<p>Hi guys this is my first post here, I hope you guys can be of some assistance.</p>
<p>Basically the situation is that I have the opportunity to go to college at the age of 16 but I am unsure of if I should go or not. Would it be hard for me to fit in because I'm younger??Are there many activities that I wouldn't be able to participate due to my age??Anyone here went to college early or knows someone that did can you share your experiences??</p>
<p>A little background info on me is that I live in Trinidad and Tobago, and I got info from a few colleges about admissions and I understand that if I do well in my CXCs (equivalent to GCSEs) and take the SAT and do well in it I should be accepted. I could go now or stay to do A-levels but they aren't necessary to gain admission.</p>
<p>Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>If you have the maturity to handle living on your own, taking care of life issues, going to class, etc., then it shouldn’t be a problem. That said, many students in the US have do have some informal support systems locally such as a relative or a friend of the family and it can be easier for parents to manage problems within the same country. Trinidad and Tobego are pretty close to the United States but they are still different countries.</p>
<p>You would actually be dealing with the age issue and the issue of being a foreign student.</p>
<p>Our kids both started college part-time at 15 and they had to make social and academic adjustments. There are lots of high-school students that take Community College and University courses as dual-enrollment students. I think that there are quite a few that start college at 17 due to their birth-date. 16 is much less common but it does happen.</p>
<p>I agree with BCEagle91. I started college when i just turned 17. I would have went to college earlier but did not want to rush into college not fully prepared. If you are able to handle it then go ahead.</p>
<p>I was 16 while taking a number of college credits (and 17 now that I’m actually enrolled as a full-time student). A year ago, I had some problems with separation anxiety, but it’s hard to judge whether that was due to age or just something that most students go through. As the others said, it depends on your maturity. I don’t advise against it at all – as long as you’re adult enough to understand the problems you’ll be facing and know when you need your support network behind you, there shouldn’t be an issue.</p>
<p>thx for the replies guys.</p>
<p>I’m still wondering how much age will affect the social side of college especially relating to the “college experience”</p>
<p>johnson and whales rhode island has a specific dorm and area for 16 and 17 year kids, so youd have about 100 200 kids your age.</p>
<p>^^^
thats good to know, are there any similar schools in Florida??</p>
<p>Good idea, since the brain learns faster when you’re younger.</p>
<p>I never actually left home, but the summer after my sophomore year in high school I started taking college classes. By the following fall I was practically taking a full course load. Now in my Senior year I don’t have anymore high school classes, just four college classes. From my experience, it will depend on you. Your professors probably wont know how young you are unless you tell them. </p>
<p>As to fitting in, yet again, it depends on you. College students are on a whole other level than high school students. Just be prepared when your friends ask you to go somewhere and you have to decline because your parents said so :P. To add to that, College students are adult with few boundaries, be prepared to deal with them.</p>
<p>That said, I love College. Once I got over my own shyness I found I could make a lot friends. If you always feel like your not really sixteen, your friends around you are the biggest idiots in the world and you feel like your ready take that much responsibility, I’d say go for it. If not, why rush it? Two years isn’t that long, and there are days when I wish I could still act like a child again and I could rely on my parents more.
Hope this helps</p>
<p>Bad.</p>
<p>One of my cousins did it, and now regrets it. She took time off because it was just terrible. And it wasn’t because she wasn’t mature enough either.</p>
<p>I know a couple others who went early too and it didn’t work out too well for them either.</p>
<p>This is actually a commonly discussed topic on the site, check the parents forum. IMO If you aren’t concerned with social interactions, and you intend on wearing academic blinders for four years, I think it may work out. However if you desire any meaningful social experience, I think 16 is too young.</p>