I just applied to college, need opinions on a few things

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I just applied to college yesterday for Fall 2014. I'm freaking out. My husband says he'll help me, but I'm so afraid of getting information.

I have my assessment for ASD on the 16th. I know I will need disability services like test taking in a quiet room, extra time for some assignments, and so on. I have to have documentation of my disability. Erg...

On the off chance I'm not on the spectrum, now what? Does severe depression, anxiety, and focusing problems qualify for disability services? As far as I know, you get early registration. However, you have to prove how it will help you in relation to your disability. I don't know how to do this. Should I just have a psychologist write a note for me? What are the dates of your early registration for those who have it?

I read reviews of the college I applied to, which is Pasadena City College. Now, it's a good enough school, but people seem to have a lot of trouble with the staff there. I've experienced once before a person from another college hanging up on me for asking questions. How do I ensure I get what I need?

Also, I really feel like I should be back on Adderall before I start school. However, I'm so nervous. I know a lot of people without ADHD pop those pills, so a lot of doctors don't give it out. The previous psych I went to didn't believe I had ADHD because it wasn't caught when I was 5, even though they didn't diagnose many females with it in '96. How do I ask a doctor for this medicine? I have proof I was previously diagnosed when 16. I feel if I'm not able to focus on my schoolwork, I will fail again like I did in HS.

Does anyone have any tips for me? I will probably write here again when it's way closer to the date, but I want to be prepared. I know how to do FASFA by myself, as well as having to take placement tests.

I've been out of school for a few years. I want to go full time, and graduate with honors. My school will be 30 miles away. I have no choice but to either get a scooter (I can't afford a car) or take public transit. Does anyone have any opinions on this for someone like me who has a lot of sensory problems with hearing? I get lost very easily, often can't tell my left from right hand, and need to go the exact same route every day or I have a meltdown. Hypothetically, would taking the public transit for a total of about 4 hours a day back and forth mess up my grades if I take 12-15 credits and hold no job?

Sorry. I know it's a lot of questions. I'm just so nervous, but at the same time, excited.

It's good to go prepared. For most of those problems you just described there should be a counselor or advisor to help you out. Just try to find out who to seek out for any possible issues that may arise. So you know where to go to for any type of problem.

Dont worry about having been too long off education. Ive been off for 7 years and doing fine now at uni. And dont aim for honors: its pretty much just asking for disappointments. Just strive to always do your best.

Im afraid I cant help you with the rest.

I wish you good luck.

I actually meant transferring with honors. In that community college, you just need to take 6 honors classes, or a minimum of 15 credits, I believe. The honors classes are the general education classes. For example, honors Anthropology. I think I could handle that, but I will wait until my second semester to take them.

Thanks for the advice. I guess I just get ahead of myself. I'll try to contact them first and then report back here if I don't get the information. It's just a bit complicated.

Do you think it's a good idea to first get disability services and ask them for help with all of this?

For hearing sensory and processing problems you might want to ask about a FM transmitter.

For disability services, the psych needs to give you a diagnosis (pulled from the ICD or DSM) and have a list of your functional disabilities (things you struggle with), the psych might also need to list possible accommodations that would help.

You need to look at your colleges disabilities dept requirements for filling. Most require documentation of your disability from with in 1 year, so if you want to put ADHD down (which will qualify you for some services) the psych needs to evaluate your ADHD. You need to inform your psych beforehand that you are wanting to be seen so you can be evaluated for accommodations for school.

if i were i would not apply for full-time college with that diagnosis. i learn the hard way and was diagnosed after i dropped out and switched to part-time at a different college

I can help you out with the public transport bit, I'm pretty much exactly where you are. My school is 20-25 miles away and I don't drive, so I take the bus. I have issues with noise and crowds too, but I carry earplugs with me and always try to get on the bus early so I get to choose where I sit. Depending on the effectiveness of your public transport system, it can be tricky trying to organise your classes around it, for instance, I can't take classes any earlier than 10 AM or later than 3 PM because the classes are 50 minutes long and I have to catch the bus by 4:45 otherwise I'll have no way home, since my town is very small and poorly serviced. You'll find there's a lot of hanging around to be done; as I mentioned, I typically have almost an hour wait between getting out of my last class and being able to get home. It's usually around six PM by the time I do get home, so I use up over two hours a day just waiting around or sitting on the bus, and that's just for the evenings. Mornings I catch the bus at 7:32, arrive at my connecting stop at 8:15, wait around for an hour til my next bus shows up, and arrive on campus by 9:40, giving me just enough time to get to my first class by 10. My previous semester, I had one class at 3 PM on Tuesdays, but because of the way the bus runs through my town, I have to leave the house by 10:44 because the next bus doesn't come til 4:25 PM. I spent six hours every Tuesday waiting around or riding on buses to get to one 50 minute class. Frankly, if I were you, I'd go with the scooter. The bus is the primary reason I'm taking my driving test at the end of February, I'm sick and tired of commuting. It'll be tricky though, because I too have an impossible time with directions. I've been taking the bus for three years to two different schools, and I'd still be hard-pressed to get myself to school under my own steam. I typically judge my distance from my destination with time, because I have the times for the arrival, commute and drop-off for all the buses I catch memorised, so I know that if I'm on route 7 at 2:25, I'm about halfway to school, but show me a road sign and I'm completely lost.

