Let’s say the three are 16, 17, and 18 at time of application. Which would they choose? Would it even matter?
Colleges will have concerns about the maturity of the16 year old
I don’t really think there would be a difference between a 17 and 18 year old applying. I have plenty of friends that are 18, and I’m 18; realistically, there is no difference between our level of maturity (and if there is, it has more to do with our personalities and experiences, rather than our calendar age). I think that kids who are young for their grade have more disadvantages when it comes to finding work opportunities, internships, and extracurriculars simply because those circumstances are more likely to have a rigid age cutoff, so they might have a stronger resume, but otherwise I don’t think someone who’s younger gets a disadvantage or advantage (at least, I hope not, because I’m one of the youngest people in my grade!). I think it would be different for a 16 year old, though, because it would be very rare for a 16 year old to be a high school senior. I’m not sure on this, and of course it would vary from person to person, but I have to think that a college would be wary of admitting someone who may not be emotionally ready for the experience of studying away from home. Again, I’m not really sure, just a hunch.
I can’t imagine that the extracurriculars/life experiences of the 16 yr old would be on par with the 18 yr old.
@prospect1
OP did say to imagine everything else the same.
Anyway, I agree that the 16 year old will be viewed as less mature.
Hmm. When I clicked on this thread, I imagined it would be about 18 years old vs 24 years old.
I think maturity would come into play if the applicant were still 16 at the time he or she started school (rather than the age at which he or she applied). I think the reasons why the applicant is applying so young also plays a role – if he or she is graduating early, an entire year of experiences and maturity may have been missed out on. However, I was 16 when I wrote most of my applicantions (although 17 by the time I sent them in and began attending college) simply because I started school early (began preschool at 2). Thus, I was in school just as long, if not longer, than all of my peers, giving me ample time to mature and gain experiences.
Of course, your scenario isn’t plausible as no three applicants would have exactly the same application. But if all the applications truly were the same, I would think that all three would receive the same decision with some colleges perhaps favoring the older two applicants depending on the circumstances.
I skipped a grade and will therefore graduate highschool at 16 and start college right when I turn 17. I completely disagree about the maturity thing. I think having to compete and be around people in my grade my whole life who are 1-2 years older than me actually demonstrates a lot of maturity. As a 13 year old on a varsity sport I also had to play 18 year olds. My extracurriculars and gpa/sat are as high as anybody’s in my grade and it’s pretty unfair to say that I have not had the same experiences that built “maturity”. I really don’t mean to come off as bitter, but I think it’s plain wrong to judge a person without knowing anything about them by their age. I’m sure I can find you a whole lot of 16 year olds who are one hundred times more mature than some 18 year olds.
Age isn’t that important. Whether or not the student graduated early should be what you’re looking for. The college will choose the student who graduated in four years over three and three years over two; this gives the student time to mature academically and adds weight to the GPA (provided it’s high). What’s harder: getting a 4.0 four semesters or eight semesters? Additionally, blah blah blah course rigor.
Otherwise, age doesn’t matter.
Eh, they’d be about the same. The big leap would be college (17-18 vs 20-21 y/o’s). Life experience from 16-18 (normally) stays roughly the same.
Exactly! If anything I would think that a college would look highly upon a 16 year old achieving the same things (given every application is exactly the same which doesn’t happen lol) an 18 year old did.
Like others have said, age doesn’t matter, time in school does.
It’s not academic or sports maturity; it’s just emotional maturity. Yes, people develop at different rates, but on average the 16 year old will be emotionally less mature than the 18 year old.
@couplemoreweeks
Tons of things are unfair, especially in college admissions (I hate the whole Asian stereotype). I don’t need to know you to say that statistically, you’re less likely to be as mature as the 18 year old, and colleges won’t even have that chance to really get to know you. I agree it’s unfair.
Right and I get that but I’m saying emotional maturity is not judged by age. When you’re 14 you don’t become suddenly more mature than when you’re 13 simply because you celebrated your birthday and blew out 14 candles. Instead, maturity is gained by our experiences and the challenges we face. That being said, maturity comes from experience and experience does undeniably come with age. But as a 16 year old who has been in the same grade with people who are 1-2 years ahead of me all of my life, I have HAD to assimilate and become more mature. We’ve all faced challenges and been through the same high school bs, and what we come away with that determines our maturity. For example I think we can all agree that Malala is more mature at the age of 17 than Miley Cyrus at the age of 22. And that is because Malala has encountered more than Miley Cyrus could even fathom.
