whole thing of privileged kids having SAT tutors.” So I said, “OK, then maybe use Khan Academy to study. That’s free.” And I recently read a NY Times editorial by a kid who made a point about not getting tutoring because it was unaffordable. And those things stuck in my head. And I had the dumb idea of making a point to a college in an essay, partly as a way of asking all of you, “Do colleges care about this?” But THAT’S what I should have asked in the first place, plain and simple, and not tried to feel I had to prove to colleges that my kid was honest and sacred and all that. 
So I’m trying to sort it all out, which I think is partly the point of these anonymous forums. I am laying on the self-flaggelation really thick in an effort to get you helpful people to see that I mean no harm…so can you be nice, please?
@intparent Be nice–that means you, too! I’m really letting it all hang out here.
MODERATOR’S NOTE: I don’t think there’s much else to be said on this topic, especially since the OP feels that people aren’t being nice. Closing.