Aspies & University: Do they mix?

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I want to take an extra year of high school, because I want/need more time to work on my AS issues before going to University. But I can't convince my dad, who thinks that it's a waste of time, and says I can't live at home anymore if I do it. I'm worried that if I go to University without the extra year, I'll have a meltdown and/or I'll fail (I've never really had a meltdown before, but that doesn't mean I can't).

I made this thread because I want people on WP who have attended or are currently attending College/University to tell me about their experience.

They mix VERY well.
The higher up the schooling is, the more like a paradise it is for aspies.
The social cliques are more destroyed by university.
In university, you will be focusing more on a single topic, which could be an aspie's special interest.
Depending on the university you go to, you may have a better chance of working out your issues at a university rather than at high school.

If high school didn't cause you to have a meltdown, it'd take a pretty big event to make you have a meltdown at a university.

Go to Community College instead or to a small private college. I wouldn't recommend you to stay in high school more time.

Use the year at a CC to explore new subjects, take classes you really like and get A's.

That's good advice, if one's ready. The upside to CC is the fact that the instructors there are oftentimes professors at 4 year unis as well, or are just as qualified. Meaning, quality education is present. Also, did we mention cost? It's a fraction of 4 year schools.

I wasn't ready for school. If you feel you are NOT ready, you might be setting yourself up for failure if you decide to go to school with that attitude. I don't know how to change that attitude, other than real world experience. Perhaps taking a year off of school completely, to work, to get your hands dirty, meet people, and figure out how the world works can be helpful. Being taught things from bottom up, and succeeding in face of challenge might do the trick for your confidence. I never thought I'd be able to stand at a cash register for interacting with people for hours, never thought I'd be in charge of an entire section of product, ordering hundreds of products using a hand held computer, never thought I'd be singlehandedly in charge of a store for 8-10 hours, but it happened, and it started as me being a stocker. I've found I was capable, given time, patience, and perseverence. School, well it's gonna be a challenge, but it's better going in knowing you can handle yourself. I'd recommend getting a job for a year, and taking note of your progress as the days weeks and months roll by.

I had a break down after my Alevels and pulled out of the uni system asking for a gap year. My mother and the stepbully didn't support the idea, I went and messed up completely. I am now gapping for a second year. I would say waiting an extra year is a very good idea, to give you time to be sure you're comfortable and making the right descision before getting into debt if it doesn't go so well. Best of luck. J.

Actual college itself is better then high school. The classes are more interesting, the professors actually get paid enough to care about you learning the material, and the social structure is really much less bothersome.

Keep in mind that there are some problems, especially if you live on the dorms. But these issues can be addressed and solved if you put in enough research and effort. If you live in a noisy dorm room area, ask for a transfer to a different wing. Find other people who you like spending time with, and ask them for help when needed. Overall there is too much to tell about college in one post, but its not as bad as you think. I know that my years at college were actually the best years of my life. The best advice I can give is learn how to make a good schedule and stick to it. The last thing you want to be doing is working on 3 assignments, and 2 papers the night before they are due. Having things planned out in advanced makes college, and life much easier to navigate.

Also, as the previous post mentioned, a year at community college is a great idea for anybody, AS and NT alike. You may be certain now that you want to go into the field of biology or whatever, but you may find later that you dislike the material after taking a few classes. You dont want to attend a college specializing in one major only to find you dont like it, and wasted alot of effort moving, only to need a new college. Also, classes are much cheaper at a community college, so you can take things like english courses, math courses, etc. that every college major requires. Then when you pick your major, you can transfer those classes in and save a bunch of money. You can also take a variety of classes to find something you enjoy. Who knows, you may find that you really like physics.

This process of trying out different classes and seeing what you do and dont like will probably make your college time a bit longer, perhaps 5 years instead of 4. But really you wind up spending less money overall, and getting into a career that you will like better. I think that is worth some extra time.

College and Aspies totally mix. There is no shame however in an extra year of high school.
When you do end up at a university, try to apply for a single room - so far it has been the only real downfall of living here.

As Aurore said, get a single room. I had a roommate the fall of my freshman year, and that caused me to have a breakdown and almost have to take a semester off of school. Luckily, I got a single that November, and I was able to recover.

However, I disagree that the social cliques are lessened. The majority of kids at my school are nauseatingly neurotypical, and other than a handful of peers who share my intense passion for learning, the only people I get along with at my school are the professors. Really, my college/university experience hasn't been any different than that of high school: I go to learn; I cannot stand the immature peers.
-OddDuckNash99-

University is amazing.

yep, you are more likely to be surrounded by people with similar interests.
you can dress different and focus intently on your work and no one minds.

I never went - I anticipated that it would in all likelihood be the death of me. School had been getting increasingly difficult, much easier to fall by the wayside and not get spotted. So I figured university would be even worse. Also had a steady girlfriend and a few friends who treated me well, and I didn't want to leave them. Applied for the university in my own town, was turned down - the headmaster said he thought the universities frowned on anybody who wasn't prepared to go and live in another part of the country.

I got a job, they sent me to college for one day and evening per week, but as I already had the equivalent qualification, I merely had to "sit in." Didn't matter whether I scored well in the tests or not . That probably helped. Socially I was a bit of a disaster there, but I continued my school gambit of finding one person to kind of pair off with - there's usually a friendly lone wolf for company in most places.

Next, they put me on a college course that I actually had to pass. I managed it but I hated the punitive work burden they were fobbing off onto us (one lecturer in particular who tended not to turn up but left instructions for everybody to go to the library and write an essay on x. The library didn't have enough books so the biggest b******s always got to them first. I was furious, so were some others, but the system was what it was. Found individual friends there, as before, but there wasn't really time to socialise. Most of the mainstream pack seemed obsessed with making money so I didn't like them.

Next stop, a fellowship course with a syllabus as long as my arm and a copout phrase on it saying that they could test us on anything, whether it was on the syllabus or not. They barely taught the work at all, just invited members of the Great And Good to lecture us on whatever they wanted to. Mostly we were expected to work it all out for ourselves. I wasn't prepared to let such a burden get in the way of my personal life (didn't know what to read anyway), and as I expected, I failed twice. There was no need for the qualification in my existing job but the bosses felt they were doing me a favour by pressurising me to go for it. Eventually I very politely told them I wasn't going to try again. It was like being reborn when I finally didn't have evening classes and exams clogging up my life.

My brain only works when I use it on my own terms. It doesn't dance to other people's tunes. So for me, university sucks.

I saw a place called the New University which let the students decide for themselves what to study, very student-centred. I think I'd have taken to that, but the world demanded an employer-centred education, and I didn't want to starve.

You should try talking him into letting you take another year. I went to college, some of it was great, other parts, not so great.
It's good that you know ahead of time what's going on.
When I was going I was still trying to pretend I was just like everyone else and they were getting a different picture. This zapped away at my confidence and I couldn't understand people's reactions to me because I thought I was just like them.

I went into no talking mode and pretty much spent the last semester of college silently plodding through my classes. One was particularly rough on me because it was an upper level class at seven thirty AM. I would have been better off, much better off, with a later class.

I had to ride a bike to it. I lived in the dorms and couldn't drive because parking is very limited so I rode a bike to get to my classes. It was very cold. Extremely cold. The last thing I wanted to do was get up at seven thirty am three times a week and ride a mile on a bike.

So, that's something to consider...if I would have realized how much I would hate that before I took that class I would have been better off because it affected my grade.

One of my favorite classes was a classical influences on literature, we took the final in class, wrote a lengthy essay over the Odyssey and Ulysess in a couple of hours. It was fun. Those were the days. I wish all my classes were like that one.