<p>Hello
I am a 14 year old sophomore. I skipped 7th grade, and there is as much as 3 years' age difference between me and others in my grade. My GPA is decent, although it is nothing spectacular. Will my age increase chances of getting into college better? Or will they even look at how old I am?
Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>I think that being young is likely to hurt your chances because colleges may fear that you lack the maturity to be able to live independently in college (and many people who are regular college age lack that maturity, so colleges will be even more concerned about a very young student), and the colleges also may fear that because of your age, you would not be able to take full advantage of the EC opportunities at the college. ECs are a big part of the college experience. College isn't about just being able to handle the academics.</p>
<p>My older son skipped a grade, and went to college a year younger than most students. Although he had been exceptionally mature in some ways, particularly in terms of his academically-related EC, when he went to college, he acted in a very immature way and flunked out, despite being one of the top freshmen in his class.</p>
<p>He clearly was overwhelmed by the social options, and made some very bad decisions. He did wonderfully well in his academically-related EC there, but, unfortunately, he didn't keep up with his classwork. </p>
<p>He would have been far better off taking a year or two off before going to college. That would have allowed him to mature more so he would have been truly ready for the college experience.</p>
<p>I have know someone who went to U of Wisonsin at 16. She was from NY. It was a huge mistake. She flunked out, and it took a long time to get back on track. In fact, I don't think that she ever quite recovered, b/c this really changed her life. This problem snowballed into other problems. It might have been better for her to attend a community college, live at home, and then transfer to a 4 year school a year or 2 later.</p>
<p>I went to a college at 16 to learn a pre-uni course. It's not a boarding school because I shared a campus with college/university students. As the two mothers have commented before, I basically got in over my head, flunked out myself and now am two years behind where I should be. </p>
<p>Of course, there are some stories of successful college students who are younger than the norm. I suppose it would be only apparent during the junior/beginning of senior year, whether or not going to college straight away would be a good help.</p>
<p>A former classmate's sister was offered a place at Oxford, but she was deemed too young (she would have started when she was 17), so she took one year off and I believe, travelled with her father who was a missionary.</p>
<p>as a 14-year old sophomore you could be starting college as young as 16. As others have pointed out, your age is going to be a handicap in admissions and not a boost.</p>
<p>Not only that, you should seriously consider a gap year before going to college. College isn't just about taking classes, its a time to grow and challenge yourself. Not that many kids are ready for that step at 16 (and a few not at 18, either!) And lets not forget the social aspect; if you want to date, for example, how many frosh are going to be interested in someone who is the age of most HS sophomores?</p>
<p>bump this thread...</p>
<p>with more stories of 16 year old admissions and stories.</p>
<p>hypothetical question: will colleges accept a 16 year old SENIOR, turning 17 let's say september...if hes from new york or something and applying to ucla's and other colleges in new england, florida, etc....</p>
<p>if he has decent grades...decent sats...decents EC's...</p>
<p>I would reccomend defering a year if you get in.</p>
<p>
[quote]
I am a 14 year old sophomore. I skipped 7th grade, and there is as much as 3 years' age difference between me and others in my grade.
[/quote]
This quote gives mixed messages. On one hand you say that you skipped one year (7th), and on the other hand you say that you are 3 years older than your classmates. Unless I'm mistaken, most sophomores are 15 unless they recently had a birthday.</p>
<p>From what I have heard (not definite), skipping a year of high school does not help you with college admissions. Some people have a reasonable hunch that they will appear smarter and more desirable because they skipped a year, but it apparently doesn't work that way. Adcoms still expect you to have the same type of SAT's and EC's that they people have who did not skip a year. This is more of an issue when you skip 12th grade. Since you skipped 7th grade, they won't even notice your age. You won't have any more trouble interacting with college freshman (sometimes very immature people) than you do with your hs sophomore friends. I think when you said "14" and "3 years age difference", it made people think you were going to college when you were 14 or something. When you get to college, try not to be immature of course. "Immature" in college basically means drinking and goofing off.</p>
<p>Honestly, I do not think it will make a difference. If you were younger than that, then I believe it would affect admissions, but at one year younger than average, you'll be fine. I applied when I was sixteen, as did several of my friends. If there is any sign in your application that you are less mature than most seniors, then it will affect you; otherwise, I doubt it will. </p>
<p>Dufus, what I assume the OP was referring to are kids at the oldest end of her grade. In my senior class, for instance, I was sixteen while another boy was nineteen.</p>
<p>corranged: I wasn't really surprised that the ages for sophomores are 14-17. I would expect them to be 15 or 16 (?) depending on what month their birthday falls in, and then a few younger and a few older. I just think the post somehow made the OP sound like Dougie Howser. It doesn't seem appropriate to take a gap year because you skipped seventh grade. </p>
<p>The OP is about how much being younger would help in admissions, not about whether to take a gap year because you are a year younger. I agree the "typical" age for college freshmen is probably 18, but if the OP is 14 at this very moment, he/she will probably be 17 by matriculation time.</p>
<p>somebody told me this, im not sure if it's true.
im 16 and applying to colleges (17 next sunday), and i was told it would be harder for me to get into college bc theyre afraid of having a statutory rape suit. it sounds a little ridiculous, but it might just be another disadvantage to being young.</p>
<p>1 year older/younger doesn't make a difference; I'm a year young myself and had the opportunity to ask the Vanderbilt and Princeton deans of admission...</p>
<p>First of all, it's extremely unlikely that the people reviewing your applications will notice that you skipped a grade if came before high school. Second, even if they were to notice, it is very unlikely that it would affect admissions one way or the other.</p>
<p>
[quote]
i was told it would be harder for me to get into college bc theyre afraid of having a statutory rape suit
[/quote]
</p>
<p>rachel212: At the risk of being accused of having a poor memory, that is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. At the further risk of being accused of knowing too much about the topic, the legal age of consent in most states is 16 anyway.
<a href="http://ageofconsent.com/ageofconsent.htm%5B/url%5D">http://ageofconsent.com/ageofconsent.htm</a></p>
<p>i said it sounded ridiculous. its just something i heard, jebus.</p>
<p>rachel212: I didn't say that you said/thought it was true. Sorry, I didn't mean to insult you. Only the people who told it to you.</p>
<p>it's alright, im just sensitive lol.</p>
<p>I shouldn't have included your name in my post. Online is easier because you have more time to think about what you want to say, but harder because you can't get nuances across.</p>
<p>One of my best friends went to George Washington at 16. She is now heading off to law school. Different strokes for different folks. If you feel ready, and present an application that shows your readiness, than you will be fine.</p>