Uni choices for shy, autistic boy (Comp Sci)

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My DS is year 12. Minimum predicted grades are AAA and hoping realistically to achieve A star, A star, A. Good GCSE’s (999888776)

He lives in front of his computer and is uninterested in any social contact. He enjoys school and has a few “acquaintances” (his word!) but generally is a loner by choice.

He is keen to go to a ‘good’ Uni but has so many stipulations I’m finding it hard to help advise him. He did an Oxford open day and hated their comp Sci course as it was too theoretical. Despite being commuting distance to Imperial, Kings and UCL he “doesn’t want to be in London”. League tables suggest St Andrews, Manchester and Warwick are excellent choices for CS but are “too far” according to DS.

Ive sat him down and said he really needs to visit some places he’s ruled out (my personal feeling is Imperial would be the perfect fit for him) but he’s not showing much enthusiasm.

The only place he’s seemed remotely interested in is Cambridge but he’d find the interview very hard and I’m not sure his grades are quite good enough.

Any advice on how to help him choose? Should I push for him to visit a few places he’s ruled out or let him work it out for himself? He’s fiercely independent but does need a guiding hand when it comes to big decisions.

Advice I have gathered but im a couple of years away from helping DS finding a suitable university - campus over city centre generally easier to navigate, some unis give ASD kids guarantee of 3 years and in halls e.g Durham, collegiate system unis such as Lancaster and Durham also may make the whole experience easier, many unis will give all sort of concessions and some even contextual offers such as Surrey. No advice on best unís for computer science but I hope this helps. Oxbridge brilliant for ASD kids - laundry, food and accommodation all sorted and organised. DS also says he doesn’t want a uni too far away from home.

I was going to suggest Lancaster because it's very much a campus uni and has a college system too. So so so many clubs and societies.

I thought Warwick would benefit mine as there’s so many societies but he’s too shy to access them. You can’t force them to join.Without the benefit of a walkable pretty town/ city he’s mostly stayed in his room I think.
Wish he’d looked at Lancaster too.

Definitely look round a few. Reading?

What about Bath? Campus uni and they do contextual offers for ASD which would lower the typical A*AA offer. Their student services are supposed to be great, they have a Centre for Autism research group on site so are really hot on being ASD friendly - their widening participation for ND kids seems really good.

They also have some second and third year studio campus accomodation that you can't apply for as such but which they offer for students who need it.

Former Russell Group STEM admissions tutor here.

Like many students facing uni, your DS sounds scared. If London is too close but Warwick is too far, that closes off many good options. Or is it just that he doesn’t want to commute? Could he apply to one or more London unis and live in halls the first year, then take it from there?

Is Cambridge not also further than Warwick? Nothing wrong with preferring C, but this would also suggest that it isn’t really about distance. The more your DS will confide - in you, a teacher, a counsellor, anyone - the better a decision he can make, with help from you and others who care about him.

I second the positive comments about Durham and Lancaster. I would add Sheffield, not glam but very solid and with an excellent reputation for supporting students and, if he is comfortable travelling, Glasgow for the same reason. But my personal favourites for him (unless their current requirements are too high) would probably be Warwick and Bath. Super CS, very bright students who always look happy on the whole and give me good vibes, and strong reputations for student support. I definitely think Imperial worth investigating, if DS can arrange to live as he wishes. But I don’t know much about their student support.

Best wishes

Was also going to suggest Bath

Be careful assuming campus unis are quiet and more nurturing. It is often true but for the last few years I have heard the opposite about Warwick.

poetry, Cambridge is definitely closer to London than Warwick!

York often gets mentioned as an autism friendly uni but probably too far.

I toured Bath and DS had an offer. Nice campus. Expensive accommodation especially beyond first year .Excellent reputation. DS is sporty but found the campus atmosphere a bit full on. He is at Birmingham which offers quiet accommodation.

Thank you for correcting my geography, @Piggywaspushed

I have specifically heard many good things about student support at the unis I mentioned, without linking it to a question of whether they are campus based. But I agree with you that recent information is more useful than older information

Thank you for the advice and suggestions! Will definitely look at Bath, Lancaster and Durham. He’s not a confident traveller so distance is a bit of an issue but we would drive him so no need for trains (which he couldn’t manage).

We are SE - 30 mins from London, 50 from Cambridge. Location wise Cam is perfect but that will be a very long shot if he decides to apply.

