<p>I want a legal name change, not just "Hi, my name is ______". I'm a junior, 16 now but I've heard that getting a name change is easier as an adult. T/F? I don't want anyone calling me by my birth name and I think it'd be awkward if I told a potential new friend, "Hi, I'm B" and then have to answer to "A" when it's called out on some attendance sheet.</p>
<p>I would think it’s better to do it after you apply to colleges.</p>
<p>I disagree, i would do it as soon as you can. I mean, what makes it easier as an adult? there’s less paperwork, you don’t have to involve anyone except yourself. but by then, you got banks, credit cards, the DMV and the schools, you gotta go through all of them and get your paperwork changed, and if the attendance sheet is printed before your name change, then the school has to go in and change all that too. so you really gotta figure out which is less work.</p>
<p>You can get your legal name changed at 16? Do you need parental permission? I hate my birth name and have gone by a nickname all my life. I’m so sick of explaining it to people (“Y’see, Molly was short for Mary in the Middle Ages and my mom’s a linguistics buff…”)</p>
<p>Definitely after you apply. That will save you less paperwork to do and you won’t get your name mixed up with your test scores and recommendations etc.</p>