Hi, My name is Omer and I’m 18 almost 19, and I’m from Israel, I have a question for you guys, As a citizen of Israel I’m forced to join the army for almost 3 years, But I really want to go learn in college in the US (very important detail: the reason for that is 50% the actual learning in a high level and the other 50% is for the college life (dorms, party, etc…))
My question is, what is the average age for freshman students in colleges in the USA, like most of the people go to college straight after graduating from high school??
and if you how being a bit more adult from the other people (If I come after 3 years) will affect my college life and being with people that are younger than me, but how will I be accepted?
If you know about someone who went to college when he was a bit older how was it for him?
I really want this kind of a party school and I’m scared that if I will be older I won’t be able to really experience it just because I’m older than the others…
Here is UCLA’s student demographics. Average age for Freshman is 18 and Transfers is 22. I do not think your age will be an issue and keep you from experiencing the “party” scene at any college. The hard part will be getting into a school like UCLA especially as an International student and if you have any financial limitations.
First of all an academically challenging university such as UCLA will have some parties, but you will (if you go there) need to spend a lot of time studying and attending classes. Partying will be a rather small part of the overall experience if you want to do well, or even survive academically, at any very good university.
If you are 21 or older, there might be some pressure or expectation that you will purchase alcohol for the younger students. I would very strongly resist this pressure. For one thing there are potential legal implications of purchasing alcohol in the US for anyone who is under 21.
I was 24 when I went back and got my master’s degree. I did not feel “old” at all. In fact I was probably close to average for the various graduate students and there were definitely many students who were older than me. If you attend any university that has a range of good graduate programs (UCLA being an example, but there are hundreds if not thousands more) then you will find lots of students on campus who are older than you will be. You might be older than most other students who are in your freshman year classes. However, you will definitely not be meaningfully older than average for the many students walking around campus. There will also be some students who took one or two gap years between high school and university.
In my limited experience students who are two or three years older are usually better students.
Just a footnote: If you “party” 50% of the time at a competitive, academic and expensive school like UCLA, you wont make decent grades and you will be placed on academic probation. After that, they dismiss you/ kick you out/ release you. That’s an expensive lesson for you and your parents to learn for $65K+ per year.
If you are 21 and buy alcohol for “minors” to “party”, you will face legal consequences if ANYTHING happens-and, things do happen. Do that, as an international, and your life and visa will be gone. Please do not refer to OLD movies that show US students “partying”. The culture at a strong, academic, and expensive school has changed significantly.