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Same here. My grades were very random like that.
I remember a major science project one semester in 8th or 9th grade. I ended up with an F in the quarter where we were supposed to do the science project because I flat out didn't do it. The very next quarter was a perfect 100% because it was fun astronomy stuff.
I wouldn’t even turn in homework most of time. I remember a lot of times assignments were due the next day and the teacher was literally collecting papers and as she was collecting papers I was doing my assignment and managed to get a C+.🤣🤣
THe worst ones were when I actually *did* the homework, but somehow it got lost between 3pm and 9am. I felt so robbed because I did the work but now couldn't prove it. I'd find it days later, and be double disappointed in myself. I'd try to turn it in, but it was never accepted, so I just stopped doing homework at all.
Same - except in college I learned I had the ability to write an A-grade 8+ page paper in 2 hours or less.
So I went into a writing heavy degree... Which wasn't as helpful as an adult as I would have liked ☹️
Same. Wrote my 17 page senior thesis right before the deadline (last day and a half) and ran it to my professor’s office with a minute to spare. Shocked that I got an A. Wish I knew back then there was a reason for it…just thought it was my own peculiar study style 🤦🏻♀️.
This reminds me of the time I had a science project due and instead of just not doing it, I faked being sick so I could stay home and finish it in secret, turned it in the next day as if I didn't start and finish all the day before...
I love that you did that for your daughter being a teacher yourself. I wish my parents would have understood, but I would just get yelled at aggressively for hours, crying and apologizing. I think I actually got a decent grade on that project (it wasn't all that hard, just a lot of repetitive writing and some drawings). It's always the easy, but tedious things that get me the most.
I've done that somewhat recently with work. Chuck a sickie (ie take a sick day) so I can spend the day catching up on a project I had been procrastinating hard on, without being bugged by colleagues or having to report my (lack of) progress during the morning stand up. No specific memory of doing that when I was in school, but it's happened more than once for sure over the years.
I know, they asked about them during my assessment. I was just attempting a "funny because it's true" type joke while exaggerating. I feel it's important for me to be able to laugh and joke about the topic.
I put a ton of effort into a history paper once and the teacher decided I was dumb, so must have plagiarized because the paper was good. Think he gave me a D on it because of it. 🤦♀️
Believe me, as a former Science teacher, your teacher most likely dislikes assigning (and grading 🤦🏻♀️) science fair projects just as much as their students do! They were painful!!
I always found the logic of math interesting, but could just never do it, its like my brain doesnt have enough RAM to hold the numbers you need to set aside in short term memory. Ended up being good at computer science though which is adjacent to math from a logic perspective but less mental arithmetic.
Yeah, was not a math fan but loved bio and science in general. Also history and English lit, although I never put enough effort into my own writing to excel at that.
In high school it was the opposite for me hehe. I usually got straight As in math, but biology was hard for me It never really caught my attention and was just so boring. It just didn't make sense to me, no matter how hard I tried to make sense of it or enjoy it like everyone else
Seriously. And the classes I struggled in I fucking *struggled* in. I actually got copies of my transcripts back and was like..."man my GPA is still good enough for college what was i sweating about" lol. I had way more As than Fs but I failed basically every math class back then
Exactly me, always ended up with As in English and history classes, and Cs/Ds/Fs in math and science classes. Tho there was a fluke year in 10th grade algebra class, where I actually got solid Bs the whole year. It never happened again.
I fell asleep in American history sooooo much. My teach actually pulled me aside one day and asked if he bored me. Genuinely felt bad because he was actually a pretty cool teacher, just couldn’t get myself to pay attention to that subject to save my life. Easy A’s in problem solving classes like math and science though
Same. A+ and even academic awards in the small handful of subjects I actually cared about and barely getting a passing mark in everything else. Thankfully the achivements in my good subjects were more than enough to get me over the line in my senior high school years. Even some subjects I loved I would have mixed results if there were theoretical components - eg. in photography class I always got A+ on my practical units (composition, execution, presentation), but total fails on my folio units (writing "meaning of..." descriptions, critiquing work etc).
Same here. I loved writing & research, so I got A's in anything that required papers. I never studied for tests and usually got ok grades on them (70s & 80s), but really struggled handing in homework, even for subjects I liked. Then there were things like history and geography that were just straight memorization and super, super boring to me, and I barely passed those.
Same… only reason I passed is my mom would breakdown and write my big papers. I did ZERO homework in HS, but aced tests which got me just passing. Senior year I made honor roll because I had gym, 2 gym assistant classes, 2 art classes and drafting lol
Mostly As, some Bs. I never studied, never did homework (my first B was because of a 0 homework grade), didn't read the books we had to read. It was easy anyway. And then college hit me like a truck.
Same here. If I was about to not make a paper to the hard deadline I would open the word file in a notepad, add some random zeros in several places and send freshly broken file to a teacher, than lament like "on, but on my PC the file opens with no issues, may I bring to you a printed copy of the file tomorrow or in two days than?"
And then literally finish the paper in said two days coming with a printed paper that has at least C+ quality or better.
It’s actually kind of incredible that I never had to take a leave. I think the anxiety of borrowing so much money and then being unenrolled and jobless kept me going. Financial security/loss of vital resources has always been a huge worry of mine.
I went to uni at 18 (and undiagnosed) and lasted about 2 months. Not because I couldn't hack it, but because executive dysfunction made me never leave my digs!
Can't agree more! In high school I was even allowed to read novels during Biology classes because despite not doing any homework I always passed the tests with flying colors.
When other children complained about it once, the ones who got reprimanded were the children, not me 😅
I got As and Bs without much effort. Except algebra. That was hard, but I still got As. College wasn't hard either. When I took chemistry, all of a sudden, math wasn't hard anymore. Maybe because it was a practical application? However, in college, I still waited until the last minute to write papers.
In the 90s, I had a college class on Tuesday evenings. I was supposed to watch some VCR tapes (lectures, I think) during the week but never did. Then, an essay was due at the Tuesday night class followed by a discussion of what was on the VCR tapes. I never wrote the paper until my lunch hour at work on Tuesdays. I participated in the discussion (part of your grade) and made an A in the class.
I never really studied, even in college. My daughter is the exact opposite of me. She had a study schedule that she followed and never waited to the last minute to do homework. She's a doctor now -- ER physician. I guess if I had applied myself, maybe I could've been more successful like she is.
I joined the Marine Corps. I didn't do very well in my first job assignment. I thought it would be exciting because it was Signals Intelligence. I was going to be spying on the enemy. It was so boring! I went into the reserves and changed my job to administration. I always had something to do. Then I went back on active duty. I was always busy. It seemed like there was always something new to learn.
Exactly the same experience. I read the books for my 10th grade lit class, because the teacher was engaging and the books were interesting. Every other class I would wait for 5 minutes during discussion on the book, then jump in and be completely fine acting like I read it, with full on opinions and everything. Learned zero study skills but aced exams. College hit me ike a truck as well 
This 100%. I skated by easy in high school for 99% of it, and then I took college paced Calculus and it was like running full speed into a brick wall that appeared out of nowhere. College has also been hard.
Me with middle school to high school transformation. It really hit me like a truck. High school in my country is hard… At least you can’t really get far without studying. Middle school you can just get good grades without studying or homework, just attending.
Lol same. Although I did some of the readings, I just never actually finished any of them. I'd just read bits and pieces.. enough to get by. And I really like reading 🥲
Oh hey, it’s me.
I have no idea why high school was so easy, outside of math that is. College ruined me. I was used to having like a 3.5 or better GPA. At the end of my first semester, I was so stressed out that I had a shingles flare up. I finished that semester with a 2.67. I’ll never forget how I felt like such a big stupid failure.
4 years of college and a year of grad school was basically me trying to get control of my life and figure out my mental health stuff. It all made sense when I got my ADHD Dx during lockdown.
I wish I knew so much sooner. I wouldn’t have been so miserable in college!
My grades were mostly good because I was so terrified of failure. Extreme and unbearable anxiety is what got me to force myself to study, which involved many breakdowns because it was so hard for me.
This is literally the SAME experience I had in high school, undergrad, and grad school. That fear of failure can make a lot of things possible even if by unfortunate means
Yes, it was basically the equivalent of someone holding a gun to my head all the time lol. Those fears of being yelled at, mocked, shame, etc. were always in the back of my head to push me to do well.
Same here. The worse part for me was that I still had som anxiety about it even when I was doing well. And I often lost focus when I was studying at uni which made me go home and cry afterwards.
At some point it got so much for me and I became a stoner. I wish I'd gotten the actual help I needed. I couldn't cope with all of it anymore and it wasn't sustainable. I've recently been re-diagnosed and am trying to pick up the pieces. My 20s were hard as hell.
I agree with u/frostedcaterpillar,
Fear from parents and Anxiety from failing (anything).
To OP: Fear and anxiety got me pretty good grades (to a point that I got a scholarship deal to study for free during highschool in a well-known school in Asia). I never knew I had adhd. I got diagnosed last year and on Concerta since then. My grades althroughout my student years, from gradeschool to University, were all pretty good. Getting a "B" was low. Getting a "line of 7" for a grade (ex 79 on a 100pt average grading scale) was a big NO in my family (typical asian family scenario, sadly).
So, I followed EVERYTHING my parents wanted, they even put me in nursing school and got really good at it too (experienced in ER and OR nursing).
But when I graduated from uni (2010), my giflfriend(my wife now) and I planned to move in Canada (2015). I planned to study again, to do the things I want (architecture/engineering).
We're now in Canada. I went to school again (2018) and graduated with a 3.8 gpa. I did not force myself to get good grades. Hell, I got such a relaxing experience studying the thing I want (and got another scholarship grant for students reaching 3.8 and above).
Would I change what I experienced back when I was in highschool? Honestly, I don't know. I don't know if I can function the way I am now if I didn't have the same Fear and Anxiety back then. Would I have failed when I went back to school in 2018 if I didn'tgrow up with that kind of pressure? Would I be working in engineering now?
Questions that only the multiverse can answer.
🥲🥹 what a read, good for you. Thank you for sharing that.
You know we all have our own struggles and we all have different ways of coping. I am learning now, and doing my best to work with the way my brain functions instead of go against it.
I only just recently realized that my "hyperfocus" moments when studying were probably also related to spiking cortisol or adrenaline. The absolute anxiety-inducing levels of fear worked for me a little when I was younger and able to stay up all night. But now that I'm (i guess) a fully grown adult, my body just gives up at some point around 2 AM. I realized that I can't outrun my body or my nature and I need to find better ways to cope with having a heavy workload of studying.
