"Research Triangle" in NC and Central Valley in CA

Post Reply New Topic

I will likely be going this fall to a PhD program either at Duke (which is in Durham, North Carolina, for those who don't know) or UC Merced, which is in the Central Valley of California. I'm wondering how easy or difficult it is to find other college-age aspies or other non-neurotypical people for socializing in these places.

Every time I come in contact with PhD students, I realize that while I am intellectually on a par with them (sometimes I feel even on a par with faculty members), socially I am much more like a high schooler or even younger. Therefore, I feel that my happiness in a PhD program will depend strongly on having a group of people more on my level--people who want to do things like go ride bumper cars, draw/make art together, and just in general have something that is more like a "playgroup" than the typical adult interaction. Also, I'd really like to meet others who are late bloomers in the dating world, which again very few graduate students are.

For those of you who live near one of these places, I'd like to hear from you on how well you have managed to find a social group.

Hey biostructure.

Have you visited the campuses? I'm assuming that you would have for interviews, but did you actually spend some time on campus/visiting the surrounding areas for a few days? Will the weather (rainy/stormy vs sunny/hot) negatively affect you in any way? The good thing about both universities is that it has an undergraduate program associated with it, so you're more likely to find students who are interested in the same things you are. Just be sure to check out clubs the first week of school where student orgs usually have tabling events to recruit new members. If you're looking for specific aspie groups, then you'll have to google around, but if I were you, I wouldn't limit myself to being friends with non-NTs....there will be people who you're compatible with, NT or non-NT, wherever you go. Try going in with a positive attitude and open mind.

School and life is what you make of it. Wherever you choose to go, if it ends up being non-ideal, then you can still enjoy your life for the next 4+ years. Hope that helps.

My eggsperience is that there are super few of these kinds of people in grad schools.
Most grad students are either quite mature or want to appear so.
They are not like college students many of whom are willing to engage in playgroup type activities.
Many of them have romantic relationships or are engaged or married.
At any university, there are probably just a few people who would engage with you the way you like.
Between Duke vs. UC Merced, my guess is that UC Merced has more of the type of people you describe.
Duke is a prestigious university, and grad students at such places aren't the funnest people.
UC Merced is close to the countryside and great outdoors like yosemite, there might be funner people there.
BTW, these are the types of people I like too, but they are really so few as age increases from 20, it's sad.