College?

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*tears hair out*

Okay. I'm trying to get ready for college. I know where I wanna go, I know what it takes, it's filling out the application that's stressing me out.

I wanna go to Portland State University and major in Biology.

Okay, bring on the pep talks. That's all I really need.

Don't try to do everything at once, you'll just stress yourself out. Do one thing at a time, get a recommendation, or write and essay. Also make sure to start early enough so you can take your time. You'll get it done fine, and then it will be done so you won't have to stress about it anymore.

I agree with the above advice, and I would suggest making a list with something to do each day (or 6 out of 7 days).

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.

In Oregon then? Sweet me too .
Well first off I'd like to say that you will get into college. Your autism will not create some magical barrier of failure like I thought it would when I went through this.
I would recommend involving a parent (unless of course that in itself would be a source of stress) at least just so you feel like someone is in this with you and your not just flailing helplessly on your own. And create a timeline of when things need to be completed. It will help you see what you need to do and prioritize.
With the application specifically just get it done as early as you can. It will be one less thing to worry about and you'll get accepted sooner.
One of the things that stressed me out the most through the whole process was the worry that I wouldn't be able to handle the work, living on my own, etc. Get into a routine a soon as you can, go to class always, and don't put off studying for a test to the last minute and you'll be fine. I'm a headcase and I adjusted in a couple weeks . Even better than many of the NT kids actually.

What are you hoping to do with a biology degree?

Don't worry too much about the application, the main things they will look at are your grades and your test scores. Stress out over those, not the application itself!! And those essays they have, I honestly don't even think they read them (but you should still try your best on them). I think I wrote mine about my grandfather taking me to get ice cream when I was little. And keep in mind that if accepted, you'll be paying the college a boatload of money one way or another. They want your money, so that means they want you!

Yeah that's reassuring. Thanks.



I want to get into biomedical research, particularly cancer research.

Thanks!

I got my tassel for my cap today. I'm really excited.

Are you planning to go for an MD/Ph.D., or a straight Ph.D., in biology eventually? I ask because you really can't do anything with just a bachelor's in biology, and if you are looking to do research you almost definitely want to get a Ph.D. An Md/Ph.D. is a REALLY rough road and requires A LOT of schooling, but it would allow you do to research on more medically based applications and cancer research.

I would strongly suggest looking into biomedical engineering, biochemistry, or microbiology for your bachelor's degree. Each of those degrees would allow you the same opportunity to get into biomedical research if you proceed to medical or graduate school in the future, but they have a bit more weight at the bachelors level than a straight biology degree. Biomedical engineering would probably be the most relevant for the type of career you are trying to get in to, but it is also the most challenging academically and has a lot of math involved. The reason is that just about every kid who wants to go to medical school majors in biology, but a huge portion of them never get accepted. So you end up with a market flooded with biology majors who can't get jobs.

Sorry to go off on a bit of a tangent, it's just an area that I have a great deal of experience with and also one that I have strong feelings about!

No, I don't mind. I actually really appreciate the advice!

I like the idea of getting a bachelor's in biomedical engineering and moving on to a Ph.D. The college I plan on attending is also going to be jointed with another college that specializes in biomedical engineering next fall, so I might get my bachelor's at PSU and move on to the other university for a Ph.D.

I'm glad you told me it's challenging, now I'm very motivated.

I have my own dilemma: I graduated two-year college, and with my move to L.A. within a year, I want to major in some sort of advertising field @ CSUN (Cal State-Northridge). What do I do?

The application doesn't include FAFSA, right? This stuff will become easy over time. I definitely agree that it's stressful. I just filled out four or five applications for colleges and that was hell. Once it's done, it's done.