How did you find university?

My first year was a load of fun - I started at 17 so had the excitment of drinking while underage and had no end of fun encounters with the opposite sex. About the only downside was having to study - I was masking like mad and socialising (not being too successful overall) and having fun discovering myself.

I was staying in the Uni halls of residence so was pretty much on the doorstep of the uni.

I had to resit 1 exam and after that I got a bit more serious in my second year but found a group of friends who were quite varied but entertaining. I did a lot better that year.

My third year I had to move in with my granmother because I no longer qualified for accommodation and I now had a 2.5 hour commute which, in combination with being away from my friends led me to lose interest in the whole thing - without the social life it was all dull as dishwater.

I eventually stopped going in, didn't do well enough in the exams to go on for Honours but got a good enough result to still pass.

Just talking to people was what got me into the habit of making friends - breaking the ice and finding a shared interest often helped.

As for the cliques, I largely ignored them and found people much more on my wavelength to talk to.

Interested to know how you started at 17?

ComputerGeek1337 said:

Interested to know how you started at 17?

In Scotland you can do this - I gained the necessary qualifications through the Scottish Higher exams which are typically passed when aged 16/17 one yeat after the more traditional O Levels / O Grades.

The school had the option then (mid 1980s) to do something called 6th Year Studies) which was the equivelant to the English A Levels but a bit more elective - the H Grades were of a high enough standard that the universities around the UK accepted them (I also had an offer to Cambridge but elected to go to a uni nearer home).

So a lot of Scottish students could go to uni 1 year before their English counterparts. I don't know if this is still the case.

Iain said:

So a lot of Scottish students could go to uni 1 year before their English counterparts. I don't know if this is still the case

Still the case, yes. 

Thanks. I really hope kids are getting better guidance in school now so that they don’t have to bootstrap themselves in their 20s.

Deleted User said:

I copied that approach and I think that’s where my masking stepped up several levels.

That is a good way to do it - not many have the patience or persistance for the approach so I'm impressed.

I was lucky in that I had a girlfriend who kind of trained me to be socially invisible and explained a lot of the stuff us autists rarely get to learn at that age. I guess I was a project for her, but I'll always be grateful for those life skills.

Deleted User said:

I copied that approach and I think that’s where my masking stepped up several levels.

That is a good way to do it - not many have the patience or persistance for the approach so I'm impressed.

I was lucky in that I had a girlfriend who kind of trained me to be socially invisible and explained a lot of the stuff us autists rarely get to learn at that age. I guess I was a project for her, but I'll always be grateful for those life skills.

Thanks. I really hope kids are getting better guidance in school now so that they don’t have to bootstrap themselves in their 20s.