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liveandletdie
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17 Mar 2011, 12:06 am

Let me first tell you how school has been since grade school.

Elementary: I got A's/B's up til maybe 6th grade when I really started acting out.
Junior High: C's and even some F's
High school: Mostly C's
College: I either get a B or an A or I fail the class.

I have been in and out of college.
I have been in and out of jobs.
I can't seem to keep my concentration for longer than 2-3 months on anything.
Once my concentration ends I drop dramatically in performance and at that point my performance is so bad I either fail my classes, get fired, or quit the job. I start things with decent enthusiasm but by the end I am extremely drained and start to shut down. Primary reason for the shut down is the social interaction that occurs. The more I am forced to interact the worse my grade gets or if I try and go out on a limb then my performance goes down as well.

So...if I quit school then I will try and get into the local ship yard doing some sort of machinist work. Or I will join the military...
But I worry that if I can't get through school then I can't get through these other options either and I'll end up being a bum.

Any advice from someone? I am 21 years old....feel as if I have to get something going here before I get run over and live at home the rest of my life. (Not that there is anything wrong with that but my parents drive me INSANE!)


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Cyanide
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17 Mar 2011, 2:04 am

Should you continue college?... That depends on what you're majoring in...



liveandletdie
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17 Mar 2011, 2:08 am

Cyanide wrote:
Should you continue college?... That depends on what you're majoring in...


Not sure if you read rest of post...

but i would be majoring in medical professional degree as an associates...

not focusing on bachelors because even associates seems far out of reach...many credits to go.


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Zokk
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17 Mar 2011, 3:51 am

Wow, your academic career is almost exactly like mine. Pretty much the same grades in the same stages, really; same follow-though issues, too. I do better with jobs, though; I've held the same one for four years, now.

On the subject of whether or not to continue going to college, to put it bluntly; a lot of it, I'd say, depends on how much of who's money you're spending to fail your classes. If you're relatively confident that you're throwing money into a black hole, so to speak, then I'd say get out now- it's not going to get any better. If you think there's still a chance to turn it around and at least pass the classes, if not ace them, then find someone who can help you prioritize and organize, and buckle down to do the work and get the passing grades. I know from personal experience that it's a lot easier said than done, but it's always worth a shot.

About the only subject I've been consistently patient/interested/diligent enough in to ace continuously is history. I'm a storyteller at heart, so there's some connection there, but I guess I just have a mind for facts and an interest in... Well, there's a reason history has the word 'story' in it.

Even now, in film school, I just get overwhelmed with the multiple simultaneous major projects we're handed in each class, and just start to shut down and not do any work on them, and by the time I get back in the right mindset, I'm out of time to do them. I'm most likely going to bomb all three of the classes I'm taking this quarter because of that... It's that pattern of behavior that has me wondering the same thing you are right now; whether it's worth it to continue taking classes if there's a relatively good chance I'll just end up screwing up the next set of classes as well.

Which has me considering going back to the local community college and just taking history classes, and try and get a degree of some sort in that, there. A heck of a lot less expensive, too... Can't really actually do anything with ha history degree, but at least I could say I earned a degree in something, finally...


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liveandletdie
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17 Mar 2011, 4:16 am

Zokk wrote:
Wow, your academic career is almost exactly like mine. Pretty much the same grades in the same stages, really; same follow-though issues, too. I do better with jobs, though; I've held the same one for four years, now.

On the subject of whether or not to continue going to college, to put it bluntly; a lot of it, I'd say, depends on how much of who's money you're spending to fail your classes. If you're relatively confident that you're throwing money into a black hole, so to speak, then I'd say get out now- it's not going to get any better. If you think there's still a chance to turn it around and at least pass the classes, if not ace them, then find someone who can help you prioritize and organize, and buckle down to do the work and get the passing grades. I know from personal experience that it's a lot easier said than done, but it's always worth a shot.

About the only subject I've been consistently patient/interested/diligent enough in to ace continuously is history. I'm a storyteller at heart, so there's some connection there, but I guess I just have a mind for facts and an interest in... Well, there's a reason history has the word 'story' in it.

