Hey!
I am an international serving 2-3 years in the army, which makes me 22 years old before I have the opportunity to start at college. Will I be by far the oldest at Stanford or is it common with some older freshmen? Also, will it count negatively that I am older than the others?
There was a student in my dd’s freshman dorm who was an international and he had also served in his military before entering Stanford. He was either 21 or 22. While I think there was a bit of a disconnect between him and the other students, there weren’t any problems. If you do attend Stanford (or any other US university) I would suggest trying to live in a mixed, four year dorm, rather than an all freshman one. That way you would be living with some other students your age.
It will not count against you that you are older than others during the application process.