RIght I totally agree with you on that and you are right, probably a large majority of 18 year olds are probably more emotionally or rather pyschosocially mature than 16 year olds are. But I guess going back to the original point of this thread, if a college were choosing between a couple of similar applicants (because no application is EXACTLY the same) who were different ages, I don’t think age would be a factor (unless someone was extremely young or old for that matter). A college can’t just assume that a difference in age equates to a difference in maturity or ability to succeed so I think (and hope) that they would find another distinguishing factor.
Also, it was an interesting article and I definitely agree with a lot of what it’s saying. However, the article states that significant disparities in maturity levels were found between
“the 16- to 17-year-olds and those 22 years and older, and between the 18- to 21-year-olds and those 26 and older”
So, basically yes there is a difference between your average 16 and 22 year olds, but this difference is a lot less pronounced when looking at the difference between say 16 and 18 or 17 and 18 year olds (which are the ages relevant in this thread).
@couplemoreweeks, I have the benefit of hindsight. What @woandering is saying has much merit. There are developmental milestones that make a difference in how we experience life. I turned 17 just weeks prior to when classes started. I, too, railed against the unfair agism, and truly I think, if anything, people were impressed and did favor the youth over the average (in retrospect).
However, from a socio-emotional perspective and from a varsity sports perspective, I feel like I could have had a better experience had I been older. I always secretly sort-of wished I could have skipped my high school senior year (I had enough credits) and also compressed college into three years, so I could enter a graduate school at the age most were entering undergraduate, and maybe live that “college experience” in grad school.
I felt I was always a half-step off with social aspects. Everyone is different, and you may be much closer to the center of the bell-curve on socio-emotional stuff.
It’s really not a big deal either way.
@couplemoreweeks
That quote you mentioned implies an upward trend in social maturity; the author didn’t classify the 16 yo’s with the 18 yo’s. If you’re going for the tippity top schools, such a minor factor plays into the decision WHEN everything else is equal, as it is in this hypothetical situation (note that this is impossible). So yes, this age thing really doesn’t matter if you look at the application as a whole, but since it was the topic…
Anyway, as I’ve said and thought with this topic and many others (including the whole race and gender thing) it’s not something I can control, so I’ve stopped worrying about it. A good rant with my Asian male friends is always fun though.
P.S I noticed you were applying to CMC. Good luck! That’s my top choice for when I apply.
@ItsJustSchool
I agree with most of what you are saying and trust me I definitely feel I would have had an advantage if I were older. Like as a 13 year old freshman on varsity who was just starting to develop, I was playing against 18 year old seniors. But in terms of your social experience, I don’t feel the same way. My social life and stuff like that has been fine and just the same as all my other friends. Granted it was not always like this and elementary and middle school was not the best for me in terms of social aspects, but I feel like I was forced to become more mature if I wanted to assimilate. When I look at the 16 year olds in the grade below me and even the grade below that then yeah in NO WAY are most of them any where near as mature as a lot of the 18 year olds in my grade. But in my experience at least, being surrounded by people who all acted on a certain maturity level forced me to be a little more mature than an average 16 year old should be.
But if I were to have had the choice, probably wouldn’t skip a grade. I feel you on being a step off socially and definitely as a varsity athlete, but hey that’s life. And maybe it’s just wishful thinking but given that I have absolutely no hooks except a legacy at USC, it would be cool if colleges could be like hey she’s 16 and she’s been competing with people two years older than her in sports, academics, and everything her whole life. (Well not really competing but you know, measured against). But yeah I get where you are coming from and everything but oh well.
@Woandering
Yeah CMC is one of my top choices because I wanna go into IR, and I just love everything about the school. Did you apply ED there?
Also yeah don’t get me started on colleges considering race during the admissions. If you want to give an advantage to someone do it based on their socio-economic circumstances, not the color of their skin. But yeah that’s a completely different conversation.
@couplemoreweeks
I’m still a Junior. Still a year of torture for me. But, CMC’s been my favorite for about 2 years now, ever since I learned about it. I want to go into IB, but the whole culture at CMC is awesome. I’ll probably apply ED when I do apply though.
@Woandering
Oh good luck man. I thought junior year was hell with SATS and all, but senior year first semester was arguably the worst twenty weeks of my life. Honestly everyone in my grade who at least somewhat cared about going to like a pretty good college were all like walking zombies. But hey now it’s over and we all dont feel like doing anything anymore. I wish CMC had like a single chioce EA thing because I totally would have applied, but my parents wouldn’t have left me because of financial aid stuff. Have you ever gotten a chance to visit the campus?
@couplemoreweeks
Yeah over the summer, but briefly. We brought guests with us, so we had to leave early. I want to go back for an overnight or something though. Campus is amazing, but a little smaller than I expected.
Regarding the OP’s question, I think the college would look hard at recommendations for the 16 year old for specific comments on a high level of maturity. Any interview the applicant did might be parsed (even if they say they are just informational!). It can be difficult for a younger student to achieve at the same level in ECs as an older student (leadership, very high level of performance at state or national level). But fundamentally if the kid had the stats, coursework, and recommendations & interview stood up well, I assume it would make little difference.
I don’t think any difference would be made among 17, 18, 19 year old applicants. When one starts looking at young er ages where the student is not going to be of age, be minor, for more than a year, there are increased risks in having a child on campus, particularly as a boarding student. Some schools do have specific programs for younger students, that do include additional guidance and resources for them. There could be a hesitation in accepting someone that young. Or not. It’s possible age is not even a factor in the assessment process for acceptance. I know a number of 16 year olds who were accepted for college and they were not super stars in the pool, just graduating a year early and had a late birthday which made them young for the process. I don’t get the feeling that their age was a factor in the process at all, and I am talking about selective colleges.