Advice about Going to College?

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I would think it best for her to go to public university. Then again, I believe that you should try to aim for the stars. Public university would, if I am correct, be the "highest" option. Having her big sister there would also likely be a huge help for her. Also, it means that there will only be one big change, and she'll have you to fall back on. For option 1, she'd first have to adapt to the community college and then adapt to the public college afterwards.

I know I would prefer option 3 in her place. Then again, it's very important for me to have something or somebody around whom I know so that I can feel more comfortable.

I agree with astaut since I'm going to a private school and I have been under the same circumstance. Starting at a community college is not a bad start because of course it's cheaper and you're sister can commute from home in a short distance, but I think option 3 is not bad either. If she wants to get a feel of life outside of the home, but not to far, adapt to the lifestyle in college with no transition (staying only in the uni for 4 years), and when it comes to having a major, then she'll do ok with option 3. If she can't drive, is there any public transport she can take to go to college: bus, train, etc?

There is public transportation, but I'm not sure about which one you're talking about. For the community college, she'd be completely dependent on my mom to drive her. For the university in #3 there wouldn't be public transportation to get to home - she'd have to live on campus or very close to it, since if she lives right off campus there is transportation to get her to and from school. To go home, our mom would have to come pick her up, which she's done with me for a while, so that's not a problem, but it'd only happen at most every weekend.

I would tend to lean towards Option 1. She still would have mom and dad around to help her get acclimated to college life, yet, not having to adjust to a college course-load completely by herself. Also, the cost of going to a community college is at least half of going to a 4-year school, and you will be taking the same general education classes anyway. I think that it is important to consider how comfortable she may feel socially. It would allow her more time to mature before moving off her Junior year to a four-year college.

I do not know. It's different in England.

I agree with this. There are numerous unemployed people with masters and phds. Unless the job she wants requires a degree, I recommend certification instead. Or even on the job training. Internships etc.

Thanks to everyone for their advice! While I can't say 100% yet, we're about 95% sure that she'll be going with option #3, going to the university with me. One of the factors I didn't include in the initial presentation of the choices was that my parents are divorced and there's a bit of strife at home between my mom's boyfriend and my sister. Nothing huge, but enough to make home life stressful for all involved, which made her decision for her. We just submitted the application this week and I know with her grades that she'll be accepted. Being the bridge of all this, between my mom and my sister, has been kind of an adventure. Mom has her own concerns, my sister has her own concerns, and there were different things that had to be done to address both. (This forum was one of the things that helped, btw. Thanks!) Anyways, so now I'm just going to make a website with everything I've learned (and am learning) about a good transition to college for people of the spectrum to kind of smooth the path for those to come. There's a lot of good advice out there, from you guys and from others who've been through it...I'm just going to try and put it in one place. If you all want to contribute, feel free! If not, thank you so very much for your advice. You helped make it so that my sister could make her own decision, instead of having my mom and boat loads of well meaninged family members make it for her. (They weren't even considering letting her go to a university.) Both sides had really good points, and we're doing our best to kind of put them together, especially the advice about the office of disabilities. She actually does want to go into the medical field, so certification programs are out and she'll be heading off to college soon! Thanks again!