Abstract
Adults with ADHD maintain some success in higher education but underperform their non-ADHD peers despite having normal intelligence. This study explored the essence of the lived experiences of female graduate students with ADHD navigating their academic journeys in graduate school. Using a phenomenological approach through the lens of Merleau-Ponty's concepts of world, body, others, and time, with open-ended questions via Zoom interviews, nine female graduate students with ADHD participated in the study. Three themes emerged: A little bit extra, I always felt I was going to fail, and they don’t understand. Findings revealed unknown struggles about what it's like to be a female graduate student with ADHD, including that graduate school overloads their ability to cope, causing emotional distress, educational impairment, poor life quality, and fears of seeking support and understanding for their holistic wellbeing. Implications illustrate for higher education how adult learners with ADHD can complete graduate education.
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