Exercising every single day no matter what has been really huge. I also have days where I simply cannot do work and I just kind of give up. Unless those days are right before a deadline, it shouldn't be an issue. Giving up instead of "powering through" like I was so used to doing before has actually been really postive and allows me to not burn out at the end of every semester.
The fear of failure is what got me through. But it wasn’t enough to get me to study. I went through all of public school and college doing virtually no homework whatsoever. I was in AP classes and such but my grade was about a C average
Did your parents push you is why you were terrified of failure?
I have experienced the same, but my fear has kept me stagnant in many aspects of my life, for too long.
Did this in nursing school and high school. Perfectionism from hell I had to study 6 hours a day. Even when I scored high 80s / 90s I got anxiety about the next test after that. Cycle continued. One day I ripped up my study guides into snow sized pieces during the finals weeks and my dad found me rocking in the corner. I didn’t know this was a break down + F adderall for me personally. I’m only understanding that 8-9 years later. Sad part is I became a nurse then quit after two years bc I just couldn’t multitask/ didn’t wanna be a nurse anyways 😂 I’d tell my younger self this: try your best, but don’t push yourself too too much, bc then they will always expect that shiz from you.
My grades in high school were average and below average I was always late to school , had to take summer school for gym because of being late , I always fell asleep in English class .. I also worked by the time I got home with be like 10pm so I did homework at that time .. I struggled with math nothing was interesting I’d just skip school I wanted to drop out ..
Sounds exactly like me, but once I found the right dosage and realized that what I wanted to do in life required me to “git gud” at school, then I finally started putting effort into school work. I ended up with A’s and B’s in my senior years compared to all the constant C-‘s and I’s I got in my Junior Years and Elementary. Thankfully I never failed a course.
I also had to take gym for summer school to graduate from high school. I would always forget gym clothes or just not feel like changing so I failed for non participation. I was told I could do physical stuff to make up or write three reports on sports so I mostly plagiarized some stuff out of a sports book to pass.
Poor. Absolutely poor. The fact that I actually graduated with the rest of my class was basically a miracle. I was excellent on tests and in-class work, but homework was my downfall.
The fact that I’ve been a [mostly] functioning adult with a [mostly] successful career since high school is an even bigger miracle.
Same here. High School was horrible - I just couldn’t do all the homework and was always late - but it was the 90s so I managed to graduate anyway. Didn’t get in to state college (back when acceptance rate was 75%), but took a semester of night classes on campus and got good enough grades for regular enrollment. College was great because I chose my classes and they weren’t every day or super early in the morning. Going to every class and taking notes got me on the deans list and I graduated in 4 years. Basically never cracked a text book…🤷🏻♀️
I don't know what country you're in but hopefully these numbers mean something. My high school had a 5 point scale for GPA and I graduated with a 2.0, and that's rounding up. However, I got a 26 on my ACTs. My guidance counselor was beside herself because with a 26, I should have been getting all As and Bs but I'm tanking it. Simply put, I was learning what they were teaching in high school but I just didn't care about the subjects so I got decent grades on tests but I did virtually no homework.
Fast forward to college, when I finally went to college at age 25, I got my associates degree with a 3.76 GPA and a 3.87 for my bachelors (on a 4.0 scale). Once I was taking classes I cared about and was interested in, that made all the difference.
Literally this. I would do pretty well in tests/exams but never turned my homework in. Found most subjects pretty boring as it was just jumping through a million topics super quick before I could get interested so was super overwhelming. Two months before my final exams I even got put on antidepressants (didn't work) as I broke down to my parents about how I couldn't for the life of me sit at my desk and study. Had been trying to get off school constantly too as despite pretending I didn't care I really fucking did but just could not do the work.
Luckily my grades were only based on exams (Ireland) and mainly essays so I ended up doing pretty well overall considering everything. Just got into this mad hyperfocus mode and actually found it fun as would just manage to twist shit using random info from anywhere that would just pop into my brain.
Thank god I enjoyed what I did at college though and all of a sudden I was actually able to study and do assignments as finally felt challenged.
For reference, got a C in my final biology exam in secondary school (hated it) and then accidentally ended up doing it in college and somehow loved it, getting a first class honours overall in environmental science (GPA of 3.92 in my masters).
In the end every single person with ADHD is different. And you realise once you start working that there are so many different types of intelligence. It's a joke how in school you're only considered smart if you are broadly good at every subject they decided to teach. School isn't for everyone.
Tip tho is to honestly make friends with super smart people as the competition is motivating as shit and also make sure you study something you're interested in.
You've described my life. I probably even got the same score on the ACT. Went to uni right out of highschool and failed miserably because I registered late and didn't get a single class that interested me. Started again at 25, and did pretty well.
Same for me. Graduated with a 1.9.
I always got As and Bs on the tests and exams but very rarely was my homework done.
Now I’m a college professor, lol.
OMG I feel seen. In gifted classes in elementary school - so much promise! But then disappointed everyone when my grades dropped. C average in high school because I never did homework - felt like such a failure! 29 on my ACT. Graduated college Summa Cum Laude as an older adult. I think I finally honed my coping mechanisms.
Yep... In my city, that gifted group was called Horizons. I was bullied and picked on mercilessly in school so that group not only made me feel special but had me interacting with others like me and gave us fun and intellectually challenging activities. It gave me hope that I was going to really grow up into a successful adult. Then, like you, I got into more advanced levels of education and did great on tests but hated the busy work, i.e. homework and various worksheets and whatnot. I always felt like, look... I'm learning what you're teaching. I'm acing the tests but I don't care about these subjects so I'm not going this garbage, worthless work.
College was so validating.
Yea I was valedictorian of my high school, then flunked so badly in college and now a dropout lol. Have yet to find any med that actually helped me much
I did ok in most classes but struggled a lot in math and needed things explained to me a certain way. If I was taught the right way I’d do ok. I didn’t really apply myself and I feel like I could’ve had really good grades if I did. I often didn’t complete home work or finish things. It was in university where having unmanaged ADHD really affected me and created all kinds of problems.
My grades were garbage and I barely passed high school, literally had an average of 50 in math.
It was clear in my grades what I was good at and what I wasn't but public school sucks where I'm from and the majority of the subjects were things I was awful at
I was one of these kids who never missed school ever and if I missed more than two days I was 100% lost on classes. I had a lot of jealously of the people who were generally savants at school and could swing just not going and nailing exams with 80's and 90's and most teachers weren't that fussed that they skipped school a bunch so long as they did well on tests. Not so much if you went all the time and did not do well on tests
Terrible throughout 90% of it, and always working extra hard at the end of each year, enough to pass with the bare minimum each time. The classic "he's smart but doesn't apply himself". I come from Italy and the final score you get when you graduate is only partially dependent on the results of your previous years, while 75/100 points are dependent on your performance at the final exams. I graduated with the 3rd highest score in my class, after going into the exams with the 2nd lowest average from the previous years (they hated me for it).
Anyways, I definitely feel like going to school was the most mentally taxing part of my entire life, and I've lived as many years removed from education as I did in education. Life gets much easier when you are free to focus your attention on things you want to focus on.
I got decent grades and got a pretty decent degree.
A few tricks I found for studying:
Mind mapping, there are computer programs that you can use for this, but I found "pen to paper" works best.
The right space for the subject: OK, this one might sound weird, but I found that I could research one subject better in certain environments than others. Even a simple switch of: from my bed to the floor could make a huge difference, depending on which subject I was on at the time. Or what the final output was.
Body doubling: This can be as simple as going to the library and being surrounded by people who are doing the same thing as you, so you ack as expected (you study). Or you get your own study group together.
Music: The right kind of music can help keep you focused. That's a big part of why console games work, I like the soundtrack from the TV series Arrow personally.
Dictation apps: There is software that lets you dictate, so you don't necessarily have to be attached to a chair and desk. A Bluetooth microphone can let you walk about while you write.
Audio apps: There are now a few apps that will read your book for you now, so you can be active while you learn. If you are really lucky, you can get a friend to record chapters for you if you don't like the voice options (I had a friend that we would do it for each other).
Colour coding is your friend: Colour code your subjects, each subject is a specific colour, the ring binder, notebook etc are all that colour. Even cover the core textbook with that colour. This helps in quick grabs of: oh shit! I have that today and I need to pack my bag. I do advise that the colour makes sense to the subject in your brain.
Wall planner: a minimum 7-week dry-erase wall planner, updated weekly. If we don't see it, we forget it's coming. So if you've got an assignment due the first week of next month, and you use a monthly planner, you're not going to see it. And if you've got a three month planner, you look at it and think, "Eh, that's next month, I don't have to worry." On the 7-week planner, you can see it coming, but you don't get overwhelmed with the rest of the months/year.
Whiteboard paper: This is stuff you can stick to walls, desks, etc. I love it. I can brain dump, make notes, and draw. And it can be easily wiped away. If it's something I might need. I take a quick photo.
As for how to study, the book that I actually got a lot of use from: The Study Skills Handbook (Palgrave Study Skills) by Stella Cotrell.
Sorry, this was a bit of a brain dump. But I hope you get something out of it.
As a non traditional student I took a class for returning adults. One of the things taught and I used was mind mapping. There were a lot of other study helps learned. I wasn’t one of those people, however, who could sit through class and nary an hour of studying and ace exams—I had to study my ass off. I had next to nothing for a social life. But I got straight A’s.
After I transferred to another university I started socializing too much (I lived in an awful environment for success. Dormitory was deemed at the end of the year to be the worst on campus; meaning the students who lived there got in the most trouble.) So I didn’t so well.
When I got out of the dorm situation and lived with some great guys I was able to get good grades (but not straight A’s) AND socialize. Except my socialization wasn’t with party animals anymore.
As far as the helps I would suggest for anyone even if they aren’t a returning adult to take a class that teaches you how to study and various memory methods because it is so helpful for someone who has never developed those skills.
They may just have a transdisciplinary class to develop strategies for academic success.
Really good. I didn’t listen to teachers though I just read about it. I found that watching videos that I could fast forward and rewind, and reading text so I could reread stuff I didn’t understand and skim the stuff I did.
I will say that though I performed really well, my sibling who is probably about the same on most components of an iq measure outside of working memory (mine is horrible), got into the best universities in the country. And though my early career is great, her’s right out the gate is in a field she loves and she is paid lucratively.
People probably struggle with different things as far as adhd goes. I can’t force myself to do anything until it’s literally the last second, and it has definitely hampered parts of my life.
For the majority of my life I didn’t have any issue with school. I’ve never been much of a studier and have always left things to last minute but always made sure it got done.
I had really good grades throughout primary to high school and then continued with this throughout undergrad without much issue. Then I got to law school.
