ADHD Care for College and Graduate Students in New York and New Jersey

College and graduate students in New York City and New Jersey run into ADHD questions that other adults do not: a campus health center that will not prescribe stimulants, a home-state doctor who cannot treat them by video while they are at school, a disability office with its own documentation rules, and exam boards with deadlines months in advance. Dr. Shershow sees adults 18 and older, so this page is for students who are at least 18. It explains each of those situations with sources.

Out-of-state students: the location rule

A clinician must be licensed in the state where the patient is physically located during a visit. New York's Office of the Professions says a practitioner must hold a New York license, or be otherwise authorized, when serving a patient located in New York, and New Jersey's telehealth statute requires a provider to be licensed to provide services in New Jersey. For students, that has two consequences:

• A doctor back home who is licensed only in your home state generally cannot treat you by video while you are at school in New York or New Jersey.
• Dr. Shershow sees patients located in New York or New Jersey, so he can see you while you are physically in either state, but not by video while you are home for break in another state. Plan refills and visits around the academic calendar.

The New York guide covers this in out-of-state students and ADHD care in New York, and the New Jersey guide in out-of-state students in New Jersey.

What campus health centers will and will not do

Many students assume the campus health center will take over their ADHD prescription. Published policies show that is often not the case.

Policies change, so check your own school's current page. More schools are compared in campus health centers and ADHD policies. Some students end up with an off-campus psychiatrist for medication and use campus services for counseling and accommodations.

Accommodations are a separate process

Treatment and academic accommodations run on different tracks. A prescriber needs enough information to make a diagnosis and plan treatment; a disability office decides accommodations using its own documentation standards.

• The US Department of Education says a college does not have to identify students with disabilities; the student must come forward. Its Office for Civil Rights also says a high school IEP or Section 504 plan is generally not sufficient documentation for college.
• CUNY's documentation guideline, as posted by BMCC, asks for an ADHD evaluation done within the past three years.
• Columbia publishes its own guidelines for ADHD documentation, and Princeton's Office of Disability Services handles all academic accommodation requests there.

Dr. Shershow's evaluation ends with what it found and the treatment options that fit. Whether a particular office or exam board accepts any documentation is that office's decision, and no evaluation can promise accommodations paperwork. See ADHD accommodations in college and college accommodations in New Jersey.

Graduate and professional exams

Start early. Testing agencies often ask for a history going back to childhood, and getting old records takes time. Details are in accommodations for the bar and licensing exams.

Prescriptions, pharmacies and state rules

• A New York pharmacy may fill a Schedule II prescription written by a practitioner licensed in another state if it is delivered within 30 days of signing and meets New York's content rules, and the pharmacist may decline. Call ahead before relying on a home-state prescription.
• Students located in New Jersey (Princeton, Rutgers, Stevens and other campuses) fall under P.L.2026, c.40: an adult started on a Schedule II stimulant by telehealth needs an in-person visit within 30 days, a contact every three months, and an in-person visit at least once a year. The office will explain how visits are arranged for patients located in New Jersey.
• New York had no in-person rule of its own as of October 2026 and follows federal DEA telemedicine flexibilities, which run through December 31, 2026.

One rule applies everywhere: do not share or sell your medication. The FDA says most people who misuse prescription stimulants get them from family members or peers, and that sharing them can lead to substance use disorder and addiction in the people who receive them.

Insurance and getting started

Student health plans differ. A student plan fully insured in New York falls under New York's mental health coverage law, which expressly covers school blanket policies, while New York's behavioral health protections do not apply to a policy issued in another state, such as a parent's plan from home. The office can tell you the current fees and how insurance works with the practice. To begin, call the office or use the call-back form, and see appointments and telehealth.