Hi! I'm autistic too so I have some experience.
1. What do you do everyday?
- Depends on your course intensity and what you want to do. Typically last year, I would spend several hours a day in the lecture hall, go have lunch, spend some time with my classmates going over notes, then doing whatever I wanted. Some people have part-time jobs/volunteering roles which take up their time too. I volunteered for a biodiversity thing which meant every month or so, I'd clean up the area and stuff. On my days off, I could do whatever I wanted, so I'd spend time with friends or relaxing.
There are often societies doing events too, I went to a board game and video game society and we'd play games together, it was fun.
2. Are flatmates mean and scary?
Unfortunately this entirely depends on your flatmates. But for the most part, for most people, no. They're just people, like you, and most people don't like being mean and scary. The worst thing you might have is people not washing up quickly enough or being a bit messy. I personally didn't mind since I enjoy cleaning up anyway, just don't let anyone take advantage of you.
If you're in uni halls or private halls, you can usually report people to the housing office/reception, and they'll sort them out by giving them a warning, but you should try to sort out any problems on your own first, even if it feels really scary! ☺️ If you're just polite and reasonable, most people will follow any requests you make.
3. Do they expect you to know what to do all the time?
The uni? Usually your course should give you an idea of what's expected of you within the first few weeks of being at uni. From what I've seen (might not be the same at every uni), lecturers will give learning objectives and information on the topics being covered that week. You're usually expected to make your own notes on the lectures, and do further reading (they'll tell you which books/pages to read). Any other tasks will also be listed, along with tests, collaborative projects, etc.
4. Do you get support?
Yes, although this varies from uni to uni, there should be at least a person in charge of your course overall, in charge of each module you learn, possibly you might have your own private tutor as well (who will give you references and stuff, be your point of communication with the uni, etc). The uni should also have counselling services. If you mean in terms of autism, I'd recommend trying to apply to the DSA on the student finance page, get a note from your doctor stating you have autism and how it affects you (if it affects you significantly), and they might be able to offer you support (such as a private counsellor to talk with you about how you're doing with uni/help you with work/etc.). I was lucky enough to get this and it was a lot of help last year.
5. Is it easy paying for all your own food and stuff?
This depends on your student loan, how much external income you have, and how much you expect to eat. I didn't have much problem buying things to eat, but I don't eat a lot. If you already know how much your maintenance loan will be for the year, I'd recommend making a budget sheet, subtracting your yearly rent from it (if you know the price of it already), adding in any external yearly income, and then seeing how much you have left. Consider any cost of commuting too. Divide that number by 12 to get a figure of how much you'll have left over each month.
If you're really into lists like me, have a look around online for the prices of the kinds of food you like, e.g pizza, chicken breast, mixed salad, whatever, and consider what you might eat in a week. If you don't have these figures yet, don't worry about waiting till closed to being at uni. I wouldn't recommend getting too many takeaways as they can be expensive. Maybe try to be even more frugal in the first few months of being at uni, just to make sure your money will last you the rest of the year. If you're finding you have a lot of money left over after that, that's great! But still try to be frugal. You might need that money for the next year, it's always useful to have an emergency fund saved up just in case.
6. Do they get mad at you for being late or forgetting things?
It depends on the uni, but I don't think any uni really gets "mad" at you. If you don't show up, or show up late, or forget something, they don't really get angry at you because it's your responsibility to be in charge of that, they're still getting paid at the end of the day. It's not like college or school where they need to sign you in every day. If you have to do lab work or group projects at a certain time though, and you're late, you might find yourself locked out, or have disgruntled partners. If you're late and you enter the lecture area quietly and respectfully, the lecturer will likely just continue. Some uni's also offer online lectures too, so if you find you're like 15 minutes late and feel too scared to go in, you might be able to listen to it online instead. This depends on the uni and the course.
As for forgetting things, again, they won't get mad at you, but it is your responsibility and if you forget to submit an essay or do an exam, you likely won't be let off. You will probably be able to apply for extenuating circumstances, but this usually doesn't cover forgetting the time. You can check with your uni's disability office to see if you can get any special considerations though, if your forgetfulness is caused by autism (like mine).
Forgetfulness is a big problem for me too. What I find helps me is to use Google Tasks (not sponsored lol!). I set an alarm on my phone everyday in the morning, afternoon, and evening when I know it won't interrupt a lecture, reminding me to check my Google Tasks. In here, I'll have any important events for the week, exams/essays/meetings/etc. I'll also use the evening alarm to remind myself to put a sticky note on the back of the door for the next days tasks, that way I can look at it in the morning while I'm rushing around, and take it with me so I can keep checking it through the day. Might sound overkill but the forgetfulness is a big pain. I also use Google Tasks to help me organise my modules and figure out what to put in my notes.
7. You didn't ask about this, but if you have difficulty concentrating like me, or rather, difficulty not getting completely hyperfixated on the wrong things while trying to write notes, I'd recommend doing SMART goals before writing notes and stuff. Often I find I should be writing an essay on cancer cells or something, but then I'll get really hyperfixated on a certain type and forget to write anything. I remind myself to look at the SMART goal and remember what I'm actually supposed to be doing, and how long I wanted to be doing it for. Then I get back on track. This stops me overworking myself too.