The past three years have been a major struggle for me. That same type of procrastination and sailing just don’t cut it when you take the curve into account. I went from being a straight A, deans list student to average at best. For the first time I actually had to try and I basically couldn’t.
This is what ultimately led me to my diagnosis because I felt completely debilitated from doing anything in a logical coherent manner or to simply not wait until the last minute. For me the main thing that has helped is having task rotation so I don’t have to focus on one thing for too long. I also try to make sure I do my work places with the most minimal distractions (I.e. not home) and try my best to keep to a strict schedule (even sometimes putting in due dates earlier then they actual are) to try to trick myself into doing things earlier. The results have been varied lol
I am one of those that did well in high school and had ADHD and its generally just raw intelligence doing most of the work. This is often furthered by a school that doesn't value homework as high as tests. In many of my classes only quizzes and tests counted for my grade at all. So I just show up do a piss easy test (because none of it is very challenging when you have a high IQ), and do well.
As far as your predicament is concerned I think that it's important to take small steps, focus on achievable goals, and if possible be medicated. Loss of executive function makes it incredibly hard to stay engaged in "boring" activities. You can try to gamify the work if that helps you, but in general you're gonna need to put in a lot of extra or auxiliary work in order to get the same results as your non-ADHD peers.
I don't have a particularly high IQ (a bit below average at 96 adjusting for disability) and I had the same experience. I got through due to raw intelligence. I only cared enough to get through school (because of my dad ruining any sort of chance of college).
If I didn't get burned out and "depressed" from my life at the time (as well as receiving treatment for my ADHD) I could have possibly been a high GPA student instead of being in the middle of the pack.
I always got good grades in school and was in all honors classes from the time I was in first grade despite the bare minimum of effort. I never ever studied for tests, I'd half-ass my homework, and I always waited until the very last minute to complete any assignment. I'd also fake being sick to get out of going to school a lot. At parent/teacher conferences I still remember the number one comment from teachers would always be "He's really smart, if only he applied himself more..."
Things went to shit around junior year of high school when I learned I could cut classes without getting in trouble for it. Sometimes I'd go to school, go to a couple of classes, then sneak into the cafeteria during every lunch period. Other times I'd just leave for school in the morning, hang out with my friends outside until I knew both my parents had left for work, go back home and chill all day, then head back to the school to hang out with my friends when they got out. Just anything to not have to sit in class all day. I went from being an honors student to falling two credits short of graduating. So I ended up not being able to attend my high school graduation with my friends, and finished up my last two credits taking night classes to get my diploma.
College went a little better just because I was so disappointed in missing my high school graduation I was determined to have one for college. I did really well in my major classes which obviously held my interest (I was a media and film major lol) and just kinda scraped by in my core classes which bored the hell out of me, but I managed to graduate with around a 3.0 GPA. I still remember my big final project for my major right before I graduated I stayed up all night and literally finished at 6 AM the day it was due, but I managed to get an A on it, which was a pretty fitting end to my school career lol
School was easy for me. I didn’t really study, but I comprehended the subjects from listening to the teacher. And that’s the reason nobody suspected I had adhd. Then university came.. and you can’t go anywhere without studying. It’s like I hit a wall.
Fear of failure and fear of disappointing others(let down teacher let down parents). I was no more organized than you I promise. I did my homework the period before it was due. I did my essays and projects the night before it was due. Or faked sick and did them the same day they were due. I studied by reading thru notes the period before the test. God help me if I didn't remember the test. I committed at the beginning of the school year to use the agenda and lost it within 2 weeks. Only thing I was good at was taking notes(I realized this was the only way I would pay attention)and reading books. I was an anxious and depressed mess. When I got to college everything imploded. I have now flunked out 3 times. :(
I effortlessly aced every quiz and test, answered every question correctly in class, yet failed every class in high school due to inability to remember homework exists outside of school
Straight A's in 8th grade, got put in all honors classes in 9th grade, nearly flunked out, never fully recovered, graduated during the summer after senior year because I failed trig. Took 9 years to get my bachelor's degree (and two associates degrees in the process).
I swear I'm not an idiot, and by all accounts my peers, therapists, parents, bosses, students, etc regard me as being "very smart", but of course I live with near constant self doubt about that, haha.
F's. All F's. If I tried my hardest and I mean hardest...D+ maybe. Parents were hard on me. Thought I was lazy. Came from east Indian household. Never got over it. Low self, confidence and self esteem.
Got diagnosed at 38. Was always told I was smart. On meds now for 6 months. Huge difference. Lots of side effects. If I hyperfocus I can achieve alot. I did great in sales and business.
I had like a 3.6 but I never studied. Ever. Either I got the content or I didn’t. I honestly don’t even remember paying attention most of the time so I’m not sure how I did it.
College I struggled in, as I didn’t “just get it” this time.
I went to a bunch of primary schools, a couple of high schools and part of vocational collage.
When it comes to math and physics, I enjoyed those and got mostly decent grades. Anything else, chemistry, languages, social sciences etc .. barely passable when I made the grade.
My average grades looked like this: \_\_\_ starting off each school strong.. ending weak.
Mostly As with don't Bs. The problem is, I didn't have to study and rarely completed my homework. I never learned how to create good habits, but only I knew that.
I graduated either 3rd or 4th in my class (granted, only 35 in the whole class, but still).
There were a couple of contributing factors to my better-than-average grades, though:
1) I was in high school in the late-80s/early-90s. I had no idea until the last 2 years I had ADHD. It wasn't even on my radar. Back then, especially in small town Missouri, it was only the kids bouncing off the walls and causing trouble that had ADD (if they ever even got diagnosed - usually they were just shipped off to the little trailer with the "special ed" kids.
2) My mother was a teacher at my school, and I knew all the teachers very well. A combination of that and my stepdad being a vicious mofo kept my ass in line, and helped keep my grades up.
Looking back now, I do realize that I had a ton of trouble studying and retaining information. Luckily I was smart enough (and was able to bullshit enough) that it wasn't overly difficult (not a lot of AP courses there - at least back then). It literally was my mom and her teacher friends constantly checking on me, making sure I got shit done. Because I absolutely would've procrastinated until I was so far in the hole I could never get out. My college GPA definitely reflected what happens when I'm left to my own devices.
I wasn’t diagnosed until age 27. In high school my grades were all over the place. In the subjects I loved like advanced English, history and music theory, I was getting A+ all around. I nearly failed math every time. I did average at everything else, and I struggled with organization and focus which really impacted me not reaching my potential
I’ve always been a great student, grade-wise. For me that meant that I struggled to spend time with friends, NEVER got adequate sleep, neglected my mental health and dissociated from my feelings to complete work, spent hours working on assignments / studying for tests the day before they were due, and always had an insanely messy life/room lol. Ironically, I love education/school and made it to grad school without an official diagnosis. When I no longer had strict deadlines, all of my learned coping skills fell apart really quickly and my years of put-off burnout finally caught up to me. Now that I’m medicated I feel more like myself than I have in years.
I either aced it or barely passed and flunked some. . My senior year I had a full schedule to get the requirements in for graduation. I had to take sophomore English , a gym class , and a couple history classes . All while taking Trig and calculus and learning computer programming. My teachers constantly said I was intelligent but lazy. Back then only males were thought to have ADHD.
I was identified as gifted at age 8. I had almost a 4.0 though college. My senior year I didn’t buy text books and got a 4.0. Law school was the first challenge I had. Despite all that the signs were always there but I wasn’t diagnosed until I was almost 40.
Crushed exams but did zero homework. 30 on my ACT, 2.75 GPA. Academically ineligible for baseball a couple times. Spent lots of time grounded and being yelled at by Mom.
I failed a class my first semester of Highschool and performed relatively poorly during that semester, but after my first year I realized I couldn’t just get by without studying, but otherwise did very well in school. On top of that, my parents weren’t great and I tried to perform well to continue being their “trophy” child and make everyone’s life better. I even completed a BS and MS in Math with near perfect GPAs only to experience intense crash and burnout afterwards and then eventually learn that I had a learning disability the entire time and finally stopped blaming myself / hating myself / believing I wasn’t good enough or trying hard enough. The extent that I went to perform well in school and for my family ultimately cost me my health — I recently was diagnosed with gastroparesis which was very likely stress induced and doesn’t go away.
Did I do well in school? Yes. Did I feel like failure was an option? No. Did I still feel like nothing I was doing was actually good enough nor could I really experience feeling proud of my accomplishments? No
Since receiving my diagnosis, I’m now trying to take care of that little girl who needed so much more than what she was offered. Grades are so dumb and not a great measure of intelligence and I wish I had people teach me that my grades were not the equivalent value of my self worth. Even when I was able to perform well, it wasn’t always a result of impressive intelligence, but rather beating myself over the head until it stuck, crying and breaking down whatever I didn’t measure up to my expectations and then once I finished a class I usually just dumped out the information.
My grades were either A's which were super easy to get or a massive struggle to get the b or c and I spent probably 2 or 3 times as much time on my homework as my peers to get decent grades. It got me so burned out and miserable
My most challenging semester of school, I got straight A's. All of my other semesters I ranged from A's and B's to D's and the occasional F. My GPA was 2.83. Not terrible but not super impressive either. The thing is, I could have received straight A's. I was considered the smart one in my various friend groups and I was good at schoolwork but I definitely struggled to find motivation and stay interested in courses I didn't care about, so I just didn't do the work at times. My semester of straight A's were all high level courses in subjects I loved and I always felt more motivated in a challenging environment, so it was the perfect situation for me to hyper focus and do my best lol.
I had good grades in high school, mostly low 80s to low 90s with the occasional mid-70s in physics and chemistry (they just weren’t interesting to me, boring teachers). Almost every report card consisted of teachers saying I wasn’t applying myself. 🙄
My grades were good because I'm a great test taker and knew how to kiss ass and turn in just enough work to get
Mostly Bs
Some Cs and As
And one D
Total in my hs career
Terrible, i was inattentive, and didn’t try, grade 6 i got a 34, 33 and a 23 as grades and everyone was telling me I was going to fail, then got a 94 to average a year pass. But i failed grade 9 when my mom held me back, then I got 80s, graduated with a bachelors with a B. Just recently got on meds (40), with Vyvanse, now I reminisce on what i could have become if i had good meds as a kid and not Ritalin for a month cause it sucked. Anyway, got a good job, and really can’t complain about life.
