I would expect Minnesota to have its share of autistic students at all levels (undergrad or PhD), just like any school with good academics in STEM areas (pure math and ChemE comes to mind, although physics also have its share of autistic students) and Minnesota may end up being my final decision. Hence why I am wondering about whether Minnesota’s autism support is any good.
On the other hand, I’m waitlisted at Carnegie Mellon, but Carnegie Mellon’s autism support is a known quantity to me.
@Catria you might have several areas that you would want to check up on: Access to reasonable accommodations (if needed), counseling, group support, access to medication (if needed), etc. So the first place you want to start is probably here: https://diversity.umn.edu/disability/
Check with them to see what you’d need to send in order to access services. For instance, they may wish to have an eval. report and/or IEP (if you have one) on file. They can also give you the information you need concerning support groups, counseling, and medical providers.
We don’t have any direct experience with U of MN in this matter but we do for other colleges my D is looking at and they tend to recommend using the office of disability services. Even if you don’t actually need any accommodations the office usually likes it if you drop by and check them out. That way, should you need additional support later on, you know who to go to (and if they have your information they can probably respond a lot more quickly).
Good luck!
Edit/addendum: I forgot to add that Minnesota in general is pretty good about trying to meet the needs of learners of all types, at least on the primary and secondary levels of education. One of my kids is in a STEM school and we actually know several families whose children are in both gifted ed and special ed. I’d be shocked if this expertise and attitude of support didn’t carry over to the university level. FWIW.