I’m currently a community college student in the mid west and I will be transferring probably next year. I’m interested in current events and global issues and have no idea what to choose a major in. I have a few concerns and just need some insight from maybe parents or educators.
I’ve got Asperger’s syndrome and I’m at the very low end of the high functioning end of the spectrum with an IQ of 75. Almost considered low functioning. It may not appear that way though. I also have ADHD, depression, generalized anxiety disorder, and bipolar disorder. You may think I’m a wreck but I’ve come along way and I’m doing well in school. I did have an IEP in school from the very beginning to the very end of my senior year. I’m receiving disability alternatives for my conditions on extended tests and others things. However, I’m learning to self advocate but my professors don’t generally follow my alternatives also known as accamdations. They do get my sheet with the things I get such as extended time on tests, calculator, and other things.
My main thing is that I’m having a weird home life and I’m not happy. I’m achieving all this success like making the deans list and being ask to join the Phi Theta Kappa, but I’m not happy. I’ve worked on projects with professors to. I think my mom has borderline personality disorder and my be psychotic. She’s very critical of the career and school decisions I’m making and wants me to do things I don’t want to do like being a clergyman. I don’t even think a diocese would accept me anyways. She brings me down but some how advocates for me. I’m 20 and I’m going to be moving out here this year and I’m getting intellectual disability services through my state. Along with other things. However, given this control over me and constant conflict, I want to go to school out of state because I’ve had a very bad childhood and teenhood with my family. They had a hard time accepting that I was different and didn’t treat me very nice and I’m not being a baby. It’s fact that my therapist knows. My sister is also thinking of going out of state for a great forensics program but also wants to get away from home.
I would like to however be close to home some what. I’ve looked into challenging schools such as Brown, Michigan, Berkeley, and Yale. My chances on the former and latter are very slim. I like challenges but I don’t want it to be overwhelming. I’ve also looked into schools like University of Wisconsin Madison and Univerjsty of Illinois Champaign Urbana. I live in Iowa by the way. I’ve heard however that Michigan and USC might be good for people with disabilities. Overall I want to work for the government because of schedule A hiring. Specifically the White House. I don’t know many other colleges. I know some of the ones above require high school transcripts. Mine aren’t as good as my college transcript so far.
Your help and ideas would be greatly appreciated.
I don’t see any responses to you yet.
Congrats on PTK! At most colleges, you will get a guaranteed scholarship when you transfer. CC is not the same as 4 year colleges, the vibe is different, and CC is not always a happy place.
I think with your interests, you will enjoy public policy, economics (if you have the math skills), perhaps international relations, history, government, sociology, perhaps even philosophy. It depends on how much writing you want to do. There’s niche areas in all these topics for your interests. See if you can get with a professor to work on research interests - that may mean doing fact checking and proofing for publications, data analysis on research projects, etc.
Working for the Feds sounds like a good plan and a good fit for you. Congratulations on being so forward-thinking. You know, good public service is as much as a “ministry” as being a pastor. You can affect many more peoples lives for the good.
Best of luck to you.
Forgot to add, if you are receiving state assistance for LD, it is wise to look at in-state schools. The paperwork and insurance don’t transfer across state lines.
I would suggest transferring in-state, maybe the honors college. Talk to your PTK advisor about good schools for you.
Out of state is a bad idea for the reasons in post 2. Find a four year school in your state that’s a hundred miles from home. It would be nice if the school is close to the state capital so you can intern there for government experience.
I have a kid who has done student jobs in disability services at two colleges now. The public school did a much better job supporting students with disabilities than the private school. I’m not sure how well that generalizes to other specific schools, but I’ve heard that informally from parents of kids with learning disabilities before as well.
Where are you located? Bellevue College in Washington State has the Navigators program for spectrum students. You should check it out. I think (but not sure been a while since I looked at it) that it is a 2 year program that gets you an associates degree and prepares you for moving on to a 4 year college.
@Veryapparent OP is in Iowa
Finances may be an issues. What does your budget look like? What can you afford.
Look at Mercyhurst in Erie. They have great community and support for students with Aspergers. You would have to figure out if it was a good fit for you.
Landmark College is worth looking into as well as Curry College in Milton, MA
Thank you for responding. I know I wrote this a while ago, but I’m still figuring things out. I’m still in community college and didn’t do well in a summer class this summer, in the first session. It dramatically dropped my GPA. However, I found an internship that is ten months long at a local hospital for people with certain conditions. In the fall I won’t be attending, but in the spring I likely will. I will be taking a series of classes, or may just take the year off overall. The class I got a C- in was International Relations, I was in such a low state, that focusing and effort was a struggle. It was four days a week and we had a test every day. Additionally,in the spring I might re-take a few other classes that I got B’s in, one really. It’s call Introduction to Psychology and I got a B. So, that an International Relations, and a high school class I took called Desktop Publishing that I also got a C+ in, will all be re-taken in the spring. Then I will likely spend a year and a half finishing my A.A. I also will probably apply for another internship at a local congressional district in my area, so I can continue work experience along with getting a possible job while do it. Then I might join VISTA corps for a couple of years and then transfer to a different college.
I found that I can go out of state for college when I transfer. I talked to my case manager about it and I can go anywhere in the United States and the paper work does carry over state lines, such as SSI and stuff related. So, I can go anywhere and you guys suggested public universities. So, I will probably do that then because of services.But, we will see. Thank you very much for your help! My budget is good. By the time I get into VISTA corpos, I will be able to recieve federeal funding because I will no longer be a dependent of my parents. I’ll be 25 by the time I leave VISTA, if I get accepted.