Generally yes, anxiety, severe depression, adhd, etc can be grounds for accommodations. I can't tell you the number of students who get extended time due to test anxiety or adhd.

Thank you all! Yes, all of your advice helped a lot.

I took my ADOS test recently, so I'm still not sure if I'm on the spectrum. However, everything else that I've been diagnosed with I know for sure I have. It's nice to know that no matter what my results are, I will be able to get services to help. Especially due to my anxiety.

Thanks for the reply. I feel kind of relieved that I already knew about the corruption. Being truthful, it happens at a lot of colleges now, especially in California.

I've just been recently diagnosed as autistic. Is there any place there for an autistic high achiever, you think? I also thought about Santa Monica College, but it's a bit late for me to apply and everything now, right? I mean, I could try to apply there.


I'm VERY interested in your opinion FreeSpirit, especially because you seem to have experience with the area I'm at. I have no choice but to go to a CC right now, as I only have a GED. I plan on transferring to Cal Poly or UC Irvine, possibly. That won't be until a few years, though. I'm going to be an engineering major, so I just care about getting all of my high level math and science classes done. I live in Bellflower, close to the Long Beach area. I chose not to go to Long Beach City College, because I hear it's like a glorified high school. Do you have any school recommendations? I'm willing to travel up to 30 miles each way. I will be getting a scooter.

Also, do you have any other information about schools in the area in regards to classes being impacted? I know most community colleges have this issue, but PCC did cut core classes. One of the only reasons I chose PCC was because they still offer summer classes.

Please don't be so quick to run to get special treatment. At least attempt a year with your own abilities. Too many people on the spectrum run to get "accommodations" as the first thing, when this should be the last thing.

IMHO too many have this sense of entitlement for these "accommodations", I say if you are entitled to such things then others should be entitled to know you received such treatment, so they can view your accomplishments in the proper light.

You do realize that accommodations do not include making the material easier for me, right? What you just said is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. School is not what real work life is.

If an employer thinks my abilities as an engineer should be determined by getting a quiet room during tests, someone giving me notes, (not because I CAN'T take notes, but because there are usually too many distractions in my brain to properly keep up) and priority registration that helps me schedule my classes at a time of day I do best at, then I don't want to be employed with them.

I already tried what you said, by the way. It ended up with me being almost 23 and unemployed. I dropped out of high school, even though I knew all of the material for my advanced classes. I've already had a hard life. I see absolutely no reason why I shouldn't seek out "special" treatment that makes my path more level with others, thus increasing my ability to compete. As long as the material is just as rigorous, and I'm not trying to get a job that depends on extremely fast reaction time, then I'm not getting anything more than the opportunity to prove myself.

It should be up to the school or employer to decide if you using "accommodations" is relevant. I just find it ridiculous that laws and lawsuits are done because people think flagging test scores and transcripts is discrimination.

I have no problem with people getting things like extra time, so long as this fact is noted.

The fact doesn't need to be noted at all, and that's my point. My potential employers need to know that I know the material, which will be represented by my grades. Hell, even grades aren't an accurate representation of what you truly know. I would indeed file a law suit if someone tried to discriminate against me solely on the fact that I have a disability and needed a bit of extra time in college classes to take a test. If my college tried to note on my transcript that I somehow had it "easier", I would also sue. This is real discrimination that would be illegal.

Now, IF I got a job and did not meet deadlines and such, there is only so much a reasonable accommodation does. I would likely be fired if I couldn't keep up with my job, and rightfully so.

And no, it shouldn't be up to the school or the employer (within reason). If I have a documented disability, and something simple the school/employer can do allows me to do meet the overall goal, then they are required, by law, to do it. The purpose of these laws are so we can be protected and prove ourselves. This is NOT a handout. Unless someone does my tests for me or gives me take-home tests, it will be all due to MY hard work. I will have to do the same rigorous math and physic classes as anyone else who is majoring in engineering.