<p>I've been asking around my school and nobody knew if skipping a grade or two had an impact on your application to Ivy League colleges. I want your opinions. Some people say it is bad for you because you might not be as socially or emotionally mature as you could be when you apply to college before your peers. Some will say skipping grades actually forces a student to work hard and therefore mature faster than his peers. I think it's a toss-up.</p>
<p>What do you guys think? Add your own and unique perspective.</p>
<p>It always depends on the individual case. Sixteen-year-olds enroll at Harvard every year: that is quite routine. (In other words, some applicants are fifteen when they begin making a successful application.) But plenty of eighteen-year-olds don't gain admission to their favorite colleges, so there isn't any sure-bet formula for predicting what is expedient. </p>
<p>On my part, as a parent who had a grade skip, I've been satisfied with providing my children with homeschooling such that they can do challenging academic work at whatever age they are ready for it, while not having to declare a formal grade skip. My oldest son is currently deemed an eleventh grader, at eleventh-grade age. I'll know next year whether my administration of his homeschooling in early years and his performance in distance learning and dual enrollment are considered good preparation by college admission offices or not, but at least he has been able to take on hard challenges and grow in ways besides growing academically during his teen years before college. </p>
<p>Good luck in your applications. Do what makes educational sense for you today, every day.</p>
<p>My best friend's sister got into Harvard at 16, we got into every school he applied to including: UCLA, Berkeley, Johns Hopkins, and UChicago at 16. The people that do it have proven that they have used up all of the resources available to them in their community.</p>
<p>Well, I skipped 7th grade, and I'll be going to college at 16. Honestly, I think it's a great opportunity and it hasn't changed me or made me mature faster or anything. I feel perfectly normal in high school when I'm about 2 years younger than most people I know, and I'm not worried at all about being so "young".</p>
<p>As for having an effect on admissions, I think it shows the officers that you're good enough to handle high school younger and be an amazing student, so why not college?</p>
<p>(P.S. I also think its a great opportunity for study-abroad programs, because in Europe, all the attractions are free under 18. Just a thought)</p>
<p>If it's in elementary school, there's probably no effect on either admissons or how mature you are. (I skipped second grade and really don't find any difference between me and my classmates. Other than the fact that everyone has their permit or liscence now while I still have to wait four months to even qualify for Driver's Ed. :/ ) Skipping a grade in middle school is substantially rarer, though, and usually doesn't affect the maturity of people, but that's something that might look impressive when applying. And skipping a grade in high school is probably something that really shows your ability to handle tougher coursework-- it likely helps even more if your recs are good and don't show any sign of immaturity, as well as your essay.</p>
<p>Would admissions compensate for the grade-skip wrt math level (obviously if you skip a grade you become less advanced in math relative to your peers)?</p>