College with HFA

[ftfipps]

My father has 4 college degrees and works in a factory. He is a wiz at math and I stopped learning math after he flipped out when he was helping me with my homework back when I was nine. I was traumatized I guess or I just stopped caring. My biology and English grades were excellent in college. Can an aspie, with all our trials(being bullied by classmates; etc) get through college? I was doing nursing classes but people made fun of me. I already know how much of a pain it is going to be but I don't see any other option. Nobody is going to teach me how to do tile work or any other job. Is college worth it?

 

[Rayner]

personally, I'm not much of an academic so college isn't really my thing. Bottom line I'm a tradesman, a blue collar guy so that is where I've been the most successful. My girlfriend, on the other hand, has an undergraduate degree and works in a field where it is required and is considering pursuing a master's.

 

[Vince]

As with everything under the sun, it depends. The two biggies that come to mind, in order of importance, are 1) which degree? and 2) which college?

I've been thinking lately how there is just a TON of talk, most of which I agree with because of what I see with my own eyes, about how most students simply waste time and money getting their degrees. For liberal arts, it's a waste in as much as the degree doesn't directly translate into a boost of income to help you pay of the criminally high tuition and expenses of attending, but also the quality of the curriculum in most (but not all) schools has been degraded to be ideological indoctrination rather than education.

For STEM fields, there are a few bad departments here and there, but so far most degrees in these directly apply as a requisite for those kinds of jobs, i.e. engineering, architecture, etc. Thus getting the degree can actually help you get a better job so you can pay off the debt, or catch back up to the money you spent if you don't take out loans for it. It's not a guarantee, but it IS a guarantee that a liberal arts degree is probably a waste of money and time these days.

The talk I referred to though is how extreme left-wing the faculty, administration, bureaucracies and even many students are at most colleges these days. This may be related to the trouble you spoke of. Not wanting to get into political talk as both left-ish and right-ish sides are needed to keep a balance in society, but want to make it clear that the "left" I speak of is very extreme currently and I would recommend a veerrry close and thorough look at any school & faculty these days before committing such an investment so it's not a waste, especially if you're an Aspie.

I say "especially if you're an Aspie" because it's extremely commonplace in these institutions to find yourself being roasted alive and berated, ridiculed and sometimes expelled just for saying something that is considered, by the powers that be, to be "offensive". For an Aspie like me who is constantly saying things the wrong way and come out twisted from what my intended utterance was supposed to be, this would be an absolute nightmare. I can't emphasize the significance of these last two paragraphs enough. I've downplayed it quite a bit. It's a really big deal.

So it's just my opinion, but it's based on quite a bit of observation, but unless you can use the degree as a prerequisite for a particular job, then I'd say you'd be much better off skipping it. It would be much more frugal to learn a skilled trade for a lot less money. Skilled labor is much more in demand than someone with a degree in, say, English Literature. In fact, my lowly technical job nets me more income than half the degreed engineers at my company. You can always learn philosophy and literature on your own - all that stuff is literally at your fingertips today.

Depending on the struggles you have that are a part of your particular Aspie package, think out what type of job will fit your personality as that matters more than it does for NT's. Just for example, my job is technical and mostly solitary so it's a good fit for me. In my case, nursing would be pretty impossible because there would be simply too many people to deal with every day. I just couldn't do that at all, but we're all different.

FWIW

 

[tlc]

I went to college for drafting/design engineering. I found college easier than high school. Because most of my classes were specialized in what I was interested in. And I got done fairly quickly, I took 16-18 credit hours when 12 was full time. It was a lot of work, but very doable since I didn't spend my time partying and socializing like most of my peers did. I just went in, did my thing, and got out. I stayed in the dorm that had many of the older people, so that helped. Also after disastrous results halfway thru the first semester, I paid the extra for a single room from there on out. Except for once where a guy from Finland roomed with me, he was not highly social and we got along well.

 

[ftfipps]

@Vince I've heard that the mood at universities is very "left" these days and that is interesting.

