BEST SMALL COLLEGES FOR ASPIES

Post Reply New Topic

I'm hoping anyone on the spectrum with a strong positive college experience will post the name of their college here. I'm especially interested in small colleges (2500 students or less) but not community colleges because I want dorms that have a lot of nerdy or nerd-tolerant types? Anyone? Hoping this thread will become a magnet for anyone in the same boat as me--whether parent or student--currently researching colleges. Thanks!

In terms of strength in the academics department, what are you looking for?

The only colleges we are considering are ones with strong academics. I was thinking mainly in terms of the social aspect i.e.. built-in opportunities for people to get to know each other (and lots of people who might not do that otherwise)--even if its just a particular dorm that was especially heavy with introverts/gamers etc. Basically we are looking at small liberal arts colleges in manageable small towns.

Ah well, then I probably wouldn't be of much use. I know of some that fit what you're looking for socially (in a sense), but they are not terribly strong academically.

Edit
good luck.

I went to Westminster college in New wilmington, PA. Each freshman female dorm floor behaved as a sorority. i don't know if they still do that, but it was quite inclusive. 400 to 500 per graduating class. ranked high by US News and World Report. worth a peek.

I was going to recommend my alma mater, Indiana University of PA, except it is a now a notorious party school. Ditto for my graduate school, Shippensburg University of PA. If the only thing you want to do is work 27 hours a day at academics, and little to no social life, then it's Millersville University of PA or Elizabethtown College (aka E-Town) in Elizabethtown, PA, which is affiliated with the Church of the Brethern.

Thanks, guys. Maybe I'm dreaming...but I guess what I'd really like for my son--is balance. I definitely do not want him to be a slave to the academic side because he currently attends that sort of high school and has no social life whatsoever. I want the professors to be brilliant and inspiring...but I don't want it to be brutal. The small colleges that don't issue grades--places like Goddard and St. John's college and perhaps Hampshire--those all sound great, but they are all too expensive and don't have sufficient endowments to support students with little money.

Augsburg College? I've heard some good things about support for aspies there. It's on the larger end of "small" and it's in downtown Minneapolis but I guess it could still work.

I OP wouldn't consider this one but Boston University always shows up in lists of colleges for aspies, any one know why?

Westfield State University (Massachusetts). They have a special learning disability program and because it the place is absolutely crawling with aspies. I know at least ten from going there.

Even not knowing I had it, College of Wooster in Wooster, Ohio is really good, strong academically, and has not only dorms with programs but program houses so he could live in a house where, say, everyone wanted to speak a foreign language allthe time while they were in there.(Has to be the same one, obviously.)

There's lots of good activities and a required Independent Study thesis for graduation - how cool is that? Instead of being a slave to academics, he can choose his own topic in his major and work with a professor to develop his thesis over the course of a year. And it need not be a paper - English majors have done plays, for instance.

Now, granted it's been 23 years since I gratuated, but it really is worth checking out. (Edit to add: I majored in Communication Studies, but they also have a separate Communication Sciences and Disorders degree so there will be professors in whatever field he wants who are very good academically but also some who will understand what he has and how to relate.

Also, there is a really good First Year Seminar program which if it's like when iw as there can have any number of topics but is also linked to the First Year Forum where different speakers come in and talk or perform. It's different each year.

Their website is at http://www.wooster.edu/ - about 1,800 to 2,000 students if I recall, a bit over the 1,650 of my time, in a town of about 25,000 I think.

I am currently attending Drew University in Madison, NJ as an undergraduate theatre major. The total student body is about 1600 students, the class sizes (for upper classmen at least) is relatively small. I've heard that freshman classes are a bit larger due to them having required classes to take. They also have a variety of different clubs and special events. I am part of the Improv Club and the Gaming Club. They also have has events for individual dorms or the whole campus. I've also have been able to get the accommodations I needed as well. The only problem may be that they are the most expensive school in NJ (more than Princeton apparently) at about $60k a year, but they do have scholarships, grants, and loans available to earn. I've earned a $23k a year scholarship, an 8k a year grant, roughly 8k a year in loans, and 2k a year through a work study program. We also saved about 2k by using the health insurance provided from my Dad's job and not Drew's.

It has been a great school so far and it may be worth checking out.

I go to a college in Rensselaer Indiana. It's Saint Joseph's College, small Catholic college. I know it to be very welcoming, inclusive, accepting and a wonderful place to attend school. The classes are pretty small (21 in my largest class). My class size is around 200. It is a small enough place that the professors know your name and will help you outside of class (on both schoolwork and personal/life issues. For instance, I am in a PreCalc class and have a lot of holes in my mathematical knowledge. I go in to see my prof every Tue and Thu morning and she tutors/ helps me with lessons. The classes are taught by the professors (there are no TA's here). There are something like 39 majors and there are both BS and BA degrees available. It is a small Catholic school so there are monks/ brothers who live on campus and religion plays a heavy role in some classes but they really don't push it on you. I am not religious and able to deal with it, so it's not that big of a deal if you are not religious. I would say that it has a really nice "community" feel to it and it's perfect for me- but really depends on what you are needing. Oh and there are dorms on campus available as well.

It has been featured as a "Midwest Best Value College" for quite awhile.

The link to the school web page is www.saintjoe.edu

My only gripe with it is that hopefully you can get enough grants/ scholarships because it is $38 grand a year (including cost of living on campus).