Aspies & University: Do they mix?

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Oh goodness! I didn't have meltdown's in high school.. Or at community college. It took my parents' house being repossessed my first semester at university to break me down. Knowing I didn't have a home to go back to destroyed me.

I will say that I rather enjoyed college. When I was learning I did great. I started having breakdowns during tests though and eventually had to drop out. The tests weren't difficult as away from the testing area, I could spout the knowledge off no problem. It was literally the idea of failing and having no place to go that shot it.

So don't set yourself up for failure because you will fail. Go to a community college. Go to a university. And believe you will succeed and you will. At least, that's what I've found of most people, AS or NT.


BTW, I'm going to start going back this spring semester. Armed with the knowledge that I can't fail this time. Armed with the knowledge I do have AS so can get disability services. And knowing my husband supports me and will even if I fail.

Not quite true. A collage is not university in the UK either. It usually refers to the final part of secondary education or some other form of tertiary education. e.g. 'sixth form collage', 'vocational collage', 'computer collage', etc. We also don't tend to use 'school' to mean university either. However we might use 'school' instead of faculty or department ‘School of Engineering’, etc. Another usage is that some universities comprise of 'collages', but that is not the university as a whole. London School of Economics and Political Science is a 'collage' of the University of London. As the University of London is so large, LSE and the other collages are treated as if they were almost independent. These types of universities don't really have campuses as such they have buildings dotted about the place. Whereas universities with campuses would not use the word collage officially, but might use school fro the areas of expertise they cover, depending on preference.

Finish high school and go on to college, it's a very different world. I found that there's more freedom in college, less of the forced socialization high schools do. You're free to socialize, or not socialize, as you see fit, and nobody says anything about it. At least that is how it was for me.

I often had meltdowns in high school. I experienced severe frustration in that I couldn't understand the culture of the place at all and often found solace in being alone. I couldn't wait to leave and was very happy once I did.

The issue I had in college was the presence of my older sister, who loved to get my parents to help her push me around, but that's another story.

For the most part, college was great.

Update:
I want to take a Filmmaking course in University, but it requires me to have short films to submit, which I don't. I have a high school course this year in which I'll be making short films, music videos, etc. but I have it next semester, and I must apply for University courses in January, which means I'll have nothing to submit. If my dad forces me to go to University, I won't be taking all the courses I want, because I won't be taking the Filmmaking one.

If you're planning on suggesting that I make short films on my own time, don't. That would require a video camera, and friends who are willing to act in front of it. I have made music videos using scenes from movies on my own time (you can watch them on my youtube page - see my signature), and I plan to make a lot more. But those can't be submitted for the University course.

Actually, I've only really looked at one University, because I have family that live close to it. I want to stay with them instead of paying to live alone or with a stranger. I'm not ready to leave behind everyone I know and face the world alone. I want a transition. But it looks like I have to consider other options.

My Guidance Councillor/IEP Teacher (helps with AS issues) has suggested that I go to a smaller University, where I won't be so overwhelmed. He also says he can make sure I get a single room.

I'm still pretty sure that I'm not ready, and that I won't be ready when it's time to leave if I go to University next year. But when I tell people they don't take me seriously. They think I'm ready.

-Anxiety, anxiety, anxiety. It's almost a permanent state for me. I really don't want it. And I know it will only get worse if I go to University. I never go anywhere by myself, except for school (where I'm always surrounded by people I know). I've never had a job. I know I won't do well on my own.
-I often speak out in the middle of class, even in the middle of a teacher's lecture, because I MUST (or I feel like I MUST) say whatever it is I say. If I'm forced to stop I get angry.
-This might not be an AS issue, but: I sing A LOT, even though I'm not very good. It is, or it's like, a stim for me. It annoys other people. If I'm forced to stop I get angry.
-So basically, I want to not get anxious and not get angry.
-Another issue: compulsions. They're more annoying than harmful, but I really want to get rid of them.

I think you'd be much better off going to a community college. I'm going to one and it's pretty similiar to high school, but you can get college credits going there.

In Canada (or at least in Ontario) you can take certain University courses at certain (Community) Colleges, but there are courses I want to take that I can't take at a (Community) College.

