What is college like for aspies

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I'm starting college this fall, and haven't made many good friends. I go to a small liberal arts school, theres only about 2000-2500 people here. What is college like for people with aspergers?

For me it wasn't a great experience but that was mostly because I was not ready for it (being only 17 at the time.) and I was essentially forced into it against my will. I do regret that I did not get more involved in activities and it was strange NEVER being bullied or teased in any way. People actually *gasp* tried to befriend me although they were always international students who I never saw again.

I would suggest to get active in an extracurricular activities as much as possible.

Hell, for me any way. Not so much the social part but more so the lectures and not being able to keep up with them, which made my grades suffer. I did get one of professors to wear a microphone that taped his lectures and then he would upload it on the UWM's student site. Now all of the professors use it as a normal practice.

Hell.

My first semester of college was literally the worst four months of my life. I was sleep deprived, practically addicted to RedBull, and about 10 times more suicidal than 'normal'. I got a 4.0 GPA, but it wasn't worth it.

I went to a small school as well. It had about a thousand more than yours. . Granted, this was a school many of my high school friends were going to, so I was well within my comfort zone and I was able to connect with mutual friends. However, I had the idea that making other friends would be automatic when I got into the smaller environment, and that was not the case. It took me a while (about a year) to make other friends, and much of that was just getting involved in small groups on campus and hanging out in common areas. I may not have gotten the "ring by spring" but it took a lot of the terror out of living alone since it was a process of baby steps rather than being thrown out cold turkey. However, I know many Aspies out there have difficulty with college for legit reasons. I'm one of those people who was able to function in school, but not everyone is like that, so it is hard for me to offer advice in that aspect.

I dropped out of Jr college 3 separate times. I got completely overwhelmed with the workload.
I had a hard time even handling more than one class at a time. Deadlines freak me out, the bureaucracy of going to college is confusing, far too many people everywhere, some classrooms smell like locker rooms.

Not to mention classroom lectures are completely useless for me, I have to learn and experience things myself, and do my own research on subjects. I pretty much became what you would call "auto-didactic" Everything I know I learned myself. I almost never payed any attention in class. I just can't sit and follow someone lecturing. Too many distractions in the room. I hear EVERYTHING going on. I'll get thrown off by the buzz of a bad dimmer switch.

No, college was not fun, all 3 attempts over 15 years.
Didn't even finish a single semester.

it's a different experience for everyone but for me mostly it's been s**t. most of my friends decided to do 2 more years of school so you can imagine how lonely it gets for me.

I both loved and hated college.

One good thing about college was that I had way more friends than I did in high school. There were a lot more people to find common ground with. My major and extracurricular activities helped with that.

Unfortunately, most of those "friendships" did not last beyond college. So while I had a lot of fun in college, I didn't create life-long friendships like many people do.

I enjoyed *learning.* I found most of my classes interesting. I loved being able to CHOOSE what I wanted to take and when, unlike in high school. I enjoyed having control over my own schedule.

The bad part of academics was keeping track of all the assignments. I personally didn't have trouble getting to class on time, etc. but trying to remember what is due for what class when was difficult at times.

I also had trouble when the routine changed. I had a set schedule for classes, work, etc. When school was out for holidays or spring break, I would forget to go to work (usually I would miss a lesson I was giving to a private student or something like that.)

I was a very good student overall, but I was *VERY STRESSED OUT*. Based on some conversations I had with people, I experienced much more stress than someone else who was achieving the same grades. Because of my major, I had quite a heavy workload, which didn't help.

There was a time when I wanted to drop out of school and take a break. Actually, I originally also wanted to take a "gap year" in-between high school and college. I was so DONE with school and wanted to travel a bit. I was a little young for college (graduated high school just after I turned 17), so a gap year would not have set me behind. Neither would a year off in college. But my parents were completely against either idea, and since they were funding my college tuition, I had to basically do what they said or lose my tuition money. This is the same reason I really would not have been able to lessen my work load each semester and stretch out college to 5 or 6 years. My parents were concerned I would lose momentum and motivation if I took a break. Perhaps they were right, I don't know.

