It used to be that when a student had a test or a paper coming up, he would start preparing for it weeks in advance. He would find motivation to study from within by wanting to do well in a class, and that motivation alone would be enough to help him stay concentrated and driven during his study sessions.

Flash forward to 2011, and there’s a new factor in students’ studying habits. It’s not what every student does, but many do, include Jared Gabay, a senior at Auburn University. What could this new factor be? Gabay and many other students use a “study drug” to give them a little extra study boost.

“I’m more driven,” said Gabay about how he feels when he takes Adderall, a prescription drug that was created to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. “I don’t focus on anything else [except my studies when I have taken an Adderall]. If I have a paper, that’s all I’m doing. No distractions, no socializing, just on with it.”

Many students on campuses across the nation are using Adderall and other ADHD medications, such as Ritalin, to help them study.

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Newt Gingrich is an American politician and former member of the US House of Representatives. He has also had careers as a professor, historian, and author. He is now a candidate for the Republican party’s nominee for the 2012 Presidential race. EDUinReview will now take a look at Gingrich’s education background.

Gingrich was born on June 17, 1943, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. His name at birth was Newton Leroy McPherson. His parents are Kathleen and Newton Searies McPherson. The couple’s marriage did not last long and in 1946, his mother remarried an Army officer, Robert Gingrich, who then adopted Newt and gave him his last name. Kathleen and Robert had three daughters: Candace, Susan, and Roberta.

Since Robert was in the military, the family moved often and Newt attended many military academies, but graduated from Baker High School in Columbus, Georgia, in 1961. Gingrich attended Emory University, where he earned his B.A. in history in 1965. He then attended Tulane University, where he earned a PhD in modern European history in 1971. The year before, he accepted a position as an Assistant History Professor at the University of West Georgia. In 1974, he switched departments and began teaching in the geography department. He left the University of West Georgia in 1978 because the university could no longer keep as a faculty member without making him a tenured professor. In 1993, Gingrich again became a teacher when he taught Renewing American Civilization at Kennesaw State University.

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