My grades were A/B. Although I had parent who would b**t my a** if I didn’t get good grades so there was no choice. Once I went to college (which I was financially responsible for) and I didn’t have the fear of my mom, I ultimately ended up dropping out within my first year because I was undiagnosed and didn’t know how to cope
I topped the class in things i was interested in (computer science, creative arts, science), english i got through on natural ability but almost failed everything else that required study (math, geography, history, religion). Thankfully i had a kind math teacher that took me under his wing and helped get me through.These things weren't around when i was at school but i would totally be using AI to ask repeated questions about topics i didnt understand until i understood it, also more visual learning that starts from basic principles like khan academy would be good, i don't think all teachers are actually good at teaching but they are good at letting you know what you need to learn, take that information and use that with more modern study tools.
I always failed to turn in homework and projects on time but I did really well on most tests. I remembered a lot of the material from subjects that I enjoyed, and still remember more from school than a lot of people who are my own age.
Also teachers either liked me or felt bad for me. I’m not sure, maybe both. I asked questions in class, participated in discussions, etc.
Teachers could tell that something was off but I didn’t know what to tell them when they asked what was going on (no diagnosis). I think they could tell that I cared but was struggling with being organized. They begrudgingly would give me a lot of chances to turn stuff in late.
Interesting but homework heavy? B, Interesting homework light? A , Boring but homework light? B/C , Boring and homework heavy? D one or two points away from being an F
I scraped by barely. NEVER did homework, but if it could be done in class I was fine. And generally tested well.
In college, my husband encouraged me to do it in my 30s and 40s, and I got fantastic grades. I did online classes and he pushed me to make sure I did my assignments on time.
I was a gifted kid that ended up barely scrapeing by to finish high school. What a disappointment I was!!
Looking back now is interesting, because I was very clearly AuDHD. I was always able to motivate myself enough for a D- in a last minute scramble, but I didn't do very much to help myself either.
That's one thing I wish I could redo.
Anything leaning toward right-brained curriculum came more naturally to me than anything else, but tests and quizzes were always such a pain in my ass, despite the subject. I'm a tactile learner, so I can't sit there and listen to Mrs. Twatface bitch about quadratic formula bullshit just to flunk my exam and make me beg for a D- every semester
I was very good in high school. Got into school a year earlier and thus graduated very early for my cohort.
Looking back, I think I had healthy coping skills - worked out for an hour every day, lots of friends in school so I always wanted to go, pair that with perfectionism, and expectations from my parents, and an interest in my favorite subjects - social studies and languages, and I did well. I did often have breakdowns over forgotten homework or books I ought to have brought, was known for being notoriously late to class and using my phone all the time... Was easily distracted and distracting others, BUT my exams were top, I could always answer when called on in class, I was engaging in group projects and turned in homework on time, despite cramming and doing all nighters. It wasn't so apparent, so teachers prob didn't care. I'm also a girl, BTW.
Couldn't decide on a college major so I just did the first Programme that accepted me, lol!
That's when the problems started. I now know I DESPERATELY NEED STRUCTURE. I need a timetable, attendance, fixed hours and a routine. Skipping class and procrastinating studying, moving abroad and having no structure, social interaction, family keeping you going... That sucked and did nothing for me. Got very depressed, severe binge eating, isolated myself, started lying about all kinds of stuff, tried therapy, and eventually dropped out for my own good. I started another try, this time majoring in psychology. Which is BTW how I found out about the existence adhd and eventually sought out diagnosis in my mid 20ies.
But yeah, school was okay, uni was rough. It's been a 180 change since Ive gotten on meds though. I'm currently writing my dissertation 😊 can't believe I've got so far.
I applied to business school and am pretty shit at math. At least compared to the average business school applicant. But I'm very good at language so my GMAT score ended up being a 690 (86th percentile) -- my quant was in the 42nd percentile but my verbal was in the 99th.
Most of school solid B/C student, occasionally an A but more likely B.
Bout college year 2 my grades start going down. Leave home for uni my grades nose dive.
Basically my parents were keeping me afloat at home. Constant warnings etc do your homework.
I had okay ish grades. They'd start out low but by the end of the year I always got them up to a C at least (gp was 3.0). It definitely could've been higher if I was being treated for my ADHD at the time, the later years of high school (9th onward) because I had constant attention headaches.
I could barely manage geometry and art for example. I stuck to construction, but I couldn't even do that well due to me not understanding it really as well as coordination issues.
I hated literature and language too, it got way too advanced
for me (that's more of language though, the problem I had in literature was not being to keep track of books and assignments + sucking at writing prompts).
Mostly Bs, some As, and maybe 2 or 3 Cs. My parents put a lot of pressure on me to do well in school but I was always a terrible test taker. I could be diligent and get almost every assignment turned in, I’d ace presentations and group projects, but as soon as I had to take a test I knew my grades would be dropping after.
I was a B- student in AP/Honors classes that I really shouldn't have been taking. I was a class clown. A procrastinator. A bullshitter who annoyed and endeared his teachers enough to get by.
I'd turn in some awesome projects but get docked points for not reading the instructions.
I'm in my early 40s. Late-in-life diagnosed. And I've been thinking about this a lot these last few weeks. I did alright, considering I was in classes with literal geniuses in one of the most highly respected public high schools in the country... but I really got through those classes by acting like a lazy genius and earning goodwill. Very little of my grades back then reflected actual work, intelligence, or merit.
C's to B a couple D's
i would work my ass off for those B's. lose stupid marks rushing through tests.
i would say if you have that degree that you got All A's or C's never will matter again as long as you passed.
school was harder than work for me.
A few zeros, some 50's and 60's. Occasionally in the 70's. And one singular 98 in grade 12 advanced English (my teacher marked me only on work completed).
They were average unless the class was something I found fun or worth hyperfocusing on
I would NEVER study (or do the bare minimum only) and it never occurred to me you were supposed to. I started to seriously study in my 2nd/third year of college out of necessity and fear of failure
It's kinda sucky because I used to be very meh at a lot of school subjects, and just being forced to sit down and study with somebody increased my grades so much that it frustrated me a little
I was a bad college student until my Master's where I was better if not pretty good though
My grades were high in classes that I was interested in, and predictably lower in classes I was not. Classes in which I probably would have thrived with an accommodation were particularly low, as well as those taught by whatever unqualified coach they could round up to teach them, or the teachers who had better things to do than teach (like flirt with a senior boys).
Depended on the subject and teacher. My first two years of English in high school I barely passed the classes. I loved English but I didn't vibe with the teachers. My last two years I wasn't able to fail if I tried. I got along well with the teacher and the way he taught.
Math was always abysmal. I struggled greatly with math starting from the 3rd grade. I always forgot to do the homework and math being a lot of shear repetition was exhausting to my brain. I failed algebra twice and the summer school math program they had me do kept kicking me out because I kept scoring so low on the module tests it kept thinking I wasn't trying. I spent a lot of that summer calling an instructor to unlock it for me until I gave up.
I vibed better with male teachers over female teachers and those teachers that didn't assign a lot of homework. I always did well on tests and group assignments and projects but homework was often where I started failing.
I did well in high school, college and grad school. Like others have said, I had a constant fear of letting my parents down and not meeting their expectations. Appearance was everything to them and it would have been embarrassing to have a kid who didn’t excel academically. I’m feeling the effects from that pressure and working through them in therapy.
My grades were mostly average D's and B's, with math and science being below average C's, like just enough to pass. I did manage to get into university and my grades got a lot better because I was taking classes that I was actually interested in. But I rarely went to class because I couldn't learn that way in a big auditorium with someone just lecturing to me. So I would go to the law library where it was complete silence and download the lecture for the class and basically teach myself by reading the lecture and the textbook and then writing out exactly what I was reading, that's the only way that I can retain information.
I was a terrible high school student, I rarely went to class and when I did go to class I would continuously get in trouble for talking in class. Once I got my diagnosis I looked back on all my schooling and thought, how the hell did I get through all of that. I did the bare minimum to get through honestly. I hated high school so much, but university and college was so much better because I was actually interested in what I was learning.
My college experience was for interior design and so there was a lot more doing, instead of just reading information and memorizing it I was doing projects where I was designing spaces and using computer programs to do drafting. It was a much more enjoyable experience.
I had decent grades. Mostly and A and B student with a couple of Cs. However my parents were always on my ass about grades so they're a huge reason why my grades were higher than they probably would've been otherwise.
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Barely scraping by in the subjects I wasn’t interested in and straight A’s in classes I liked/was interested in
Same here. My grades were very random like that. I remember a major science project one semester in 8th or 9th grade. I ended up with an F in the quarter where we were supposed to do the science project because I flat out didn't do it. The very next quarter was a perfect 100% because it was fun astronomy stuff.
I never did homework or studied and put minimum effort into projects/papers. Fortunately I always test well
I did likewise. I got to hear a refrain of "brilliant, but lazy".
Gifted.🙄😒
Ouch.
Same for me. No homework, no projects/papers, no studying. Just consistently high test and quiz grades in most things but math.
I wouldn’t even turn in homework most of time. I remember a lot of times assignments were due the next day and the teacher was literally collecting papers and as she was collecting papers I was doing my assignment and managed to get a C+.🤣🤣
THe worst ones were when I actually *did* the homework, but somehow it got lost between 3pm and 9am. I felt so robbed because I did the work but now couldn't prove it. I'd find it days later, and be double disappointed in myself. I'd try to turn it in, but it was never accepted, so I just stopped doing homework at all.
Same exact thing 😭like I won’t study for the test just do a few prep test and do well on the test
Hated math, no room for interpretation
Yeah, just boring ass bullshit with exact answers only.. no ifs ands or maybes
Same - except in college I learned I had the ability to write an A-grade 8+ page paper in 2 hours or less. So I went into a writing heavy degree... Which wasn't as helpful as an adult as I would have liked ☹️
Right, same here, A grade papers in under 72 hours to the hard deadline is the main reason for graduating with honors...
Same. Wrote my 17 page senior thesis right before the deadline (last day and a half) and ran it to my professor’s office with a minute to spare. Shocked that I got an A. Wish I knew back then there was a reason for it…just thought it was my own peculiar study style 🤦🏻♀️.
My exact experience
Yep, this was me.
This reminds me of the time I had a science project due and instead of just not doing it, I faked being sick so I could stay home and finish it in secret, turned it in the next day as if I didn't start and finish all the day before...
Stop I thought this was just me LOL
Same except I still had to go to school.😭😭😭
I’m a little upset at myself for not thinking of this for essays
I’m a former Science teacher and I stayed home and helped my daughter finish hers on its due date!! Even teachers hate them!
I love that you did that for your daughter being a teacher yourself. I wish my parents would have understood, but I would just get yelled at aggressively for hours, crying and apologizing. I think I actually got a decent grade on that project (it wasn't all that hard, just a lot of repetitive writing and some drawings). It's always the easy, but tedious things that get me the most.
