I graduated a year early and was already young because of an early start --and I also attended a college out of state. I was age 16 when I started college, age 20 when I graduated. I did not have any academic problems, and although I still had a lot of growing up to do – so did the 18 and 19 year olds who were there. If anything, I was somewhat more mature and level-headed than average.
My youth was somewhat of a disadvantage when it came to job seeking. I did NOT encourage my daughter to take a similar route, and I think she was better off being 18 when she started college – but I did encourage and allow my daughter to spend a semester abroad as a high school junior, at age 16 – which was far more challenging than anything I had done.
I’d think a student who is focused on engineering would probably do fine — simply because engineering students tend to be kept very busy with their studies.
Just keep in mind that “make her wait” can lead to a very rocky year – it’s not easy to live under the same roof with a 17-year-old who feels frustrated or resentful at being there. (And probably a lot worse for the parent-child relationship than having the child at a distance. The kid who is physically away will generally be happy to have parental contact and advice; the kid who is physically present will often be looking for ways to avoid parental intrusion as much as possible.)
So, given what your daughter has informed you about the community college course options – in what ways beyond merely getting a year older would it benefit your daughter to stay home for another year?