Not staying up with studies has caused some students to use extreme measures.
While some students rush for coffee or soda to stay up for a full night of finals cramming, others are looking to Ritalin for their ticket to good grades.
Ritalin - a drug typically used by people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder - is meant to help calm people diagnosed with ADHD and allow them to focus better on tasks at hand.
However, some students say they need to take Ritalin to keep up with their studies, said Debra Cox-Howard, a substance abuse counselor at Campus Health Center.
"Students realize they have to buckle down and they have their friends give them the drugs," Howard said.
But one student who took it said the drug did not prove to be useful.
A studio arts senior who chose to remain anonymous said he used Ritalin provided by a friend as both a study aid and to help him stay up while partying. He said it cost about $5 to supply himself with the drug.
Using Ritalin three times over a month-long period did not cause any major adverse effects on the student, but he did say he was exhausted after it wore off.
"I wasn't worried about any side effects," he said. "But I look back and wonder how good it really was for me."
During finals week, Ritalin helped him stay awake longer to study, but he didn't see any startling changes in his grades.
Other students also use Ritalin for studying purposes, he said.
Ritalin's common side effects include loss of appetite, a decrease in the ability to sleep and mild depression. Dr. Hal Crawford, a psychiatrist for the Campus Health Center, said. Abuse of Ritalin can cause full-blown depression - similar to the effects of cocaine - that is hard to work out of.
"There is an extreme risk for depression," Crawford said.
In the past, Crawford said he has had problems with students writing their own prescriptions, but that most who abuse Ritalin are supplied by their friends.
Crawford said Ritalin is not considered a gateway drug for students, but they may develop a psychological dependency on the drug.
"They want to feel better, so they think they have to take something," Crawford said.
Howard said students who have a substance abuse problem or have parents who have an abuse problem should contact Campus Health to join a support group.