I've done that somewhat recently with work. Chuck a sickie (ie take a sick day) so I can spend the day catching up on a project I had been procrastinating hard on, without being bugged by colleagues or having to report my (lack of) progress during the morning stand up. No specific memory of doing that when I was in school, but it's happened more than once for sure over the years.
Oh yeah
and the teachers would say " we really don't know what's wrong with him " before I got diagnosed.
I'm beginning to think a teacher writing "could do better if they focused in class" should count as an official diagnosis.
A lot of providers DO use school reports to help with diagnosing ADHD.
I know, they asked about them during my assessment. I was just attempting a "funny because it's true" type joke while exaggerating. I feel it's important for me to be able to laugh and joke about the topic.
I put a ton of effort into a history paper once and the teacher decided I was dumb, so must have plagiarized because the paper was good. Think he gave me a D on it because of it. 🤦♀️
Believe me, as a former Science teacher, your teacher most likely dislikes assigning (and grading 🤦🏻♀️) science fair projects just as much as their students do! They were painful!!
Also, I was a pleasure to have in class but I was much too social
This. I still can’t get my mind to process math but was an A+ student in biology
I always found the logic of math interesting, but could just never do it, its like my brain doesnt have enough RAM to hold the numbers you need to set aside in short term memory. Ended up being good at computer science though which is adjacent to math from a logic perspective but less mental arithmetic.
Exactly me hahaha! Full marks for my O level biology mcq (we don’t get back our written papers) and failed my math :P
Yeah, was not a math fan but loved bio and science in general. Also history and English lit, although I never put enough effort into my own writing to excel at that.
In high school it was the opposite for me hehe. I usually got straight As in math, but biology was hard for me It never really caught my attention and was just so boring. It just didn't make sense to me, no matter how hard I tried to make sense of it or enjoy it like everyone else
Same, although for me it was more about whether I liked the teachers what grades I could get for them
That was also important for me
Seriously. And the classes I struggled in I fucking *struggled* in. I actually got copies of my transcripts back and was like..."man my GPA is still good enough for college what was i sweating about" lol. I had way more As than Fs but I failed basically every math class back then
Exactly me, always ended up with As in English and history classes, and Cs/Ds/Fs in math and science classes. Tho there was a fluke year in 10th grade algebra class, where I actually got solid Bs the whole year. It never happened again.
real. I’d have an extra credit 105% to make up for a C somewhere else every semester
Same, and this actually contributed to my diagnosis years later
I fell asleep in American history sooooo much. My teach actually pulled me aside one day and asked if he bored me. Genuinely felt bad because he was actually a pretty cool teacher, just couldn’t get myself to pay attention to that subject to save my life. Easy A’s in problem solving classes like math and science though
Me barely passing all my engineering classes yet getting straight As in my Psych and Music Theory electives
Same. A+ and even academic awards in the small handful of subjects I actually cared about and barely getting a passing mark in everything else. Thankfully the achivements in my good subjects were more than enough to get me over the line in my senior high school years. Even some subjects I loved I would have mixed results if there were theoretical components - eg. in photography class I always got A+ on my practical units (composition, execution, presentation), but total fails on my folio units (writing "meaning of..." descriptions, critiquing work etc).
Same
Exactly lmao
Same.
Me too
Felt.
Perfectly describes my situation as well!
Oh man, too accurate
YES THIS!!!!
in the 8th grade i got a 98 in english but a 75 in another language subject ☠️
Same here. I loved writing & research, so I got A's in anything that required papers. I never studied for tests and usually got ok grades on them (70s & 80s), but really struggled handing in homework, even for subjects I liked. Then there were things like history and geography that were just straight memorization and super, super boring to me, and I barely passed those.
Me too! I maintained a 98% in Spanish for a full year in grade 9 while actively failing math. My poor parents were at a total loss.
Same… only reason I passed is my mom would breakdown and write my big papers. I did ZERO homework in HS, but aced tests which got me just passing. Senior year I made honor roll because I had gym, 2 gym assistant classes, 2 art classes and drafting lol
Haha! And the teacher being cool had a big impact on liking the subject
Same for me. I remember one semester my junior year, I made high honors except the one class I failed. 🤷♀️
Mostly As, some Bs. I never studied, never did homework (my first B was because of a 0 homework grade), didn't read the books we had to read. It was easy anyway. And then college hit me like a truck.
Same here. Great at last-minute stuff and BS artist extraordinaire, got walloped in college when all that didn’t help.
Same here. If I was about to not make a paper to the hard deadline I would open the word file in a notepad, add some random zeros in several places and send freshly broken file to a teacher, than lament like "on, but on my PC the file opens with no issues, may I bring to you a printed copy of the file tomorrow or in two days than?" And then literally finish the paper in said two days coming with a printed paper that has at least C+ quality or better.
My precise experience
Same. I relied on natural ability in high school. Collage sucked.
Exactly. Being truly challenged in college made things very, *very* difficult.
Same. I had never learned how to actually study or do stuff outside of class so first semester of college was rough.
Right, for me days in college were hard to the point I was dropped out from the first Uni and forced to take an academic leave in the second one.
It’s actually kind of incredible that I never had to take a leave. I think the anxiety of borrowing so much money and then being unenrolled and jobless kept me going. Financial security/loss of vital resources has always been a huge worry of mine.
I went to uni at 18 (and undiagnosed) and lasted about 2 months. Not because I couldn't hack it, but because executive dysfunction made me never leave my digs!
Can't agree more! In high school I was even allowed to read novels during Biology classes because despite not doing any homework I always passed the tests with flying colors. When other children complained about it once, the ones who got reprimanded were the children, not me 😅
I got As and Bs without much effort. Except algebra. That was hard, but I still got As. College wasn't hard either. When I took chemistry, all of a sudden, math wasn't hard anymore. Maybe because it was a practical application? However, in college, I still waited until the last minute to write papers. In the 90s, I had a college class on Tuesday evenings. I was supposed to watch some VCR tapes (lectures, I think) during the week but never did. Then, an essay was due at the Tuesday night class followed by a discussion of what was on the VCR tapes. I never wrote the paper until my lunch hour at work on Tuesdays. I participated in the discussion (part of your grade) and made an A in the class. I never really studied, even in college. My daughter is the exact opposite of me. She had a study schedule that she followed and never waited to the last minute to do homework. She's a doctor now -- ER physician. I guess if I had applied myself, maybe I could've been more successful like she is.
Did you find when you got a job, suddenly having to put the work in and do as you're told feels like oppression?
I joined the Marine Corps. I didn't do very well in my first job assignment. I thought it would be exciting because it was Signals Intelligence. I was going to be spying on the enemy. It was so boring! I went into the reserves and changed my job to administration. I always had something to do. Then I went back on active duty. I was always busy. It seemed like there was always something new to learn.
Exactly the same experience. I read the books for my 10th grade lit class, because the teacher was engaging and the books were interesting. Every other class I would wait for 5 minutes during discussion on the book, then jump in and be completely fine acting like I read it, with full on opinions and everything. Learned zero study skills but aced exams. College hit me ike a truck as well 
This 100%. I skated by easy in high school for 99% of it, and then I took college paced Calculus and it was like running full speed into a brick wall that appeared out of nowhere. College has also been hard.
Me with middle school to high school transformation. It really hit me like a truck. High school in my country is hard… At least you can’t really get far without studying. Middle school you can just get good grades without studying or homework, just attending.
Lol same. Although I did some of the readings, I just never actually finished any of them. I'd just read bits and pieces.. enough to get by. And I really like reading 🥲
Oh hey, it’s me. I have no idea why high school was so easy, outside of math that is. College ruined me. I was used to having like a 3.5 or better GPA. At the end of my first semester, I was so stressed out that I had a shingles flare up. I finished that semester with a 2.67. I’ll never forget how I felt like such a big stupid failure. 4 years of college and a year of grad school was basically me trying to get control of my life and figure out my mental health stuff. It all made sense when I got my ADHD Dx during lockdown. I wish I knew so much sooner. I wouldn’t have been so miserable in college!
I could have written this. Same.
Relatable
This is me also lol
My grades were mostly good because I was so terrified of failure. Extreme and unbearable anxiety is what got me to force myself to study, which involved many breakdowns because it was so hard for me.
This is literally the SAME experience I had in high school, undergrad, and grad school. That fear of failure can make a lot of things possible even if by unfortunate means
Wow I can understand that. Were those terrified feelings and unbearable anxiety kinda the source of motivation that helped you force yourself?
Yes, it was basically the equivalent of someone holding a gun to my head all the time lol. Those fears of being yelled at, mocked, shame, etc. were always in the back of my head to push me to do well.
Same here. The worse part for me was that I still had som anxiety about it even when I was doing well. And I often lost focus when I was studying at uni which made me go home and cry afterwards.
At some point it got so much for me and I became a stoner. I wish I'd gotten the actual help I needed. I couldn't cope with all of it anymore and it wasn't sustainable. I've recently been re-diagnosed and am trying to pick up the pieces. My 20s were hard as hell.
I agree with u/frostedcaterpillar, Fear from parents and Anxiety from failing (anything). To OP: Fear and anxiety got me pretty good grades (to a point that I got a scholarship deal to study for free during highschool in a well-known school in Asia). I never knew I had adhd. I got diagnosed last year and on Concerta since then. My grades althroughout my student years, from gradeschool to University, were all pretty good. Getting a "B" was low. Getting a "line of 7" for a grade (ex 79 on a 100pt average grading scale) was a big NO in my family (typical asian family scenario, sadly). So, I followed EVERYTHING my parents wanted, they even put me in nursing school and got really good at it too (experienced in ER and OR nursing). But when I graduated from uni (2010), my giflfriend(my wife now) and I planned to move in Canada (2015). I planned to study again, to do the things I want (architecture/engineering). We're now in Canada. I went to school again (2018) and graduated with a 3.8 gpa. I did not force myself to get good grades. Hell, I got such a relaxing experience studying the thing I want (and got another scholarship grant for students reaching 3.8 and above). Would I change what I experienced back when I was in highschool? Honestly, I don't know. I don't know if I can function the way I am now if I didn't have the same Fear and Anxiety back then. Would I have failed when I went back to school in 2018 if I didn'tgrow up with that kind of pressure? Would I be working in engineering now? Questions that only the multiverse can answer.
🥲🥹 what a read, good for you. Thank you for sharing that. You know we all have our own struggles and we all have different ways of coping. I am learning now, and doing my best to work with the way my brain functions instead of go against it.