Even now, in film school, I just get overwhelmed with the multiple simultaneous major projects we're handed in each class, and just start to shut down and not do any work on them, and by the time I get back in the right mindset, I'm out of time to do them. I'm most likely going to bomb all three of the classes I'm taking this quarter because of that... It's that pattern of behavior that has me wondering the same thing you are right now; whether it's worth it to continue taking classes if there's a relatively good chance I'll just end up screwing up the next set of classes as well.

Which has me considering going back to the local community college and just taking history classes, and try and get a degree of some sort in that, there. A heck of a lot less expensive, too... Can't really actually do anything with ha history degree, but at least I could say I earned a degree in something, finally...


In the past it has been my parents paying for college, with mixed results.

I went to college for awhile and basicly flunked out. (Community college about 5 minute away)
I then worked for about 3 months in one job, which I lost and then I went back to school but a different school.(Futher away, don't know anybody- also a community college)
This school I did very good at, A's B's...
Then I finally had the opportunity to get another job (had been looking entire time I went to school)
So I took the opportunity and worked there for 3-4 months full time+overtime and was doing well for about a month or so until I got involved with a girl who wouldn't leave me alone, a long with other interactions such as a girl I was interested in sleeping with the boss, and the general enviornment within the building (Outsources company that works customer service for sprint) lead me to say I was moving and quit because I knew I was going to get fired.
Then I moved to a state college where I had hoped I could find a job and go to school down there.
($100 rent for a tiny room in the house)
I got 1 interview which I didn't land, which was discouraging and then I kept applying to places, trying to keep on trying.
But then I ran out of money, couldn't find a job so I was forced to come home. (Plus my health seemed to be going down hill, I have bad allergies and I was having trouble breathing at night= no sleep)
Long story now short, I began taking classes again since being back and have tried to keep a schedule which seemed to go well until I started interacting with people and the confusion in class seemed to decrease my effort. (Blame game I hate to play but I do....) Payed for them this quarter but do not have enough money to pay for them next quarter and am hoping to get a job to foot atleast part of it.

I was doing pretty good mid way through the courses but towards the end I screwed up.
I got a B I think in my biology class which is decent.
I failed my english class because I missed the last assignment (25% of the grade), thought it was due thursday (today) but it was due on tuesday and by the time I realized it, it was already due (by 2pm).
I failed my online class because I would forget to logg into the class.

So now....I am done with this quarter.
I can continue and my parents would be willing to help me out and we are also moving closer to the college (by coincidence)
I can try and get into the ship yard and work as a packager (what I would like to do if I am able to get in)
I can join the military, which has the best immediate benifits obviously but there is the question of my mental stability and the fact they have you by the cajones.

Even though it is only community college...prices keep going up each quarter....
Used to be like 6-700 a quarter now it's 1400...

I am considering getting help through systems as the top post of this forum suggested.
I do not have a formal diagnosis of aspergers though I could get it I believe as my psych (no longer seeing) said I likely have it.
Am worried that this could keep me from being able to join the military if I need that as an option.
Though then again past diagnos's should keep me out anyways but I will lie about them to get in...


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billypony
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17 Mar 2011, 12:09 pm

ok well im taking you live in America. I was in a similar situation and i did quit college after almost a year, even though my grades were good, i just coudnt handle the peope... but im hopefully starting a course with the open university, which means i can work from home. which suits me great! i dont know if they have something like this in America, or if you can study with the OU being in America, but i'd say its worth looking into. :)



Zokk
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17 Mar 2011, 2:12 pm

billypony wrote:
ok well im taking you live in America. I was in a similar situation and i did quit college after almost a year, even though my grades were good, i just coudnt handle the peope... but im hopefully starting a course with the open university, which means i can work from home. which suits me great! i dont know if they have something like this in America, or if you can study with the OU being in America, but i'd say its worth looking into. :)

A lot of colleges do offer online classes, but since it's the student's responsibility to keep up with all the work in a mostly unscheduled and unstructured environment of the home, it's not always the best idea for someone with AS or another executive function-related disorder. It often just goes down hill faster than regular classes because everything's left up to the student to do on their own time, and if they forget, or get side-tracked, well...


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