University and I did not mix at all.

I am sure, though, this was because I was so mindblind and had no self-awareness whatsoever, i.e. awareness that I had such a thing called Asperger Syndrome.

Choice of course. I think I chose the wrong course, which was business studies and (for all but the final year) accountancy. They were subjects I found it hard to concentrate on. That showed in my results (I got my degree but was probably lucky to do so). The subjects were subjects I wasn't really interested in. They were subjects that people advised were the best for me or tried to push me into. I was too weak to refuse. In retrospect I really should have done languages after all. That was my special interest then. At the time anyway.

Halls of residence. I was in these in the first year. They didn't exactly give you freedom to be yourself and certainly didn't give you freedom from peer pressure or having to conform. You were sharing a building with maybe 150 other students and you were just as much an outsider as you would be at high school. Worse still, this was just for the first year and from then on I had to move on to:

Flat sharing. I lasted three months (i.e. one semester) in the first one, just because my face didn't fit. You had to rent a room in a shared flat and I had to get such rooms where I could. Then I was in a shared house the rest of that year. That was a horrendous experience for me, particularly because of one particular student who was a bully. Then another flat for both of the last two years. I wouldn't say I got along there either. I totally kept myself to myself, in my room, away from everyone and, actually, was left alone. That was strange, and I must have seemed strange. But I had to take such rooms where I could get them. Other students had the option of sharing with friends whom they knew well enough to share, but I didn't have that option as I had no:

Social life. At least after the first 2 or 3 months at uni I had none. Perhaps I was unfortunate that I was socialising in groups of people who were drink-oriented. A rather stereotyped student lifestyle, but it was true of the circles I was in. Peer pressure from these circles was horrendous, especially in connection with drink. Whatever happened, there came a point where I was suddenly excluded from these social groups. Contending with the peer pressure was bad, but the downward spiral that this social exclusion set me on was far worse. I just kept myself to myself and had as little as possible to do with anyone for 4 years. And unfortunately at that time, I developed an attitude where I hated university, hated students and hated people.

An awareness of my differences/AS at that time would have made so much difference to that.

I am an aspie and a college professor (with a Ph.D. in sociology). For whatever reason, I never really had any academic difficulties (as a student). As a professor, my main problems concern human relations. However, each semester (on the first day) now, I tell my students that I am autistic, and I ask for their patience. It seems to do the trick.

well, I got a degree from a University, and a degree from a Community College, so I guess it can be done...

No.

i retook the 7th grade because i wanted an extra year before high school in order to work out issues. i think it was very beneficial to me, personally, to have done so... so, i can't really say that taking an extra year in high school isn't a good idea. actually, i think it could be a good thing. but, if you do decided on it, and maybe to make your dad except it, you should see if your high school offers duel enrollment courses. these allow you to take classes at your high school (and sometimes, depending on the class, at a community college) that are a little harder than normal high school classes, but easier than college classes, and give you credit for both high school and college. i think they're a good transitional, and since you're getting college credit, it might make your dad happy enough. the classes are usually fairly small, as well, which is nice. when i was in high school, i took 5 duel enrollment classes, and entered college with a semester's worth of credits already under my belt.

with that said, my college experience is surprisingly not that much different than my high school experience. college students don't act that much different than high school students, either. some of the classes are harder, and much larger, but generally, it's not as bad as people say. at least, not in my experience. since i'm an animation major, most of my classes are on the same floor of the same building, and in the same 5 or so rooms, and with generally the same group of people in each of those classes. plus, we all know our teachers on a first-name basis, and have been taught several classes by each of them. the atmosphere is pretty relaxed, overall. out of the generals classes that i've taken where i don't know the people in my classes, some have been ok, and some i've disliked, but that's generally how it is in high school, as well.

it's normal to be aprehensive about going to college, but it's not as scary as you might think. so, if you do decide to go straight to college, you'll probably be ok. but, yes, community colleges and private colleges are probably best. i go to a private Christian university.

on a side note, my college has a great program for film majors. (my college is also pretty expensive, though...)