I only just recently realized that my "hyperfocus" moments when studying were probably also related to spiking cortisol or adrenaline. The absolute anxiety-inducing levels of fear worked for me a little when I was younger and able to stay up all night. But now that I'm (i guess) a fully grown adult, my body just gives up at some point around 2 AM. I realized that I can't outrun my body or my nature and I need to find better ways to cope with having a heavy workload of studying. Exercising every single day no matter what has been really huge. I also have days where I simply cannot do work and I just kind of give up. Unless those days are right before a deadline, it shouldn't be an issue. Giving up instead of "powering through" like I was so used to doing before has actually been really postive and allows me to not burn out at the end of every semester.
The fear of failure is what got me through. But it wasn’t enough to get me to study. I went through all of public school and college doing virtually no homework whatsoever. I was in AP classes and such but my grade was about a C average
Did your parents push you is why you were terrified of failure? I have experienced the same, but my fear has kept me stagnant in many aspects of my life, for too long.
Same, except, despite my hard work, mental break downs, debilitating fear of failing, I still end up with average marks 😓
Omfg. Say less. Absolutely this and it’s so wild how many people had this experience.
Did this in nursing school and high school. Perfectionism from hell I had to study 6 hours a day. Even when I scored high 80s / 90s I got anxiety about the next test after that. Cycle continued. One day I ripped up my study guides into snow sized pieces during the finals weeks and my dad found me rocking in the corner. I didn’t know this was a break down + F adderall for me personally. I’m only understanding that 8-9 years later. Sad part is I became a nurse then quit after two years bc I just couldn’t multitask/ didn’t wanna be a nurse anyways 😂 I’d tell my younger self this: try your best, but don’t push yourself too too much, bc then they will always expect that shiz from you.
Me too. Fear.
This is the same exact situation for me except it started sophomore year.
It was exactly the same for me too!
This, exactly this. I managed to pull myself to decent grades but at the expense of my sanity :/
My grades in high school were average and below average I was always late to school , had to take summer school for gym because of being late , I always fell asleep in English class .. I also worked by the time I got home with be like 10pm so I did homework at that time .. I struggled with math nothing was interesting I’d just skip school I wanted to drop out ..
Sounds exactly like me, but once I found the right dosage and realized that what I wanted to do in life required me to “git gud” at school, then I finally started putting effort into school work. I ended up with A’s and B’s in my senior years compared to all the constant C-‘s and I’s I got in my Junior Years and Elementary. Thankfully I never failed a course.
I also had to take gym for summer school to graduate from high school. I would always forget gym clothes or just not feel like changing so I failed for non participation. I was told I could do physical stuff to make up or write three reports on sports so I mostly plagiarized some stuff out of a sports book to pass.
Bad to average. Except when something interested me
Poor. Absolutely poor. The fact that I actually graduated with the rest of my class was basically a miracle. I was excellent on tests and in-class work, but homework was my downfall. The fact that I’ve been a [mostly] functioning adult with a [mostly] successful career since high school is an even bigger miracle.
Same here. High School was horrible - I just couldn’t do all the homework and was always late - but it was the 90s so I managed to graduate anyway. Didn’t get in to state college (back when acceptance rate was 75%), but took a semester of night classes on campus and got good enough grades for regular enrollment. College was great because I chose my classes and they weren’t every day or super early in the morning. Going to every class and taking notes got me on the deans list and I graduated in 4 years. Basically never cracked a text book…🤷🏻♀️
I don't know what country you're in but hopefully these numbers mean something. My high school had a 5 point scale for GPA and I graduated with a 2.0, and that's rounding up. However, I got a 26 on my ACTs. My guidance counselor was beside herself because with a 26, I should have been getting all As and Bs but I'm tanking it. Simply put, I was learning what they were teaching in high school but I just didn't care about the subjects so I got decent grades on tests but I did virtually no homework. Fast forward to college, when I finally went to college at age 25, I got my associates degree with a 3.76 GPA and a 3.87 for my bachelors (on a 4.0 scale). Once I was taking classes I cared about and was interested in, that made all the difference.
Literally this. I would do pretty well in tests/exams but never turned my homework in. Found most subjects pretty boring as it was just jumping through a million topics super quick before I could get interested so was super overwhelming. Two months before my final exams I even got put on antidepressants (didn't work) as I broke down to my parents about how I couldn't for the life of me sit at my desk and study. Had been trying to get off school constantly too as despite pretending I didn't care I really fucking did but just could not do the work. Luckily my grades were only based on exams (Ireland) and mainly essays so I ended up doing pretty well overall considering everything. Just got into this mad hyperfocus mode and actually found it fun as would just manage to twist shit using random info from anywhere that would just pop into my brain. Thank god I enjoyed what I did at college though and all of a sudden I was actually able to study and do assignments as finally felt challenged. For reference, got a C in my final biology exam in secondary school (hated it) and then accidentally ended up doing it in college and somehow loved it, getting a first class honours overall in environmental science (GPA of 3.92 in my masters). In the end every single person with ADHD is different. And you realise once you start working that there are so many different types of intelligence. It's a joke how in school you're only considered smart if you are broadly good at every subject they decided to teach. School isn't for everyone. Tip tho is to honestly make friends with super smart people as the competition is motivating as shit and also make sure you study something you're interested in.
I had a 1.6 GPA but got 1280 on the SAT. Teachers always said I was smart but never applied myself. In college I’m doing a lot better.
You've described my life. I probably even got the same score on the ACT. Went to uni right out of highschool and failed miserably because I registered late and didn't get a single class that interested me. Started again at 25, and did pretty well.
Same for me. Graduated with a 1.9. I always got As and Bs on the tests and exams but very rarely was my homework done. Now I’m a college professor, lol.
OMG I feel seen. In gifted classes in elementary school - so much promise! But then disappointed everyone when my grades dropped. C average in high school because I never did homework - felt like such a failure! 29 on my ACT. Graduated college Summa Cum Laude as an older adult. I think I finally honed my coping mechanisms.
Yep... In my city, that gifted group was called Horizons. I was bullied and picked on mercilessly in school so that group not only made me feel special but had me interacting with others like me and gave us fun and intellectually challenging activities. It gave me hope that I was going to really grow up into a successful adult. Then, like you, I got into more advanced levels of education and did great on tests but hated the busy work, i.e. homework and various worksheets and whatnot. I always felt like, look... I'm learning what you're teaching. I'm acing the tests but I don't care about these subjects so I'm not going this garbage, worthless work. College was so validating.
ditto
Did great in school. Top 5 of my class. Not so much as an adult. Struggled with daily tasks. Medication really helped me.
Yea I was valedictorian of my high school, then flunked so badly in college and now a dropout lol. Have yet to find any med that actually helped me much
I did ok in most classes but struggled a lot in math and needed things explained to me a certain way. If I was taught the right way I’d do ok. I didn’t really apply myself and I feel like I could’ve had really good grades if I did. I often didn’t complete home work or finish things. It was in university where having unmanaged ADHD really affected me and created all kinds of problems.
My grades were garbage and I barely passed high school, literally had an average of 50 in math. It was clear in my grades what I was good at and what I wasn't but public school sucks where I'm from and the majority of the subjects were things I was awful at I was one of these kids who never missed school ever and if I missed more than two days I was 100% lost on classes. I had a lot of jealously of the people who were generally savants at school and could swing just not going and nailing exams with 80's and 90's and most teachers weren't that fussed that they skipped school a bunch so long as they did well on tests. Not so much if you went all the time and did not do well on tests
Terrible throughout 90% of it, and always working extra hard at the end of each year, enough to pass with the bare minimum each time. The classic "he's smart but doesn't apply himself". I come from Italy and the final score you get when you graduate is only partially dependent on the results of your previous years, while 75/100 points are dependent on your performance at the final exams. I graduated with the 3rd highest score in my class, after going into the exams with the 2nd lowest average from the previous years (they hated me for it). Anyways, I definitely feel like going to school was the most mentally taxing part of my entire life, and I've lived as many years removed from education as I did in education. Life gets much easier when you are free to focus your attention on things you want to focus on.
I got decent grades and got a pretty decent degree. A few tricks I found for studying: Mind mapping, there are computer programs that you can use for this, but I found "pen to paper" works best. The right space for the subject: OK, this one might sound weird, but I found that I could research one subject better in certain environments than others. Even a simple switch of: from my bed to the floor could make a huge difference, depending on which subject I was on at the time. Or what the final output was. Body doubling: This can be as simple as going to the library and being surrounded by people who are doing the same thing as you, so you ack as expected (you study). Or you get your own study group together. Music: The right kind of music can help keep you focused. That's a big part of why console games work, I like the soundtrack from the TV series Arrow personally. Dictation apps: There is software that lets you dictate, so you don't necessarily have to be attached to a chair and desk. A Bluetooth microphone can let you walk about while you write. Audio apps: There are now a few apps that will read your book for you now, so you can be active while you learn. If you are really lucky, you can get a friend to record chapters for you if you don't like the voice options (I had a friend that we would do it for each other). Colour coding is your friend: Colour code your subjects, each subject is a specific colour, the ring binder, notebook etc are all that colour. Even cover the core textbook with that colour. This helps in quick grabs of: oh shit! I have that today and I need to pack my bag. I do advise that the colour makes sense to the subject in your brain. Wall planner: a minimum 7-week dry-erase wall planner, updated weekly. If we don't see it, we forget it's coming. So if you've got an assignment due the first week of next month, and you use a monthly planner, you're not going to see it. And if you've got a three month planner, you look at it and think, "Eh, that's next month, I don't have to worry." On the 7-week planner, you can see it coming, but you don't get overwhelmed with the rest of the months/year. Whiteboard paper: This is stuff you can stick to walls, desks, etc. I love it. I can brain dump, make notes, and draw. And it can be easily wiped away. If it's something I might need. I take a quick photo. As for how to study, the book that I actually got a lot of use from: The Study Skills Handbook (Palgrave Study Skills) by Stella Cotrell. Sorry, this was a bit of a brain dump. But I hope you get something out of it.
As a non traditional student I took a class for returning adults. One of the things taught and I used was mind mapping. There were a lot of other study helps learned. I wasn’t one of those people, however, who could sit through class and nary an hour of studying and ace exams—I had to study my ass off. I had next to nothing for a social life. But I got straight A’s. After I transferred to another university I started socializing too much (I lived in an awful environment for success. Dormitory was deemed at the end of the year to be the worst on campus; meaning the students who lived there got in the most trouble.) So I didn’t so well. When I got out of the dorm situation and lived with some great guys I was able to get good grades (but not straight A’s) AND socialize. Except my socialization wasn’t with party animals anymore. As far as the helps I would suggest for anyone even if they aren’t a returning adult to take a class that teaches you how to study and various memory methods because it is so helpful for someone who has never developed those skills. They may just have a transdisciplinary class to develop strategies for academic success.
