So I know a high school student who will be 16 or 17 going in to college. I want to know if any colleges offer any special dorms, or houses, or co-ops for teenage students.
Thanks!
Most incoming freshman are teenagers… Most are 18, so a 17 year old will not look that out of place.
Some places do have special programs for younger students. Here is one list:http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/early_college.htm
I might recommend that she consider taking a gap year before starting college. She may be intellectually ready for college work, but starting college at 16 may not be the best thing for her socially.
I would recommend a year studying abroad- going to school, living with a family. The curriculum would be totally different, there’d be the added challenge of the language, and being immersed in a culture would really add to her perspectives and maturity. Finally, colleges really like that and it makes for terrific essays. 
Simon’s Rock at Bard is specifically for this.
The only colleges I know of that have special dorms for “teenagers” do it because they have programs for YOUNG teenagers, as in 14 or 15, where they are going from sophomore year straight to college. But many colleges take 16 or 17 yo freshmen-the Parents Class of 2016 forum here on CC is full of parents of 16 yo 2016 graduates. All of the them seem to be successfully getting into college, my D included.
D has applied primarily to historically black colleges, which have a long tradition of early admissions for academically successful HS students, though she is a senior. Many have mandatory freshman support programs, small classes and stricter rules for dorms and student behavior, dress codes, etc. We’re comfortable with our decision to let D graduate early and go off to college. She’s more mature than most kids 2 and 3 years older. But my fellow “parents of class of…” are sending their kids to traditional colleges with going the gap year or special program route.
There were a lot of 17-year-olds in my freshman class in college, including me. Kids used to be allowed to start first grade if they turned six before January 1. I lost my student ID after a week of school, and when I went to get a new one they just had a space for me to write in my birth date. I subtracted a year and Hello, Bars! Of course, now it’s 21.
I do remember meeting a fellow student who I think was 16. He had been allowed to sign up for summer classes as a high school student back before they had dual enrollment programs. He simply was enrolled in school and decided not to leave, and apparently there was nothing they could do about it.
Our son has a November birthday and we certainly could have skipped him a grade. We decided he would have a competitive advantage by being a bit older.
17 is not unusual, but 16 is asking for a rough start socially. Part of the residential college experience, in my opinion, is dealing with living away from home and acting as an adult for the first time. That involves making lots of decisions about finances, time management, and lifestyle (including sex, drugs and alcohol). In my D’s freshman dorm she has a friend who is an international student. He completed high school at 16 in his home country. His parents then sent him to an elite boarding school in the US for two more years of high school, not because he needed to learn the academic material, but to allow him to further mature in a supervised situation, while also enabling him to sharpen his English language skills. He’s settling in fine now to college life. Basically what @MYOS1634 suggested.
My mother was 17 until December of her freshman year and even then it was brutally socially. I would HIGHLY recommend a 16 year old to take a gap year. Just because you are academically ready doesn’t mean you have to start college right away.
I know plenty of people who began college at 16 and had no social difficulties. I know plenty of students who began college at 17 or 18 and had social problems. People mature at different rates. Those focused and mature enough to graduate high school at 16 are often among the more mature of the graduating class who are mostly older than they are.
Students, and especially women, who plan to attend graduate or professional schools may be particularly motivated to complete their high school careers early so that they are not as old when they graduate and start pursuing their careers. Other countries essentially skip the BA part of graduate students directly into professional training programs or what the US views as “graduate school”. Especially for people choosing research or academic careers, they are often pressing the “biological clock” when they are ready for to devote some time to their personal lives. Naturally this is harder on women then men.
I’d encourage students to continue with their academic career if they plan on an academic career and make decisions about college that consider their personal and professional needs, as I would for a student who is 16 or 18 when graduating high school.
Qwerty568, your mother may have had a rough time adjusting to the social life in college regardless of when she started. She may have needed a year to adjust to college regardless of her starting age. I know plenty of people for whom that is true.
" People mature at different rates."
THIS. My D’s classmates call her “Mom”, because even though she is a year or 2 younger than they are, she’s more mature than most of them. She is ALREADY, like most teens, exposed to the option of drinking, drugs, etc. and she has the maturity to say no, just as her older friends and classmates can-or not. She manages a fairly hefty budget at school already, so she will likely be ok with managing her money, and her school has the kids design and manage projects in every class. She works with mentors, has an internship, and is connecting with a person in another country for her senior project-I’m not especially concerned about maturity.
(I started college at 17, but I presume the OP is asking about early entry, which is not the case for most 17-year olds in college.)