Originally Posted by Rtoups
Similar to Xanthos, I was an underachiever, but a very smart one. I never took the ACT, but I took the SAT once and scored a 2210 (translated into ACT scoring, that is about a 34, although they are hard to compare), but as of the end of last year, I had a 3.1 GPA. So how does something like this happen?
It was a combination of stuff. First, I'm diagnosed ADHD. However, I did not discover this until halfway through my Sophomore year. Whenever someone without ADHD asks me what it is like, I liken it to having a TV that is constantly changing channels, and you are unable to turn it off. The medicine I received from my doctor fixed the TV and gave me the remote. However, even after being prescribed medication, it took almost a whole year to get the dosages right as to balance the beneficial effects of the medicine with the side effects, which made me constantly thirsty, left me with no appetite (technically anorexia, since I would literally look at food and feel sick at the thought of eating it), and insomnia so severe that I was lucky to get 5 hours of sleep. So it wasn't until my junior year that I was able to control my ADHD. But by then, more then half of my high school education experience had suffered beyond repair.
Second, I have a twin brother. My twin does not have ADHD. He does not have a 3.1 GPA. He is extremely intelligent, extremely motivated, has a 4.8 GPA and is applying to Standford, Yale, and several other schools of similar caliber. Even though his GPA was always like...double mine, it never really affected me. However, it did affect my parents, who both held Masters Degrees in Engineering (my father had a civil engineering degree, my mom a mechanical), wanted me to be like my brother. They did not tolerate my sub-par grades. Anything below an A was just unacceptable. In a private school, one of the best in California at that, it was not an easy task to get A's. With my ADHD (this was before my diagnosis), it was damn near impossible. I eventually became so discouraged that I basically stopped doing my homework. My thought process was, "If I can't get A's and make them happy, there's just no point".
By my Sophomore year, my life was quickly spiraling out of control. Faltering from pressure from my parents, school, and peers, depression grabbed hold of my life and robbed me of any happiness I use to have. I no longer wanted to hang out with friends or do anything except sit in my room and sleep.
The reason I am telling you all of this, even though it is very personal, is because I would never want another kid to have to go through what I did. My life is much better now, thanks to outside help from psychologists and doctors, however, there are 2 years of my life that I will never get back. If I didn't get that help, I probably would have turned to drug use, or even worse, suicide, as an escape.
I guess what I am saying it, don't be hard on your son. Not EVERYONE is meant for honors or AP classes. Maybe the regular classes are best for him. My biggest concern is your fear that he will be taking the easy way out. Please, I beg of you, do not let him know that you feel that way. My father didn't get that warning, and every time he let me know that my sub-par grades were inadequate, it hurt me very deeply. Even with all the help I got, my life is still far from perfect. I can still tell that my father is disappointed that I don't have a 4.0 GPA. My own mother treats me like the retarded child because I'm prone to depression and I have ADHD. Every time I detect that disappointment from my parents, I remember the two years of my high school, years that were supposed to be highlights of my life but instead represented the lowest I had ever felt, and I realize that I have a wound that will never heal.
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