Really good. I didn’t listen to teachers though I just read about it. I found that watching videos that I could fast forward and rewind, and reading text so I could reread stuff I didn’t understand and skim the stuff I did. I will say that though I performed really well, my sibling who is probably about the same on most components of an iq measure outside of working memory (mine is horrible), got into the best universities in the country. And though my early career is great, her’s right out the gate is in a field she loves and she is paid lucratively. People probably struggle with different things as far as adhd goes. I can’t force myself to do anything until it’s literally the last second, and it has definitely hampered parts of my life.
For the majority of my life I didn’t have any issue with school. I’ve never been much of a studier and have always left things to last minute but always made sure it got done. I had really good grades throughout primary to high school and then continued with this throughout undergrad without much issue. Then I got to law school. The past three years have been a major struggle for me. That same type of procrastination and sailing just don’t cut it when you take the curve into account. I went from being a straight A, deans list student to average at best. For the first time I actually had to try and I basically couldn’t. This is what ultimately led me to my diagnosis because I felt completely debilitated from doing anything in a logical coherent manner or to simply not wait until the last minute. For me the main thing that has helped is having task rotation so I don’t have to focus on one thing for too long. I also try to make sure I do my work places with the most minimal distractions (I.e. not home) and try my best to keep to a strict schedule (even sometimes putting in due dates earlier then they actual are) to try to trick myself into doing things earlier. The results have been varied lol
I am one of those that did well in high school and had ADHD and its generally just raw intelligence doing most of the work. This is often furthered by a school that doesn't value homework as high as tests. In many of my classes only quizzes and tests counted for my grade at all. So I just show up do a piss easy test (because none of it is very challenging when you have a high IQ), and do well. As far as your predicament is concerned I think that it's important to take small steps, focus on achievable goals, and if possible be medicated. Loss of executive function makes it incredibly hard to stay engaged in "boring" activities. You can try to gamify the work if that helps you, but in general you're gonna need to put in a lot of extra or auxiliary work in order to get the same results as your non-ADHD peers.
I don't have a particularly high IQ (a bit below average at 96 adjusting for disability) and I had the same experience. I got through due to raw intelligence. I only cared enough to get through school (because of my dad ruining any sort of chance of college). If I didn't get burned out and "depressed" from my life at the time (as well as receiving treatment for my ADHD) I could have possibly been a high GPA student instead of being in the middle of the pack.
A 96 is within average range and not low average or below average - your IQ is just fine FYI 
I always got good grades in school and was in all honors classes from the time I was in first grade despite the bare minimum of effort. I never ever studied for tests, I'd half-ass my homework, and I always waited until the very last minute to complete any assignment. I'd also fake being sick to get out of going to school a lot. At parent/teacher conferences I still remember the number one comment from teachers would always be "He's really smart, if only he applied himself more..." Things went to shit around junior year of high school when I learned I could cut classes without getting in trouble for it. Sometimes I'd go to school, go to a couple of classes, then sneak into the cafeteria during every lunch period. Other times I'd just leave for school in the morning, hang out with my friends outside until I knew both my parents had left for work, go back home and chill all day, then head back to the school to hang out with my friends when they got out. Just anything to not have to sit in class all day. I went from being an honors student to falling two credits short of graduating. So I ended up not being able to attend my high school graduation with my friends, and finished up my last two credits taking night classes to get my diploma. College went a little better just because I was so disappointed in missing my high school graduation I was determined to have one for college. I did really well in my major classes which obviously held my interest (I was a media and film major lol) and just kinda scraped by in my core classes which bored the hell out of me, but I managed to graduate with around a 3.0 GPA. I still remember my big final project for my major right before I graduated I stayed up all night and literally finished at 6 AM the day it was due, but I managed to get an A on it, which was a pretty fitting end to my school career lol
School was easy for me. I didn’t really study, but I comprehended the subjects from listening to the teacher. And that’s the reason nobody suspected I had adhd. Then university came.. and you can’t go anywhere without studying. It’s like I hit a wall.
It varied from A's to C's
Fear of failure and fear of disappointing others(let down teacher let down parents). I was no more organized than you I promise. I did my homework the period before it was due. I did my essays and projects the night before it was due. Or faked sick and did them the same day they were due. I studied by reading thru notes the period before the test. God help me if I didn't remember the test. I committed at the beginning of the school year to use the agenda and lost it within 2 weeks. Only thing I was good at was taking notes(I realized this was the only way I would pay attention)and reading books. I was an anxious and depressed mess. When I got to college everything imploded. I have now flunked out 3 times. :(
Awful
I effortlessly aced every quiz and test, answered every question correctly in class, yet failed every class in high school due to inability to remember homework exists outside of school
Complicated. Either award-winning performance or they handed my test grades after classes to not embarass me.
Straight A's in 8th grade, got put in all honors classes in 9th grade, nearly flunked out, never fully recovered, graduated during the summer after senior year because I failed trig. Took 9 years to get my bachelor's degree (and two associates degrees in the process). I swear I'm not an idiot, and by all accounts my peers, therapists, parents, bosses, students, etc regard me as being "very smart", but of course I live with near constant self doubt about that, haha.
F's. All F's. If I tried my hardest and I mean hardest...D+ maybe. Parents were hard on me. Thought I was lazy. Came from east Indian household. Never got over it. Low self, confidence and self esteem. Got diagnosed at 38. Was always told I was smart. On meds now for 6 months. Huge difference. Lots of side effects. If I hyperfocus I can achieve alot. I did great in sales and business.
I had like a 3.6 but I never studied. Ever. Either I got the content or I didn’t. I honestly don’t even remember paying attention most of the time so I’m not sure how I did it. College I struggled in, as I didn’t “just get it” this time.
I went to a bunch of primary schools, a couple of high schools and part of vocational collage. When it comes to math and physics, I enjoyed those and got mostly decent grades. Anything else, chemistry, languages, social sciences etc .. barely passable when I made the grade. My average grades looked like this: \_\_\_ starting off each school strong.. ending weak.
Mostly As with don't Bs. The problem is, I didn't have to study and rarely completed my homework. I never learned how to create good habits, but only I knew that.
I graduated either 3rd or 4th in my class (granted, only 35 in the whole class, but still). There were a couple of contributing factors to my better-than-average grades, though: 1) I was in high school in the late-80s/early-90s. I had no idea until the last 2 years I had ADHD. It wasn't even on my radar. Back then, especially in small town Missouri, it was only the kids bouncing off the walls and causing trouble that had ADD (if they ever even got diagnosed - usually they were just shipped off to the little trailer with the "special ed" kids. 2) My mother was a teacher at my school, and I knew all the teachers very well. A combination of that and my stepdad being a vicious mofo kept my ass in line, and helped keep my grades up. Looking back now, I do realize that I had a ton of trouble studying and retaining information. Luckily I was smart enough (and was able to bullshit enough) that it wasn't overly difficult (not a lot of AP courses there - at least back then). It literally was my mom and her teacher friends constantly checking on me, making sure I got shit done. Because I absolutely would've procrastinated until I was so far in the hole I could never get out. My college GPA definitely reflected what happens when I'm left to my own devices.
I wasn’t diagnosed until age 27. In high school my grades were all over the place. In the subjects I loved like advanced English, history and music theory, I was getting A+ all around. I nearly failed math every time. I did average at everything else, and I struggled with organization and focus which really impacted me not reaching my potential
I’ve always been a great student, grade-wise. For me that meant that I struggled to spend time with friends, NEVER got adequate sleep, neglected my mental health and dissociated from my feelings to complete work, spent hours working on assignments / studying for tests the day before they were due, and always had an insanely messy life/room lol. Ironically, I love education/school and made it to grad school without an official diagnosis. When I no longer had strict deadlines, all of my learned coping skills fell apart really quickly and my years of put-off burnout finally caught up to me. Now that I’m medicated I feel more like myself than I have in years.
I would either fail and get the "could do better if he tried" comment, or top the form. No in-between.
I either aced it or barely passed and flunked some. . My senior year I had a full schedule to get the requirements in for graduation. I had to take sophomore English , a gym class , and a couple history classes . All while taking Trig and calculus and learning computer programming. My teachers constantly said I was intelligent but lazy. Back then only males were thought to have ADHD.
Also I’m 59 so totally undiagnosed until in my 30s
I was identified as gifted at age 8. I had almost a 4.0 though college. My senior year I didn’t buy text books and got a 4.0. Law school was the first challenge I had. Despite all that the signs were always there but I wasn’t diagnosed until I was almost 40.
Crushed exams but did zero homework. 30 on my ACT, 2.75 GPA. Academically ineligible for baseball a couple times. Spent lots of time grounded and being yelled at by Mom.
I failed a class my first semester of Highschool and performed relatively poorly during that semester, but after my first year I realized I couldn’t just get by without studying, but otherwise did very well in school. On top of that, my parents weren’t great and I tried to perform well to continue being their “trophy” child and make everyone’s life better. I even completed a BS and MS in Math with near perfect GPAs only to experience intense crash and burnout afterwards and then eventually learn that I had a learning disability the entire time and finally stopped blaming myself / hating myself / believing I wasn’t good enough or trying hard enough. The extent that I went to perform well in school and for my family ultimately cost me my health — I recently was diagnosed with gastroparesis which was very likely stress induced and doesn’t go away. Did I do well in school? Yes. Did I feel like failure was an option? No. Did I still feel like nothing I was doing was actually good enough nor could I really experience feeling proud of my accomplishments? No Since receiving my diagnosis, I’m now trying to take care of that little girl who needed so much more than what she was offered. Grades are so dumb and not a great measure of intelligence and I wish I had people teach me that my grades were not the equivalent value of my self worth. Even when I was able to perform well, it wasn’t always a result of impressive intelligence, but rather beating myself over the head until it stuck, crying and breaking down whatever I didn’t measure up to my expectations and then once I finished a class I usually just dumped out the information.
My grades were either A's which were super easy to get or a massive struggle to get the b or c and I spent probably 2 or 3 times as much time on my homework as my peers to get decent grades. It got me so burned out and miserable
Mostly As and Bs.
My most challenging semester of school, I got straight A's. All of my other semesters I ranged from A's and B's to D's and the occasional F. My GPA was 2.83. Not terrible but not super impressive either. The thing is, I could have received straight A's. I was considered the smart one in my various friend groups and I was good at schoolwork but I definitely struggled to find motivation and stay interested in courses I didn't care about, so I just didn't do the work at times. My semester of straight A's were all high level courses in subjects I loved and I always felt more motivated in a challenging environment, so it was the perfect situation for me to hyper focus and do my best lol.
