Aspies For Freedom

college , indeed, am still in the throes of it, but i havent let education hold me back :evil:

problem is, what i am good at, IT, they dont teach the areas i want in the detail  i need, so college for me is mostly a waste of bloody time.

What should you choose when you're still at school?

Is "college" the same as "university"?  Never been too sure about whether it's just different terms used by different countries, of if the distinction's deeper than that.

I finished Uni.  Sailed through the theoretical stuff, despite not actually being able to construct a half-decent essay and having lousy research skills.  I write well, and that got me through intact.  In fact, I think had I chosen to stay on and done postgrad, as long as I chose a field like literature I could be there still, merrily churning out words.

However, I was woefully unprepared for the real world of having a job.  Thank Goodness my first professional job involved travelling and working in different, far-flung cities... that means all the really big mistakes I made, I made them far away from anyone I'm ever likely to meet again!

Aha.  Thank you!

i'm still in high school at the moment, and so far, it's not a happy experiance for me.

I'm an undergrad student; been told that I'll be doing my post grad straight after (subject to getting a first pass and therefore getting the funding) again, I'm lucky, my degree is in my special interest and harnesses all my positive Aspie traits.

I think when an Aspie works with their best skills they can go very, very far.

I'd also just like to point out though, that I don't socialise with my peers at university. I do try but I don't understand why people want to talk to me about my personal life after they've asked my advice on a class assignment. I frequently get told that I'm aloof or standoffish with other students and have unkindly been called 'teacher's pet'...this is because I sometimes go sit with my favourite lecturers and tutors in their offices and talk about sociology. Sometimes we talk about personal things. But mostly its sociology, and its nice to just be myself and not have to be a party girl who loves her drink more than she loves her education and special interests.

It was the same at school; sometimes I would just go sit in the classroom with my favourite teachers and talk to them. Again, we'd usually talk about the academic subject, sometimes with a little bit of personal chat.

When I first went to uni I wondered why I felt history was just repeating itself. And I found first year really hard - I used to have to deal with bitchy girls passing notes about me in tutorials, sniggering when I spoke up, making me feel generally horrible walking into a tutorial. I only stuck it through because of passion for my subject, consistently high grades and, vitally, support from my lecturers. Did I survive social rejection better because I was older, wiser and a lot stronger in who I was? Maybe. I went to uni at 22, not 18. Maybe it saved me, maybe it didn't.

I just want to especially reassure teenagers reading this that you can go really far, even when it seems like school is hell and all you want to do is get out of there. Even if you don't have supportive teachers (I had more arseholes for teachers than I had good ones and I went to a terribly rough school), you know what you are and that will totally make you a far stronger person. So from someone who basically lives and breathes academia, I just want to encourage people to reach their full potential and let no-one get them down or tell them they're just not good enough.

I am working on a B.Sci. in Biochemistry with minors in Zoology and Geology. I am hoping to get a job in the biotech industry and/or go on to grad school and get a Ph.D. in Vertebrate Paleontology or Microbial Biochemistry.

I went to a Quaker college in North Carolina that has a high Aspie population--it made it much easier to get through.  I took a class at  the grad school where I was accepted, but I didn't like the school.  I am now planning on attending a different grad school, one that is out of my state, but offers online courses.
I majored in psychology, and got a minor in Quaker studies.  I will earn an M.A. in Quaker studies at the graduate level.

oops, I totally missed that there was a social life at university.  I thought it was all about learning.  Between classes no one paid attention.  I've never lived in a dorm, though.

I was graduated with a BA from Indiana Universtiy and LOVED it.  Its a wonderful place.

I recieved my MS from the university of vermont and HATED it.  They were much more invasive and insulting.  Pretty much cranky.  But I can give cranky right back with the best of them.

A three credit course is three hours a week, so a full-time student would have 12 hours of class/lecture a week.  Some take more, some less.

Artemis, you are not alone in that sentiment.  You have so much to look forward to!!

I'm currently in 6th form college (16-18). I think that counts as high school in America. I'm enjoying myself most of the time there, lots of nice people although i'm getting fed up with a few of my subjects at the moment (I do 4).

I don't always go to all my lessons because of meltdowns. But i'm doing well in everything apart from biology.

I'm going to be going to university. I'm really looking forward to it because i'm very independant and will enjoy not being told what to do.

In the UK the government gives a Disabled Student's Allowance. Because i'm Dyslexic i will get a free laptop and because of Asperger's i will get around £1,700 which i don't pay back. They also offer to pay for someone to help with things like taking notes.

The national government does make loans and a precious few grants and employment dollars available to college students to help pay for college.  They stress that it is the student responsibility to pay them back (parents can also take out loans, and also their responsibility to pay them back), and will use any ploy short of jail time to get their money back.

Interest here can be between 6 and 8 percent or was when I was in grad school (1996).  You don't pay up front but by god you pay later.  And yes you must appky direct to the school.