<p>Hey guys. Next year, I'm going to be a Freshman in college. Hopefully. But, I'm only sixteen now, and won't be seventeen until the end of December. So therefore, I won't be a legal adult until I'm done with my first semester of college. So, I was wondering.. Does anyone have any experience with this? Is there anything special I should do or pay attention to? Will I be at a disadvantage, being seventeen? In my school, there's two people in my grade who are exactly a year older than me, and a Junior who's the same age as me. I'm used to being the youngest, but in college will it be more of a problem?</p>
<p>Yep, I was in the same position as you. I started university at sixteen, and couldn't drink until third year. Here is my main advice to you:</p>
<p>-Keep your age to yourself the best you can, people may treat you differently once they find out how young you are </p>
<p>-If you're living in dorms, you're fine because most parties happen there or at frat parties. </p>
<p>-Try to get a Fake ID</p>
<p>Those are the main things I can suggest. If you're worried school-wise, you'll be fine, age doesn't matter as much as your work ethic. Best of luck</p>
<p>I'm a 17 yr old freshmen in college also. I won't turn 18 until the end of December. There is nothing wrong with that...and i don't think anyone cares about ur age (well, unless u r gonna drink and stuff, which i don't)...</p>
<p>Yes, you will be everyone's beyotch.</p>
<p>I know quite a lot of people who are similar in age to you. they didn't seem to have any problems... depending on what state you're going to school in you might be left out of some 18+ clubs though.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the input. I didn't think it'd make that much of a difference, but I just wanted to make sure. I want the "typical college experience", and I hope I get it. I don't want my age to set me back at all.</p>
<p>It's really a bigger deal in 3 years when your classmates can legally buy alcohol and you can't than it is now. Just don't tell anybody. The only real difference is you can't buy cigs, but if you don't smoke then who cares about that.</p>
<p>Just be normal. If you spend time talking about how you're younger, you graduated early, blah blah blah then people might resent or be annoyed by you. If you don't make a big deal about it they won't either.</p>
<p>Eh, I started as a seventeen-year-old (my birthday was in September, about a month after I started college) and I have a friend whose eighteenth birthday is late this December. Neither of us have had any real issues due to age, except for voting and that sort of thing. Of course neither of us are terribly interested in drinking, either. <em>shrug</em> About the only thing interesting about it is that she's got a good story to tell people in conversation about why she's a seventeen-year-old in college--her mother forged her birth certificate in order to get her into kindergarten a year early.</p>
<p>I was 17 my entire freshman year. It's not a big deal--people can't tell just by looking at you that you're on the younger side unless you're acting immature or you talk about it all the time. A fake ID would be nice if you're hoping to go clubbing at all, but keep in mind that since good ol' Sept. 11th the legal penalties for being caught with one can be much more severe. The people who already posted that it gets more annoying when you turn 21 late were right :)</p>
<p>The only actual problem I ran into was with Student Health Services, since until you turn 18 you still need parental consent for medical stuff... it was really inconvenient when I just needed a damn throat culture. The bigger problem was when I tried to see a psychologist without my parents knowing and the idiots at the counseling center mistakenly told me I needed parental consent (laws with that will vary, but most places allow it). </p>
<p>Also, if you're planning on taking any psych classes your first semester, a lot of intro courses require study participation, and most psych studies exclude people under 18. There's always a way around it but the alternative is usually more irritating, so if you're thinking of taking psych as an elective and it won't set you back at all, maybe wait until spring.</p>
<p>I know several people who are 17 until the end of 1st semester their Freshmen year. Aside from still needing parental consent for health issues, the most bother is if you want to get into an 18+ club. If you're into that type of thing, I suggest you find a friend who is 18+ who looks somewhat similar to you and just borrow her IDs (fake ones are a lot less reliable).</p>
<p>lol, guys try living in Alabama where it's 19+ instead of 18+, freshman year SUCKED because of that. I didn't even turn 19 until I was a junior, so it was a pain in the ass big time. Other than legal stuff though, like contracts (if you want to live off-campus and are signing a rental agreement) or bars or whatever, it's not a big deal. None of the people I know treat me any differently other than saying "huh. that's weird. you must be pretty smart" the first time they find out. And after freshman year, you will have friends a year below you who are the same age so it won't be a big deal. The only problem I have now is that many of my friends I've had since freshman year are 21 now and I'm still stuck at 20 for another 10 months (until after I graduate in May, even) which means that I can't go to alot of the nicer bars because they are all 21+ so I get accidentally excluded sometimes because people forget.</p>
<p>i am actually experiencing this right now. i am a 17 year old sophmore in college (AP credit), i wont turn 18 until january. i know how it feels being a 16 year old senior in HS. being 17 and in college has its advantages and disadvantages. people dont have to find out that u r 17 unless they asked 4 ur age then u tell, once u tell them they will be amazed. it also sucks for example i cant participate in psychology research that is required for my psy class so instead i have to research two stupid articles relating to pyschology and talk about them.</p>
<p>Eh, I don't take AP credit into account when I think of my "year" in college. I have the basic experiences of a freshman, so I consider myself a freshman even though I am approximately a second-semester sophomore when it comes to AP credit. </p>
<p>And I don't really think most people are exactly amazed by 17-year-old freshmen. At least, none of the people I know were terribly flabbergasted.</p>
<p>Agreed, SolaCatella... a freshman is a freshman is a freshman, even if they come in with advanced standing. And I've never had anyone be amazed by someone being a 17 yo frosh, though I have seen people very surprised that I in particular am younger than people tended to guess (my freshman year I had several grad students start flirting with me and then get horrified when they found out I was jailbait). And nowadays, I'm just shocked that people born in the 90s are in college! Though part of that is that my girlfriend teaches high school, and the idea of being friends with anyone who could have been her student last year is a little horrifying :)</p>
<p>Shouldn't be too bad, but if you get a drinking ticket and are under 18 then the police can still legally call your parents.</p>
<p>I'd like to know more about this Psych thing... I'm planning on being a Psych/Sociology double major, and I don't quite understand. I won't be able to participate in research that's required because of my age? That seems unnecessary. Can I get parental permission or something in order to participate?</p>
<p>There's always an alternative to study participation in psych classes, but the alternative is usually more time consuming than being able to do the studies. That said, it's not like you'll be the only one in your situation, and plenty of people don't do studies for other reasons (just don't want to, can't find one that fits into their schedule, or if you're not a native English speaker it often cuts down on things you're eligible for), so if you want to take psych your first semester you'll just work around it.</p>
<p>It would be really unusual for a psych study to allow you to participate under 18 even if you could get parental permission: it's a much bigger pain in the butt to get permission from the IRB to run a study that includes minors, it's another form to write and get approval for, and unless the study criteria specifically require children or adolescents there's no benefit to letting minors participate.</p>
<p>Just to be clear here, I'm not talking about participating in research as a researcher--it's participating as a subject. You'd have no age-related problems working in a research lab AFAIK, it's just being a guinea pig you're not allowed to do.</p>
<p>i know a lot of kids right now that aren't 19 yet (im a sophomore) and its no problem. even though i have some friends who are 20 already, the still 18 year olds will have their birthdays within the next month. honestly, noone will care. youll be at most a year younger than the oldest people and only a couple of months yonger than most. wont effect maturity at all and once people find out (its not somethign thats usually mentioned in the first time you meet someone), theyll just poke fun and maybe call you the "baby". not a big deal at all socially</p>
<p>Live it up.</p>
<p>Being a minor ==> less legal penalties if you get caught for something stupid</p>