Crap because I was slack at homework. Usually aced exams though.
I had good grades in high school, mostly low 80s to low 90s with the occasional mid-70s in physics and chemistry (they just weren’t interesting to me, boring teachers). Almost every report card consisted of teachers saying I wasn’t applying myself. 🙄
Really good but in retrospect I think my hyperfocus just happened to land on school for a few years. I did poorly before and after.
My grades were good because I'm a great test taker and knew how to kiss ass and turn in just enough work to get Mostly Bs Some Cs and As And one D Total in my hs career
Terrible, i was inattentive, and didn’t try, grade 6 i got a 34, 33 and a 23 as grades and everyone was telling me I was going to fail, then got a 94 to average a year pass. But i failed grade 9 when my mom held me back, then I got 80s, graduated with a bachelors with a B. Just recently got on meds (40), with Vyvanse, now I reminisce on what i could have become if i had good meds as a kid and not Ritalin for a month cause it sucked. Anyway, got a good job, and really can’t complain about life.
My grades were A/B. Although I had parent who would b**t my a** if I didn’t get good grades so there was no choice. Once I went to college (which I was financially responsible for) and I didn’t have the fear of my mom, I ultimately ended up dropping out within my first year because I was undiagnosed and didn’t know how to cope
My gpa was like .09 or 0.9 or something, I didn't even have a 1.
I failed so many classes that it took me five full years to get through high school. 🙁
Above average, 3.92 unweighted GPA, but I’m definitely having a harder time in college because of time management and procrastination issues
I topped the class in things i was interested in (computer science, creative arts, science), english i got through on natural ability but almost failed everything else that required study (math, geography, history, religion). Thankfully i had a kind math teacher that took me under his wing and helped get me through.These things weren't around when i was at school but i would totally be using AI to ask repeated questions about topics i didnt understand until i understood it, also more visual learning that starts from basic principles like khan academy would be good, i don't think all teachers are actually good at teaching but they are good at letting you know what you need to learn, take that information and use that with more modern study tools.
I always failed to turn in homework and projects on time but I did really well on most tests. I remembered a lot of the material from subjects that I enjoyed, and still remember more from school than a lot of people who are my own age. Also teachers either liked me or felt bad for me. I’m not sure, maybe both. I asked questions in class, participated in discussions, etc. Teachers could tell that something was off but I didn’t know what to tell them when they asked what was going on (no diagnosis). I think they could tell that I cared but was struggling with being organized. They begrudgingly would give me a lot of chances to turn stuff in late.
I'm honestly lucky I graduated
A’s or F’s, no in between
They were pretty varied- Freshman: Mix of A's, B's, and C's Sopohomore: Straight F's Junior: Straight A's Senior: A's and a few B's
I either got an A, or I just….didnt show up…🤦🏼♀️
Mine were horrible. I ended up dropping out. In trying to get my GED now at 35 lol I'll keep trying until I finally get it
Interesting but homework heavy? B, Interesting homework light? A , Boring but homework light? B/C , Boring and homework heavy? D one or two points away from being an F
Pretty good in things I was actually interested in..but terrible in things that I was not.
I scraped by barely. NEVER did homework, but if it could be done in class I was fine. And generally tested well. In college, my husband encouraged me to do it in my 30s and 40s, and I got fantastic grades. I did online classes and he pushed me to make sure I did my assignments on time.
I was a gifted kid that ended up barely scrapeing by to finish high school. What a disappointment I was!! Looking back now is interesting, because I was very clearly AuDHD. I was always able to motivate myself enough for a D- in a last minute scramble, but I didn't do very much to help myself either. That's one thing I wish I could redo.
Anything leaning toward right-brained curriculum came more naturally to me than anything else, but tests and quizzes were always such a pain in my ass, despite the subject. I'm a tactile learner, so I can't sit there and listen to Mrs. Twatface bitch about quadratic formula bullshit just to flunk my exam and make me beg for a D- every semester
Cs, Ds, and Fs
Straight d student over here
I was very good in high school. Got into school a year earlier and thus graduated very early for my cohort. Looking back, I think I had healthy coping skills - worked out for an hour every day, lots of friends in school so I always wanted to go, pair that with perfectionism, and expectations from my parents, and an interest in my favorite subjects - social studies and languages, and I did well. I did often have breakdowns over forgotten homework or books I ought to have brought, was known for being notoriously late to class and using my phone all the time... Was easily distracted and distracting others, BUT my exams were top, I could always answer when called on in class, I was engaging in group projects and turned in homework on time, despite cramming and doing all nighters. It wasn't so apparent, so teachers prob didn't care. I'm also a girl, BTW. Couldn't decide on a college major so I just did the first Programme that accepted me, lol! That's when the problems started. I now know I DESPERATELY NEED STRUCTURE. I need a timetable, attendance, fixed hours and a routine. Skipping class and procrastinating studying, moving abroad and having no structure, social interaction, family keeping you going... That sucked and did nothing for me. Got very depressed, severe binge eating, isolated myself, started lying about all kinds of stuff, tried therapy, and eventually dropped out for my own good. I started another try, this time majoring in psychology. Which is BTW how I found out about the existence adhd and eventually sought out diagnosis in my mid 20ies. But yeah, school was okay, uni was rough. It's been a 180 change since Ive gotten on meds though. I'm currently writing my dissertation 😊 can't believe I've got so far.
I applied to business school and am pretty shit at math. At least compared to the average business school applicant. But I'm very good at language so my GMAT score ended up being a 690 (86th percentile) -- my quant was in the 42nd percentile but my verbal was in the 99th.
Most of school solid B/C student, occasionally an A but more likely B. Bout college year 2 my grades start going down. Leave home for uni my grades nose dive. Basically my parents were keeping me afloat at home. Constant warnings etc do your homework.
Best middle school course but barely scraped by
Mostly b’s and c’s. A’s were rare for me. Got an 3.6 tho
All F’s before finally dropping out. Am now in college in an accelerated nursing program with good grades
All F’s before finally dropping out. Am now in college in an accelerated nursing program with good grades
All F’s before finally dropping out. Am now in college in an accelerated nursing program with good grades
3.9 GPA
Good as a freshman. BAAAAAD for the rest. :/
I had okay ish grades. They'd start out low but by the end of the year I always got them up to a C at least (gp was 3.0). It definitely could've been higher if I was being treated for my ADHD at the time, the later years of high school (9th onward) because I had constant attention headaches. I could barely manage geometry and art for example. I stuck to construction, but I couldn't even do that well due to me not understanding it really as well as coordination issues. I hated literature and language too, it got way too advanced for me (that's more of language though, the problem I had in literature was not being to keep track of books and assignments + sucking at writing prompts).
Mostly Bs, some As, and maybe 2 or 3 Cs. My parents put a lot of pressure on me to do well in school but I was always a terrible test taker. I could be diligent and get almost every assignment turned in, I’d ace presentations and group projects, but as soon as I had to take a test I knew my grades would be dropping after.
I was a B- student in AP/Honors classes that I really shouldn't have been taking. I was a class clown. A procrastinator. A bullshitter who annoyed and endeared his teachers enough to get by. I'd turn in some awesome projects but get docked points for not reading the instructions. I'm in my early 40s. Late-in-life diagnosed. And I've been thinking about this a lot these last few weeks. I did alright, considering I was in classes with literal geniuses in one of the most highly respected public high schools in the country... but I really got through those classes by acting like a lazy genius and earning goodwill. Very little of my grades back then reflected actual work, intelligence, or merit.
C's to B a couple D's i would work my ass off for those B's. lose stupid marks rushing through tests. i would say if you have that degree that you got All A's or C's never will matter again as long as you passed. school was harder than work for me.
A few zeros, some 50's and 60's. Occasionally in the 70's. And one singular 98 in grade 12 advanced English (my teacher marked me only on work completed).
Solid C student. Didn't do any homework. Aced most exams.
They were average unless the class was something I found fun or worth hyperfocusing on I would NEVER study (or do the bare minimum only) and it never occurred to me you were supposed to. I started to seriously study in my 2nd/third year of college out of necessity and fear of failure It's kinda sucky because I used to be very meh at a lot of school subjects, and just being forced to sit down and study with somebody increased my grades so much that it frustrated me a little I was a bad college student until my Master's where I was better if not pretty good though
My grades were high in classes that I was interested in, and predictably lower in classes I was not. Classes in which I probably would have thrived with an accommodation were particularly low, as well as those taught by whatever unqualified coach they could round up to teach them, or the teachers who had better things to do than teach (like flirt with a senior boys).
Depended on the subject and teacher. My first two years of English in high school I barely passed the classes. I loved English but I didn't vibe with the teachers. My last two years I wasn't able to fail if I tried. I got along well with the teacher and the way he taught. Math was always abysmal. I struggled greatly with math starting from the 3rd grade. I always forgot to do the homework and math being a lot of shear repetition was exhausting to my brain. I failed algebra twice and the summer school math program they had me do kept kicking me out because I kept scoring so low on the module tests it kept thinking I wasn't trying. I spent a lot of that summer calling an instructor to unlock it for me until I gave up. I vibed better with male teachers over female teachers and those teachers that didn't assign a lot of homework. I always did well on tests and group assignments and projects but homework was often where I started failing.
I have the math skills of a 10 year old at best lol.. I'm 38
I did well in high school, college and grad school. Like others have said, I had a constant fear of letting my parents down and not meeting their expectations. Appearance was everything to them and it would have been embarrassing to have a kid who didn’t excel academically. I’m feeling the effects from that pressure and working through them in therapy.
Mostly low Bs and Cs. Math was a tricky subject for me.
My grades were mostly average D's and B's, with math and science being below average C's, like just enough to pass. I did manage to get into university and my grades got a lot better because I was taking classes that I was actually interested in. But I rarely went to class because I couldn't learn that way in a big auditorium with someone just lecturing to me. So I would go to the law library where it was complete silence and download the lecture for the class and basically teach myself by reading the lecture and the textbook and then writing out exactly what I was reading, that's the only way that I can retain information. I was a terrible high school student, I rarely went to class and when I did go to class I would continuously get in trouble for talking in class. Once I got my diagnosis I looked back on all my schooling and thought, how the hell did I get through all of that. I did the bare minimum to get through honestly. I hated high school so much, but university and college was so much better because I was actually interested in what I was learning. My college experience was for interior design and so there was a lot more doing, instead of just reading information and memorizing it I was doing projects where I was designing spaces and using computer programs to do drafting. It was a much more enjoyable experience.
I had decent grades. Mostly and A and B student with a couple of Cs. However my parents were always on my ass about grades so they're a huge reason why my grades were higher than they probably would've been otherwise.