College is when I first had a major mixed episode and got diagnosed. My grades fluctuated a lot. Some semesters I could handle a 4.0, and others I couldn't. I did manage to maintain a 4.0 in graduate school. My biggest hurdle was not actually bipolar disorder, but social anxiety. I couldn't sit in class without freezing in place and thinking everyone was watching me. It was like a long panic attack. It was very hard to concentrate with that fear.