It’s the night before your next big midterm, and you still have three chapters to study, a five-page paper to write, and an online quiz to take.

There’s just one tiny problem: Everything and everyone in the room seems to be much more entertaining than the textbook and notes sitting open on the table in front of you. So what’s a person to do?

If only there was some magical way to concentrate on nothing but your studies for hours on end (because actually trying to read would be too easy).

Oh, but there is. Many students have been taking Adderall, even if they do not have a prescription for it, to help them concentrate on homework.

Students need to depend more on their own abilities and less on Adderall to solve their study problems.

Twenty-one percent of students have admitted to having taken such drugs as Adderall without a doctor’s prescription, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In fact, full-time college students ages 18 to 22 are actually twice as likely as those who are not full-time college students to have taken Adderall without a prescription in the past year, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health Report.

There are other ways to increase concentration. Taking a break and looking at something different every once in a while do miracles for the brain juices.

Just as with every other prescription drug, there are side effects. So it’s going to be slightly difficult to work on that mound of homework if you’re restless and have headaches.

Sure, it’s convenient. I mean who wouldn’t want to take a pill that would instantly help them focus? I know I would. But just because it’s easy to attain and seems to do the trick doesn’t mean it’s the way to get through class.

So skip the study drug, and hit the books. A little will power does wonders for getting rid of procrastination. Not to mention a couple all-nighters never hurt anyone. So suck it up, and get to work.