Not that I can even compare my situation to malalas, but I’m saying that age is just a number and not only is it unfair, but it’s entirely unreasonable to judge my or anybody else’s maturity by the date on our birth certificAte.
@couplemoreweeks
Actually, “blowing out candles” does in a way indicate growth in emotional maturity, especially between the years of 16-20. This has nothing to do with your experiences, although those certainly do help. This is just hormones in your body. Teenagers’ bodies just work in a way that encourage us to make quicker decisions (for good or bad) and simply be less mature.
And again, back to the unfairness. Yes, it’s unfair, but so is holding Asians up to a higher standard. I’m an Asian male, which is probably the worst demographic in college admissions. Yes, it’s unfair, and I love to complain about it, but no there’s nothing I can do right now, so I just have to accept it.
Honestly, nothing either you or I say will change what adcoms do, so put your opinions out there, but I don’t think I have anything more to say on this topic.
but wouldn’t a sixteen-year-old make for a better variety of students? Why would colleges want racial diversity but not age-wise?
@Woandering
I’m not even talking about whether this is fair or unfair. I get that a lot of things are unfair and it sucks being an Asian Male when it comes to college admissions. At the same time, I’m a white middle class female with no hooks so it’s not like I have it that great either. I’m just saying that yours and other people’s reasoning about the correlation between age and maturity is just plain wrong. There is no exact age when the adolescent brain becomes an adult brain, but the part of the brain that is responsible for logical reasoning does reach maturity at the age of 16 (look it up). Once again if maturity is really gained everytime we blow out our birthday candles, why is Malala more maturity than Miley Cyrus. Why is Anne Frank more mature than Amanda Bynes? Maturity is gained by experiences and what we gain from our challenges. Sure our bodys may be more developed as we grow older, but that doesn’t change the fact that our maturity levels and personalitys our cultivated by our experiences and actions. Just because someone is considered an adult, doesn’t mean they acted like one. A classic example is would you say that a rich spoiled 18 year old who has had everything handed to him/her there whole life is more mature than a 16 year old who has had to work for everything he/she had and overcame obstacles that the 18 year old couldn’t even dream of? Do you really think that the 18 year old person would be more capable in taking on the challenges that life or even college can offer. Some people never mature while others are forced to mature, and it is entirely provincial to suggest that maturity is merely a product of age. You say that an 18 year old is more capable of making “quicker decisions”, but how does that account for the 18 year olds who drink and do drugs with no thought of the future, while a 16 year old placed in the same situation actually thinks about the consequences of their actions.
And @josephhutter12 I don’t know if that is the case but hopefully it is. Colleges are looking for all kinds of diversity and it’s pretty unique (at least among every person I know) for someone to graduate at the age of 16.
More interesting I think would be what colleges see as to 18 year old, 20 year old, and 22 year old applicants.
@slights32 yeah but how would a 22 year old be applying as a freshman applicant. Wouldn’t they generally be transfer students because usually 19 is like the oldest I’ve ever seen anybody graduate from high school
@couplemoreweeks well depending on the circumstances. Say they just went to work right out of high school, never went to college at all, versus someone straight out of high school.
@couplemoreweeks
Again, brain maturity is slightly different from emotional maturity. 16 year olds is the target average age for emotional immaturity and as a result irresponsible decision-making. You don’t sound like the average person, and neither do Malala and Anne Frank.
Your last example of the 18 year old vs 16 year old is faulty. Perhaps, if the 16 year old were you and the 18 year old was a single mother on drugs, you’re obviously more mature. However, in general, 16 year olds are less mature than 18 year olds, and your sentence would be wrong. My argument does not account for everyone, for the 16 year old mature teenagers and the 18 year old immature teenagers, but neither does yours, and even more so in your case.
I don’t know why you keep repeating the same examples and arguments. Yes, there are definitely 16 year olds who are years more mature than even 20 year olds, but 16 year olds are, on average, notorious for our inability to make rational decisions under pressure.
This article perfectly describes the difference between “cognitive ability” and “psychosocial maturity.” You’re right that cognitive ability stops growing at 16, but psychosocial maturity keeps improving.