Choosing a university

After going to several university open days my 19 year old Aspergers son has made his choice. I found his reasons interesting. I was suprised that major factors of choice was the quiet sleepy little town, the modern understated architecture, general peacefulness of the campus (corridors had sound duddening carpets), ceilings were relatively low, plenty of green space, and lots of fancy technology. The set talk by the professors, to me seemed garbled and exuberant as they enthused about the intricacies of computer science. I whispered to my son that they were clearly all nutcases. His eyes were bright and he had one of his rare smiles, and agreed with a resounding 'Yes!' Later, when talking with the lectueres/students we mentioned his aspergers, and they told him that he would 'fit right in.' They were all very welcoming and enthusiastic about their subject and the possibilities of the industry.

Other universities were more businesslike, with grand architecture, in busy cities,the staff a little more cool with a little too much emphasis on how many millions had just been spent on infrastructure. I guess all of them want his fees ultimately, but my son has chosen the quiet one (also a lot further down on the 'best unis' lists). It was also the last one we saw and considered as a possible insurance choice should be muck up his exams as he often does. He says, all he wants to do is learn and he thought it the best one for that, even if he got high grades.

Then, just a few days ago the uni announced that it was closing the campus down in 2016 and almagamating with their other campus in a busy city. This would all happen part way through his course there and the disruption might be tricky for my son. Having a rethink. I know it's just coincidence but why is nothing EVER straight forward for him when my other 2 sons (NT) just seem to sail through life? Smile

Parents
  • Most of the departments at Stafford have migrated to Stoke already, and I guess it was not going to be long before the rest moved. It is a shame because it was a nice campus in a nice town.  There is so much in Stafford, at least for a visitor (might not be so good living there long term) both in terms of culture and history and walks, that it must have been great to be a student there.

    Stoke on the other hand, I can see why the merger, as there is a much greater prospect both for student numbers and investment, but it is a bit overwhelming and congested and very busy as a city without the advantages many other city campuses have - pretty surroundings, site security etc.

    But then there is access to interesting countryside roundabout.

    And I guess if the money has been invested there the facilities must be good on campus.

    What are they going to do with the Lichfield and Shrewsbury Campuses? The thing you need to check for, on multi-site universities, is where the disability/accessibility team is based, and how many days is it at the Stoke campus?  Sometimes these arrangements mean if something goes wrong you cannot get help from someone in support on the day, because the office is open on the other campus miles away.

    That would have been a problem at Stafford anyway. Also their disability support team is quite hard to find on their website, which is not a good sign. www.staffs.ac.uk/.../index.jsp

    They do say though that they have a disabled students engagement group (scroll down), and this is supported by Higher Education Academy. Ask what this does - some of these don't amount to much, others are really good. The problem is that disabled students don't tend to be pro-active, they seem either to put up with a lot or are reluctant to get involved with groups for their own benefit - but that may be a university's excuse for just going through the motions.

    Also they don't seem to have anything specific about autism. It doesn't follow that, being quite big, they might have a good grasp of autism.

Reply
  • Most of the departments at Stafford have migrated to Stoke already, and I guess it was not going to be long before the rest moved. It is a shame because it was a nice campus in a nice town.  There is so much in Stafford, at least for a visitor (might not be so good living there long term) both in terms of culture and history and walks, that it must have been great to be a student there.

    Stoke on the other hand, I can see why the merger, as there is a much greater prospect both for student numbers and investment, but it is a bit overwhelming and congested and very busy as a city without the advantages many other city campuses have - pretty surroundings, site security etc.

    But then there is access to interesting countryside roundabout.

    And I guess if the money has been invested there the facilities must be good on campus.

    What are they going to do with the Lichfield and Shrewsbury Campuses? The thing you need to check for, on multi-site universities, is where the disability/accessibility team is based, and how many days is it at the Stoke campus?  Sometimes these arrangements mean if something goes wrong you cannot get help from someone in support on the day, because the office is open on the other campus miles away.

    That would have been a problem at Stafford anyway. Also their disability support team is quite hard to find on their website, which is not a good sign. www.staffs.ac.uk/.../index.jsp

    They do say though that they have a disabled students engagement group (scroll down), and this is supported by Higher Education Academy. Ask what this does - some of these don't amount to much, others are really good. The problem is that disabled students don't tend to be pro-active, they seem either to put up with a lot or are reluctant to get involved with groups for their own benefit - but that may be a university's excuse for just going through the motions.

    Also they don't seem to have anything specific about autism. It doesn't follow that, being quite big, they might have a good grasp of autism.

Children
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