<p>Hello,</p>
<p>I will be finishing my undergraduate education at the University of Pittsburgh by the age of 18 or 19. Does this make any difference when applying to graduate schools? How would graduate schools view this (in a positive or a negative way)? Also, with the caliber of this specific undergraduate institution, is it possible to be accepted at graduate schools such as Stanford, MIT, and Harvard in the biological sciences?</p>
<p>I won’t say it completely doesn’t matter, because every program and every professor has their own idiosyncrasies. It’s possible that it might, just like it’s possible that it might make a difference when you are applying to programs if you are 50. It’s not something that any program will come out and say, but some professors may worry that a 50-year-old will not finish the program because of family obligations or just being “too old,” and even that if they do, that they won’t be able to get an academic position afterwards. Likewise, there may be some professor on some committee out there that will wonder if an 18-year-old will leave after a year or two if they get bored, or if they will be easily distracted in the program, or if they won’t fit into the department.</p>
<p>I will say that I’ve never heard of it mattering across the board. Their questioning your maturity and readiness for graduate school can easily be set aside by doing the same things as your 22+ competitors - being involved in research, forming relationships with professors and getting good recommendations that can attest to your maturity level and readiness for graduate school, writing an independent thesis, etc. It may also be good for you to take 1-2 years off and work as a lab tech doing research; you would still be younger than most applications at 20-21 but you would still have more preparation than most out of graduate school. And you would still finish your degree at ~25-27 assuming you take about 5-6 years to do it.</p>
<p>I have to ask, though - are you projecting that you will finish university at 18 because you are currently 14 and preparing to entering university, or are you projecting that you will finish because you’re like maybe almost 17, a senior, and think that you’ll finish university in 2 years or less? If it’s the latter, I recommend that you slow down and think about graduate school less, and focus more on the task ahead of you (that is, finishing college). A lot of people think they will finish in 2 years and don’t. The other disadvantage is that you’ll get less chances to do research and develop relationships with professors if you rush through the degree.</p>
<p>I will be getting my degree this June at 19, and as juillet mentioned, there will be the occasional individual who views this negatively. Many of my friends and advisors suggest I don’t emphasize that I am planning to enter graduate school early for this precise reason (not that I ever intended to). I should remember to ask them why they think those aforementioned individuals would dislike an early graduate, though…</p>
<p>
I assume from Qwerty’s other thread that Qwerty is already a freshman at Pittsburgh. That may or may not be long enough to already know whether a graduation at 18/19 is guaranteed or still a projection.</p>
<p>Projecting is when you say something will happen before it’s happened - OP says he/she WILL be 18-19, so he/she is projecting. He/she doesn’t know that it will happen. Yes, some people do indeed finish in 2 years or less - it happens all the time. Power to them, too, and good luck in your applications. Far more often, however people take 4 years (or more) to finish. There are benefits and drawbacks to each decision.</p>
<p>Actually, that Qwerty used WILL instead of MIGHT means the statement is anything BUT a projection.</p>
<p>I started taking University courses at the age of 13 and fulfilled most of my General requirements. Now I am 16 and full time and because I fulfilled most of my General requirements early it should take me about 3 (possibly 4, but unlikely) more years to receive my degree. So, I will be about 18 or 19 when I graduate because of that reason.</p>
<p>“Projecting” means “thinking into the future.” I tell people that I will finish my PhD in 2013. I probably will, but I am still projecting because anything can happen. I might finish earlier, or later, or not at all. Regardless of what words you use, any time you speak about what “will” or “might” happen at a future time is projecting anyway. It wasn’t a comment on whether Qwerty would or wouldn’t or should or shouldn’t, so calm down. I wasn’t passing an indictment on graduating early - it’s not always a good idea, but sometimes it is and sometimes it happens.</p>
<p>In any case, the OP answered my question. I was less concerned about whether you could finish in 2 years, OP, than whether it might be a good <em>idea</em> for you to do so. Just because a person has a million AP credits doesn’t mean graduating earlier is a good idea if that would cause that person to miss out on opportunities that will enhance his or her chances of getting a job or opportunity in the future. With that said, my advice is just to start conducting research early - this year if possible - so you can maximize the next 3 years.</p>
<p>Actually Qwerty17613, your faculty at U Pitt are in a better position to advise you on this one than we are. Most of them have been in academia long enough to have seen successful and unsuccessful situations with students your age. If your own advisor(s) can’t help you, ask them who they know who can. They have colleagues in departments all over the country and should be able to locate someone with specific experience with students with your situation.</p>
<p>Wishing you all the best.</p>
<p>I am a few years older than many of the people in my cohort. This is viewed very positively by faculty when I first meet them; they assume that more age=more maturity and experience. But ultimately, first impressions don’t last forever and I have to confirm their impressions with what I do. I don’t think being extraordinarily young will be an insurmountable challenge to you in grad school. I suspect that when you get past the initial meetings with people, you will have a legitimate opportunity to convince them you aren’t some punk teenager who thinks they know everything.</p>