Freshman Age?

<p>I'm wondering how old the average Freshman is of a prep school. I'll be thirteen for the first month of 9th grade. Will I be the youngest/one of the youngest students in the grade?
And how old is the eldest students, typically? I've heard sixteen or late fifteen....</p>

<p>When I was a freshman I came in as a repeat, so I was 15, then again in my previous school I was young for my class. The youngest guys in my class were 13 at the beginning of freshman year and there birthdays were in October. The oldest were typically late fifteen turning sixteen, but there were only a few, and they were repeats. Usually most of the students in a freshman class will be fourteen turning fifteen sometime throughout the school year. There really is no age separation though, so don’t worry about it / making friends, everyone does. You’ll be slightly younger than most of your class, but it wont matter.</p>

<p>Well I’m thirteen and will be turning fourteen on my first day of boarding school.</p>

<p>My daughter’s birthday is in June so she was 14 for all of ninth grade. There were a couple of kids who were still 13 in October of ninth. However, I have to say most of her prep classmates were 15 with just one or two turning 16 in the spring. It was interesting to me that the much younger kids were (academically) better performers than the turning-16 crowd.</p>

<p>Children who transferred into our private school say for middle school were all on the younger end of the age group. Public school kids near us (in CT) typically do not repeat. In the private schools nearby, it is extremely common practice for schools to self-impose a birthday cutoff either in June or August across the board, whether the kid can do the work of the grade or not.</p>

<p>With that in mind, I am going to guess that at 13, you will be one of the youngest in your grade, but it shouldn’t be an issue. It’s going to be great!</p>

<p>I should clarify that the birthday cutoff thing was for kindergarten through fifth. Once in sixth, the admission process relied on standardized testing scores instead of age, and that is where the younger kids came into the picture.</p>

<p>Our son was 14 turning 15 in February and our daughter was 13 turning 14 in October their freshman years. I think age is pretty unimportant at most boarding schools. My daughter’s friends never asked or cared about her age. She is one of the taller girls and played JV soccer as well.</p>

<p>I’m going to be a freshman and I’m 13, turning 14 in April (I skipped 1st grade). I’ve been the youngest in my class since second grade, ye I’ve always been one of the tallest…</p>

<p>We had a freshman this year be older than his prefect (upper-classman who takes care of the freshman)…</p>

<p>I know a returning soph at Holderness who was born in 95.</p>

<p>My son will start school as a 9th grader at age 14, but will turn 15 in October. Exeter was pretty emphatic that he had to start in 9th, given his age.</p>

<p>When I was a freshman, I was 13 for the entire year. I skipped a grade when I was younger, though.</p>

<p>When I was a freshmen, I was 13 until December. Unlike the people who posted before though, I’m actually short… so I look my age, which is pretty bad haha :)</p>

<p>there are some “double repeats” who were held back a year a kindergarten and again for BS</p>

<p>In MA (maybe all of New England - not sure) the cut off to start K is September 1, so there are a lot of summer/fall birthdays on the older end - they will be turning 15 in the fall of Freshman year. In NY the cut off for K is still December, so those kids in the same grade can be a year younger. Then you can add in someone who is grade skipped or held back and there can be a spread of ages in any grade.</p>

<p>An example of a double-repeat: an 18 year old Junior
[Ask</a> a Boarding-School Expert: If Taylor Swift Elopes with Deerfield Academy Junior Conor Kennedy, Will He Need a Permission Slip? | Vanity Fair](<a href=“http://www.vanityfair.com/online/oscars/2012/08/conor-kennedy-taylor-swift-elope-boarding-school]Ask”>Ask a Boarding-School Expert: If Taylor Swift Elopes with Deerfield Academy Junior Conor Kennedy, Will He Need a Permission Slip? | Vanity Fair)</p>

<p>Thanks for that, GMT. I had totally forgotten to forbid DS to elope with a celebrity before senior year. All covered now.</p>

<p>Hi, my daughter was 13 when she started boarding school. She did not turn 14 till the end of April. She adjusted nicely. She is now in her 2nd year. She also skipped 1st grade.</p>