I was a main character in an award-winning Danish documentary series about autistic people with incredible and unusual abilities. Two season were made. Each episode was seen by over a million viewers in a country with less than six million people. I am very high functioning and people are always surprised that I have autism. Should I include this in my college application under activities? I see myself as a type of advocate for autistic people. I am afraid my autism will worsen my chances due to prejudice. Princeton is my dream college.
That sounds really cool and now I want to check it out (but I can’t speak Danish).
If a college has a prejudice against high-functioning autistic people, you ought to drop it from your list. Do you require extra accommodations due to your autism? From what you’ve written here, I doubt it.
I, personally, would love to read your story and if you have incredible and unusual abilities I think you would be an asset to a college. Other people may disagree, but I think you should mention it. Just be sure to have an impartial reader review your essay to make sure that you don’t imply anything in it that would make someone think you’re difficult to live with.
Own your story. It could make for a wonderful personal statement…especially if you advocate for people with autism besides your appearance in the documentary.