Cambridge conducive to Asperger's style

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Hello,
I've found Cambridge University to be quite conducive to the generally unique
learning style and style of interaction that many with Aspergers have.
In particular has been tolerance for limited face to face exchange, and patience
put forth into allowing time for those with Aspergers to generate their thoughts
and finish expressing them. At some other universities it's quite common
for there to be immense pressure exerted over others to express themselves in
a rapid and confident and highly articulate manner, much like a business style of presentation
and I've found this not conducive to general Asperger style.
Dan
London

Not everyone is able to go to Cambridge University, and not sure it would of suited me..
What may suit one aspie may not suit another, as we are all very different, the way I spoke very fast and muddled with a east end accent would never of fitted in at Cambridge...

My cousin when to Oxford University a genius really, but since leaving moved into his own home and stays there alone, does work but not as we all know it and would be very hard for him now to integrate like the rest of us.

I do understand what your saying, but we all do have to learn to live in the real world.

Cambridge is a fantastic university, I admit I am slightly jealous.

It is not only a great school but it also has an incredibly rich history. To study in the same place where Darwin and Newton also did must be awe-inspiring.

I was planning on applying to Cambridge, but ended up sending my app to Oxford instead (and you're not allowed to apply to both). I got in, but I think in retrospect I should have applied to Cambridge over Oxford. Not that it matters much, as I will not be attending due to finances. Oxford costs £20 000/year for international students, whereas Harvard or Yale, with their new financial aid policies, will likely cost only a few thousand dollars for my family. That said, Cambridge certainly would be a wonderful place to study. As mentioned above, they have the rich scientific tradition with Newton, Darwin, and countless others. It's also the university where Baren-Cohen teaches, and from what I understand he recently pushed through the establishment of a new Asperger's support system at Cambridge.

hmm i'm thinking to apply to cam and i did think that it may be aspie-friendly considering all those famous people going there, but meh, don't you think it's abit too posh?

anywho, if they really like aspies then i'll consider going to a shrink to get myself registered officially =]

I've noticed this. It's kind of annoying.

You must be one helluva student. I hope you get into the school of your choice, though you really can't go wrong with any of the four you listed.

I recall you saying in a previous thread that you were interested in virology and medical research. Did you ever consider making Johns Hopkins one of your choices? They place a large emphasis, I believe, on biomedical research and the like.

Nyeh, stuff that! I go to the *other* Cambridge University - we're so clever, we spell January 'JanARUy'

Johns Hopkins is the best place for biomedical engineering by far, but they don't have much in the way of microbiology/virology at the undergraduate level. I might consider JHU for grad school/med school.

One of the problems I have with Cambridge is that everyone here is so stuck up. I held open a door for someone going to the chinese meal last night and he just swanned past without a look at me. They do that to me in Oxford too, even when I'm in the collages and they shouldn't be able to tell whether I'm one of their "own" or not (obviously this doesn't apply to everyone). The cleaner comes into my boyfriend's room to clean as well which would drive me up the wall if I was here all the time.

From what I've heard from my friends at Oxford/Cambridge there's a lot of work. Of course, none of them are autistic, but personally that would be too much for me. I'm finding it hard enough to keep up as it is and I'm not learning anything new in my course at the moment (I spend half my time in Cambridge though, which involves a four hour bus ride and is just generally tiring).

Those adverts piss me off. >< I have to pass one on the way up to the hospital and one day I'll scream. (Coincidently, I go to the "other" Oxford uni, which is so obviously better. XD (j/k)).

They piss us off too! I haven't met any students who like those posters - most just find them offensive to our intelligence God knows *what* the University was thinking...

I think English society in general is conducive to Aspie style. Not only are they reserved and refrained, but they also have extremely clear rules for interaction (compared to us Americans, at least).

Probably how incredibly witty they are. >< Maybe if they actually see one they'll work out how annoying they are.



There's a huge culture about being "normal" here. I know there is everywhere, but it's really difficult to get around here. My mum comes from a very traditional background (she was head girl etc. at a boarding school), and her sister's family is absolutely perfect. She drives herself up the bend comparing us to them (for example, at my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary they were all colour coded and perfectly neat, and we were completely scruffy and couldn't even manage to arrange properly for a family photo), when three/four kids have some sort of mental disorder, and the other one is a normal teenager. She compares her house keeping to my aunt as well - when she lives in a modern house with two neat kids and we live in a victorian house in the countryside with pets, four kids, and a husband who lives on runescape.

Oh, and if there are any clear rules I never found them. XD

One word - Money.

Not everyone can afford to go to schools that cost a lot of money...there for it wont be suited for all aspies, let alone all people.

Despite the general association between Cambridge Uni and Private Education, being rich isn't a prerequisite of going to Cambridge Uni - my Photography course at Anglia Ruskin Uni is actually more expensive, because of the equipment fees and stuff!

I'd be surprised if that's true... I know photography stuff is expensive, but Oxbridge students have to pay a collage fee above the normal tuition fees - so on a basic matienence loan with no aid from parents you'd have £1000 to pay for accommodation (which is more expensive in Oxbridge halls: my friend in Cambridge is paying the same for a old, small room with bathroom/kitchen shared by 10+ people as I'm paying for en-suit in the second newest Brookes halls), food etc.

Foreign students have a bigger tuition fee to pay as well, and I don't know if there's any government support on that so I assume it's higher for Oxbridge.