Hey guys,
So far, I will be going to college when I am 15 years old since I skipped 3 grades. I will turn 15 towards the end of senior year. I was just wondering if there is anyone else in the same boat, and would like to share some insight into college life. If possible, I would like to go to a large state university ~1 hour from my house. I’m a guy if that’s helpful.
Thanks.
I turned 17 the week before I went off to a highly ranked stressful university. I feel that I was too young and would have been better off with a gap year, although to be honest I have no clue what I would have done for a gap year. The academics were not a problem at all. Everything else was the problem.
I can’t begin to imagine my 14 year old daughter being in classes with the 17 year olds I teach.
Socially, they’re light years apart.
Sorry, I have no idea how to advise you on this one.
FWIW-My kid went to a school for the highly gifted and I knew a family whose kids were multiple years accelerated. When their kids hit high school, they decided to let them “take a lap.” Each was sent for a year to a sports school (life sports) where they took school online and focused on a sport. Then, they came back and finished high school. Life is not a race. By going to college multiple years early (esp. as a guy), you are confining yourself to a very limited social situation—especially on the dating front. Be an exchange student for a year and learn a language fluently. There are a lot of good ways to continue to grow academically without going to college 3 years early.
I ended up in a professional program very early though I was a couple years older than you. And while I did well and had fun in college I ALMOST wasn’t even old enough to take the professional exam at my age. I made the cut by a few months. That was never on my original radar.
I was the youngest in my class and it did make it more difficult socially. Most of my classmates were at least 2 to 5 years older with degrees…Some were supporting families already. Tough to make friends when you are on different “life” pages.
Technically I started college a year ago, at 16. There’s a program in Washington State where a lot of kids do their last two years of high school and first two years of college at once on a local college or CC campus, called running start. Its doable if you act mature and don’t do stupid things - you’re under no obligation to your professor or your classmates to tell them how old you are. Don’t expect special treatment for being younger, you’re not going to get it and it would make you seem really annoying if you ask.
Are you planning to live on campus? If so, that would probably be harder to adjust to the age difference than if you were commuting (as running start kids here do). I imagine you’ve already spent lots of time being younger than many students in your classes because you’ve skipped 3 of them.
Have you spent 4 years in high school though? If not, I would recommend not graduating this year and instead looking at possible dual enrollment programs etc. in your area. Those can be much cheaper than attending college as a college student and will save you money on your tuition. Other options for a “gap year,” are doing a final year of high school as a foreign exchange student if there’s a language you’ve been studying, working and saving money for a year, volunteering aboard or in your community, etc. I think that would be best especially if you plan on living on campus when you do go to college.
Thanks for all the feedback so far guys! I really appreciate it! I believe I will need to live on campus my first year atleast since I won’t be able to drive until at least half way through my freshman year in college. I was actually thinking about stacking classes on Tuesday and Thursday if possible and just having my parents drop me off each day. That would be better but is still a 1 hour commute.
Maybe go to a college that has a history of taking early starts. Johns Hopkins is known to be such a college. You may have better luck finding students who can relate.
Is there an acceptable college within commuting distance of home? (Or, would your parents be willing to move with you to a city with an acceptable college?)
Dorm life is not necessarily healthy for a 15 year old.
Do colleges even let 15 year olds live in dorms on their own? When my kids were applying to college summer programs, many of them had a minimum age of 16 to live in the dorms, and even then, they were heavily supervised.
Another option might be to take classes at a CC that’s closer to your home for the first year or two.
I agree with @snowfairy137
for a “gap year,” are doing a final year of high school as a foreign exchange student if there’s a language you’ve been studying,
I’d agree with the gap year. Lots of things you could do. Intense music study, foreign language immersion program.
My daughter, now a sophomore in college, is on the young side for her year. She didn’t turn 18 until November. It is more and more common for kids to defer a year, and there were a fair number of 20 year old freshmen in her class. I would say that she did have a more difficult time adjusting, because the vast majority of students are legal adults. I don’t know what the rush is to get through college at such a young age. Your biggest issue will be making friends. Not a lot of 19 year-olds, the largest age group of freshmen, want to hang out with 15 year-olds. Don’t underestimate how difficult the adjustment will be. You might be gifted academically, but those three years make a giant difference in maturity on an adult level.
I think it’s a bad idea for someone to skip 3 grades, but that bridge has already been crossed. If money was no object, and your parents trusted you to travel alone, I might suggest a gap year(ex. travel the world).
I Love the idea of the life sports school. If money is an issue, why do you have to graduate HS early? Isn’t it allowed for you to stay in HS and just take other classes … all of the sciences, multiple languages, etc?
My college aged son wants my 15 yr old HS son to visit him in college. But he said in NO WAY can he go to tailgates, parties or things like that over the weekend with him.
Not to say that’s what you would be doing in college; but i get the feeling that it would be awfully lonely being away at a college at age 15.
do you have other options? What is the point of pushing this? Of course it’s been done before; and I truly have no idea how it all works; hope you can find some concrete answers. I just know my own kids, and that my 15yr old would in no way be ready to live away at college.
If you’re smart enough, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were in one of my study groups or something, but I don’t think any of my friends or myself wouldl be inviting a 15 year old to anything that’s not related to schoolwork. Even if it’s something that has no age restriction, like a game night or bowling.
I’ve been taking college classes since I was 13 (I’m female btw), and adjusting to the classes isn’t too bad. I only got my license in summer and my mom still drives me to some classes (I’m taking a combined undergrad/grad course that she also needs for her graduate degree). I have good relationships with most professors (they largely don’t care about age), but I rely on my high school EC’s for social activities. There are plenty of 17-year-old freshmen at my uni, but 15 is definitely pretty young. I wouldn’t recommend living on campus until you’re a bit older. My parents won’t consent for me to live on campus next year (at 17 - my freshman year) so I can’t really help you out there.
And I have been invited to social activities by freshmen and sophomores, I just have never gone (usually have other commitments).
@jacobreed222 my son goes to a big university and started the same year a 12 year old boy did too. I don’t know how he’s faring after one year but I read that he and his parents moved the summer before he started school to be closer to his university and so he could live at home.
http://nypost.com/2016/09/02/this-genius-12-year-old-is-now-a-freshman-at-cornell/