 

[Rayner]

based on my one semester of college, I would say that the mood there is very liberal. Then again I live in Colorado.

@Vince I've heard that the mood at universities is very libertarian these days and that grosses me out. I would flip out If I was surrounded by that stuff.

 

[disconnected]

I finished college. I don’t work in my field of study though. I got into the trades also.

 

[Mattymatt]

My father has 4 college degrees and works in a factory. He is a wiz at math and I stopped learning math after he flipped out when he was helping me with my homework back when I was nine. I was traumatized I guess or I just stopped caring. My biology and English grades were excellent in college. Can an aspie, with all our trials(being bullied by classmates; etc) get through college? I was doing nursing classes but people made fun of me. I already know how much of a pain it is going to be but I don't see any other option. Nobody is going to teach me how to do tile work or any other job. Is college worth it?

The question of college being worth it is a very hard one to answer because it's subjective. For me, it was not worthwhile at all. If I could get a redo on life, I never would have gone to college; I would have gone to a trade school instead. I think college is really for those who are geared towards science, technology, engineering, and/or mathematics. I have no aptitude in this area save for information technology systems administration but I am entirely self-taught in this area. The best advice I have for you is to explore a multitude of options, and if you feel college is not for you, don't feel compelled to attend as it will leave you with tremendous amounts of student debt. It is possible to learn a trade like being a plumber, electrician, or carpenter and earn a much better wage than many college graduates.

The trade school route might be the best route if you don't think you'll make it in corporate America. This is essentially what going to college is: it's preparation for a white collar job or academia. Academia is incredibly cutthroat, just like corporate America. I am a corporate America failure - I could never understand the social dynamics of the environment and had difficulty interpreting expectations and unwritten rules. If your difficulties are along similar lines, I wouldn't wish corporate America or academia on you. My employment experience left me burnt out, confused, bereft, hopeless, and suicidal. I don't tell you this to scare you away from any one direction. I just want you to be as informed as possible and I can only relate my lessons learned.

 

[Vince]

@Vince I've heard that the mood at universities is very libertarian these days and that grosses me out. I would flip out If I was surrounded by that stuff.

In my experience, it is THE exact opposite.

First let's make sure our definitions are on the same page. Libertarian means a minimum of enforcement from authority so that people are free to live as they see fit. Technically "liberal" is supposed to mean close to the same thing too, but common parlance of the word has been hijacked and flipped such that it now is associated with a very heavy emphasis on authority strongly regulating from all sorts of perspectives. Some people claim it to be "socialist" (and at the far extreme I suppose it is), but there is a fairly wide range of perspectives inside the umbrella. However, the umbrella as it is constructed today does have a pretty strong agreement about control of authority being a "good thing", in general.
These are just definitions, not a stance of mine either way.

Anyway, from what I've heard and seen firsthand from a very wide range of colleges, it is often a dangerous place to speak freely and can be a catastrophe sometimes. Seems entirely backwards, but it is what it is, and it sure is a shame.

Having said that, the STEM departments are (so far) not as bad and trade schools are even less of a problem in this area. But it's still worth checking out even at these places. Also, trade schools generally are far less expensive and directly apply to subsequent employment. If you're looking at a trade school and it's just as expensive as a college, then you might be looking at a bad idea - it's a red flag - some so-called "trade schools" are more about profit and don't offer much result.

It's a bit of a research project just deciding on a school to attend. You just need to make sure you don't get bit. There's not much apparatus out there looking into these places in an effort to keep you from being totally ripped off. It's up to you to make sure of that.

 

[Mr Allen]

A long time ago I went to a "Special Needs" residential College in Grimsby, England, I enjoyed it for the most part, but I just can't interact on a normal level with lower functioning disabled people, I need to be around people who can at least hold a coherent conversation, hence I hated living in the Main Hall for about the first 6 to 8 months of the 2 years.

Worst thing was, everyone got up about 8 AM so to get anywhere near the Bathroom you had to get up at 7, and I just don't "do" early mornings.