My son is in the same position. He has ASD and has applied to Lancaster, Durham, York and Bath (and Oxford on the off chance - he ruled out Manchester and any London university). My husband went to speak to all the additional support people - he said Durham were the best. I know Lancaster and Durham have introductory weekends for those with ASD. We know accommodation is difficult so would like a guarantee of in halls accommodation (especially Durham) through to 4 years (York are the best for this). He has interviews for York and Lancaster and they both ask for any reasonable adjustments.

My son is applying to do CS for next year so we are doing the rounds of open days at the moment. We have visited Bath Loughborough Nottingham Birmingham and Exeter.
Bath seemed a much smaller campus than the rest, the grounds are large but there seemed to be a lot less buildings and the halls are very close by.
Nottingham CS dept is on a separate campus (10 mins walk away) from the main one with halls there that most of the cs students live in so maybe that would suit him.

I would second the suggestions of Durham and Lancaster.

I would suggest York.
I went there to study a different subject.
Computer science has an excellent reputation there.
Campus university and the town is small and manageable.
I knew a lot of Computer Science students when I was there and the majority of them were similar to your son. They spent all their time in the "Spod Pit" in Derwent (which is probably gone now) - but there was camaraderie between them - so they weren't completely alone while doing their loner thing.

It's 2 hrs from London to York on the train - I know you said he can't manage trains but should he at some point be able to begin using them, it's a really easy, fast journey. A few trains are non-stop between London and York.
If you are going to drive him it's not too bad and closer than Durham.

Why is ruling out a great STEM Uni like Imperial, because it's in London?

If he thinks the Oxford course is too theoretical, he won't like the Cambridge one either.

Warwick course is very good, and first years are guaranteed halls accommodation which might be a good think for helping him find his feet and have some interactions with fellow students (all self-catering, so you will get to know the people in your kitchen). You can apply go go back in to halls for your final year, but I don't know if there is prioritisation (and availability in other years) for students with a particular need to be in halls

Otherwise: Bath, Loughborough, Leeds (where you can have extra years in halls if there is a specific need - family member lived in all three years there, but it was a little while ago so check if it's still the case)

How about Royal Holloway? It's part of London University, but it's on a campus in leafy Surrey. I went there (donkeys years ago) and remember the CompSci students playing Doom together all night in the CompSci block!

If distance from London is a real deal-breaker for him then I would literally draw up a list of unis that are within an acceptable distance and then get him to choose between them. There's no point in looking at Durham if he feels Warwick is too far. Having said that, he's probably going to struggle if he's ruling out any Midlands unis but wants a top-rated uni. If Warwick is too far, presumably he's also not keen on Birmingham or Nottingham? And if they are too far then Bath, Bristol and Exeter are much further. So he might need to rethink distances again (2.5 hours on the train is pretty manageable really).
I can only think of Southampton and Reading that are comparable distances to Cambridge from London and I know nothing about computer science but I think both are well known for sciences generally.

How about going for a small uni? Northeastern University London is small and they have excellent support, though it is in London.

Cambridge is a long shot for anyone, but I’d encourage him to apply anyway. A friend of mine is a psychologist specialising in adult ASD assessments and working with Universities on accommodations. He commented to me once that “autism is practically an entry requirement for Comp Sci and Physics at Cambridge” and that Cambridge and Edinburgh are the two universities he thinks accommodates autistic STEM students the best. He said too the high numbers of students on the spectrum means they “find their tribe” there which he said means they often come out of their shells as they are for the first time living and learning with other ND people like themselves.

I dont blame your son for wanting to avoid London, it’s very common that ASD can cause certain vulnerabilities not suited to big cities.

Aberystwyth might also be good as such a small uni people do tend to get to know each other. Not sure if would be too far/bad journey to get there.

Nothing to lose by putting down Cambridge as one of the 5, provided you all accept that no one is ever guaranteed a place there as there are too many well qualified students for too few places. In a lot of ways Cambridge is like one giant campus anyway.

Surrey! It's in Guildford, lovely campus, is very highly rated for Comp Sci. Guildford is small and safe and easy reach of London/home counties. Also, there are some fantastic tech companies in the area for work experience/job prospects. Gorgeous countryside on the doorstep, nice pubs, cafes and restaurants if you want to visit.

The only problem afaik is there's a shortage of decent accommodation, so if he chooses it, tell him to get onto the accommodation office asap to secure a good room.

My dd got straight A at gcse and A level and is at Portsmouth . Although academically she would be fine at a oxbridge type place she would never cope with the competitive and social side.. I'm happy with the way they look after their students so far .
Also have a looks at dsa which is a disability element of the student loan when it comes to it ..

I think tbh though it's luck who they get in their halls .

Lancaster