The timing of various events in my life ultimately made the extreme intensity for a shorter period worth it, but I would certainly have had an easier time if I could have stretched it out more.

I am not diagnosed. Asperger's wasn't a diagnosis until I was already in college, although I certainly had enough traits as a child... Anyway, that contributes to my parents really not having any concern over what might "overwhelm" me. A lot of life was "Well, this is the way it is. DO IT or die trying." I can't say that is all bad, because I feel like I've become a person who is pretty resilient and pushes through a lot of anxiety and stress. But I was an emotional wreck during much of my sophomore and senior years. During my sophomore year, I was stressed about some life decisions (like whether or not I should change my major or transfer schools), and during my senior year I had some *ENORMOUS* projects that made me feel like I was going to lose my mind.

My now-husband was a HUGE support to me, and I believe his support (and his help with some research for some of my projects) was crucial to getting through school. I mean getting through both in completing it and being a whole & healthy person at the end of it.

If there is a choice, I would recommend not working while being in school. But, my allowance at home ended when I became of working age, so if I wanted any money to do anything at all I had to work. Also, I lived at home and commuted to school and was responsible for paying my own gas & car repairs. So, I needed a job.

Again, I don't know if this was a *bad* thing, just really super hard.

I guess one has to consider what the purpose of school is. If the focus is on earning good grades with as little stress as possible, limit the amount of classes taken and do not work. If the purpose is socializing, limit the amount of classes taken and mix in a few extracurricular activities. If one needs skills for the workplace or money, then add in work (and limit the number of classes if possible.) If the point is to sink or swim with a tremendous load, do all of the above at once and take a full load of classes.

Make sure you have a good support system. I originally wanted to go away to college because I was so done with being at home and being in my hometown. But, looking back, probably living at home and going to a nearby school was the best choice. I probably had more support that way than if I had gone away and was trying to find support from people I didn't even know. During my emotional sophomore year, I did a lot of talking (and crying - lots and lots of crying) with my parents late, late, late into the wee hours of the morning more times than I can count.

All the work is a pain, but socially it's much better than anything prior.

...Well , that remind me how I DIDN"T GET TO GO (in the " real " sense , anyway) , didn't get to have " the experience " .

College (university here) was really awful for me. I tried far too hard and felt really bad about having not had any fun or done any of the social aspects like going out and having fun. I made some friends on the actual course itself and through flat sharing. Advice would be to not say "no" if people ask you out. You'll probably find that you aren't expected to do much except stand around holding a drink! Don't try very very hard on the course. You will probably pass and getting the best mark is said to be less important than having a good experience.

Portland Community College, from 2008 to 2014, had its high points and low points. My first year at Portland State University was certainly much better, although I was threatened with arrest several times by campus security.

I also went to a small college around the same size as yours. I had no social life, but it didn't matter I was working thirty hours a week and didn't have time anyhow. That being said, I guess I'm the rare one here who thought it was awesome. I love intellectual pursuits and what I loved about a small college was the ability to talk to my professors endlessly during office hours about the topics they had expertise in. Of course that also invites scorn from one's peers, but I didn't really care, I got so much more out of my professors than anything my peers could offer. It's the only place I've ever felt comfortable being in a public setting.

For the most part I enjoyed it.

Though it would have been much better if I didn't have my near full blown breakdown midway through (it's how I got my AS diagnosis and others).

You might make a friend or two like I did.
Don't let your anxiety hold your back.

Compared to all the bullying I went through in high school, my undergraduate career was a dream. However, it granted me the ability to become quite isolated from others, sometimes way too isolated. Most college students had social lives that dictate what gets done on the academic side, but not me. I tended to spend the majority of my time either studying on my classwork or working on projects that I wanted get done. (Granted there were a few TV shows that I had to occasionally watch for entertainment purposes.) When others were out getting drunk on Friday/Saturday nights, I was spending time learning new skills. The few times that I did go out during that time period were spent observing how others socialized at gatherings. I did this to try to understand how they thought, yet it really never made much sense to me what they did. Yes, that made me feel like an alien on my own world.

Graduate school was a whole different deal....