 

[Dillon]

I’m currently in college fixing to graduate soon with a bachelors in marine biology. I did not go straight to a four year University right after but I attended a small 2 year community college to get some of my basic classes out of the way. I felt like it was better to go that route since I get nervous in larger environments so taking small steps like that really helped out. I had a few years ago a more severely autistic kid in my community college taking a chemistry class with me and he did great in it. It doesn’t matter how big or small your personal problems are as long as you do the best you can to be successful.
As far a people making fun of you forgot about them, heck I’ve had some people make fun of me because of what I want to do but it doesn’t bother me. I take it as those people are jealous and they are the ones with the problem not you. If nursing is your passion then go for it there are plenty of male nurses out in the world. I hope you don’t give up on what you are wanting to do because of a few ignorant people. At the end of the day you are in control of your life not them

 

[ftfipps]

In my experience, it is THE exact opposite.

First let's make sure our definitions are on the same page. Libertarian means a minimum of enforcement from authority so that people are free to live as they see fit. Technically "liberal" is supposed to mean close to the same thing too, but common parlance of the word has been hijacked and flipped such that it now is associated with a very heavy emphasis on authority strongly regulating from all sorts of perspectives. Some people claim it to be "socialist" (and at the far extreme I suppose it is), but there is a fairly wide range of perspectives inside the umbrella. However, the umbrella as it is constructed today does have a pretty strong agreement about control of authority being a "good thing", in general.
These are just definitions, not a stance of mine either way.

Anyway, from what I've heard and seen firsthand from a very wide range of colleges, it is often a dangerous place to speak freely and can be a catastrophe sometimes. Seems entirely backwards, but it is what it is, and it sure is a shame.

Having said that, the STEM departments are (so far) not as bad and trade schools are even less of a problem in this area. But it's still worth checking out even at these places. Also, trade schools generally are far less expensive and directly apply to subsequent employment. If you're looking at a trade school and it's just as expensive as a college, then you might be looking at a bad idea - it's a red flag - some so-called "trade schools" are more about profit and don't offer much result.

It's a bit of a research project just deciding on a school to attend. You just need to make sure you don't get bit. There's not much apparatus out there looking into these places in an effort to keep you from being totally ripped off. It's up to you to make sure of that.

You are censored and reprimanded at universities for expressing any contrasting views to pc culture. I am aware that there are many trade schools with contractual obligations and offer little help in the way of actually getting a job. They just want you to graduate so they can get paid. Like a diploma mill. I am wary of institutions like this.

 

[ftfipps]

I’m currently in college fixing to graduate soon with a bachelors in marine biology. I did not go straight to a four year University right after but I attended a small 2 year community college to get some of my basic classes out of the way. I felt like it was better to go that route since I get nervous in larger environments so taking small steps like that really helped out. I had a few years ago a more severely autistic kid in my community college taking a chemistry class with me and he did great in it. It doesn’t matter how big or small your personal problems are as long as you do the best you can to be successful.
As far a people making fun of you forgot about them, heck I’ve had some people make fun of me because of what I want to do but it doesn’t bother me. I take it as those people are jealous and they are the ones with the problem not you. If nursing is your passion then go for it there are plenty of male nurses out in the world. I hope you don’t give up on what you are wanting to do because of a few ignorant people. At the end of the day you are in control of your life not them

Good for you, man! It sounds like you are on the right track and congratulations on getting your license!! I don't let people effect the outcome of my life, I have always been insecure, just as far as succeeding in the workplace, not succeeding in school. I want to blend in with people and I am getting better with that. We learn stuff very quickly

 

[puzzlingbill]

When I was in college in the early 70s, computers were still primarily in the domain of the electrical engineers. The idea that you might be able to make a career out of teaching them to do tricks (I like that better than "programmer") didn't really exist yet. I know what my major would have been if I were younger, but that wasn't an option at the time.

The point being - the occupation you end up spending most of your career in might not exist yet. That's an argument for thinking of college as more than just vocational training. Getting a general education can help get you ready for whatever will be the new thing in a few years. If you have some specific ideas about what field you want to be in, vocational training can be best.