<p>At the present moment, I'm set to go to college to age 17, because I skipped a grade. I was wondering if any have been in such a position (I assume, a fair number) and would be willing to share insight/acumen. Are there any problems for being in a younger age cohort?</p>
<p>I'm wondering if this is a problem. Particularly, if there are any corresponding emotional problems at college, ex. being 20 while your friends are 21, relationship problems (especially cause I'm a guy), etc.</p>
<p>Please be candid-- I'm considering taking a gap year to alleviate the problem.</p>
<p>P.S. My birthday is early in the year, if that helps any; on average I'm 9 months younger than my peers.</p>
<p>That's fine. I'm 17 and I'm in college. Although, the difference is that my birthday is in December. What you should also consider is what you would do if you DON'T go to college. Would you get a job? Would you do something productive?</p>
<p>I doubt being one year younger will make a huge difference. Although legally, you have be over a certain age to get credit cards, alcohol, and enter clubs.</p>
<p>my friend was a freshman at brown at 17, he's getting A's in every class (believe it or not he's not too big of a geek either). It just depends on how prepared you are for it, and whether or not you can resist temptations (don't party/screw around on weekdays, how much homework you're used to, etc).</p>
<p>I graduated high school a year early also. It made no difference with my social life. No one knows the difference of your age unless you tell people anyway. </p>
<p>Side note: You might find problems getting into 18+ events for the first semester though. I never had that issue as I commuted that semester and had basically no social life.</p>
<p>my birthday is in september, i have a friend whose birthday is in march, I have a friend who is a junior who just turned 19. None of us have any issues.</p>
<p>I graduated high school after 3 years, so I was 17 my entire freshman year. It's not a big deal--people can't tell just by looking at you that you're on the younger side unless you're acting immature or you talk about it all the time. Not being able to go to 18+ events is annoying; it gets more annoying when you turn 21 late, but at any given point most people in college aren't going to be 21, so it's not like you'll be totally deserted.</p>
<p>Relationship-wise, sometimes people who find out your age will make jailbait jokes. Not a huge deal. I got hit on by a grad student my freshman year who almost swallowed his tongue from shock when I told him I was 17, but I was trying to get rid of him so it was a good thing.</p>
<p>The only actual problem I ran into was with Student Health Services, since until you turn 18 you still need parental consent for medical stuff... it was really inconvenient when I just needed a damn throat culture, and they wouldn't do it until they got my mother on the phone. The bigger problem was when I tried to see a psychologist without my parents knowing and the idiots at the counseling center mistakenly told me I needed parental consent (laws with that will vary by state, but most places allow it in most circumstances, including NY where I am).</p>
<p>Also, if you're planning on taking any psych classes your first year, a lot of intro courses require study participation, and most psych studies exclude people under 18. There's always a way around it but the alternative is usually more irritating, so if you're thinking of taking psych as an elective and it won't set you back at all, maybe wait until you're 18 or double check that the alternative option isn't too big of a pain in the butt.</p>
<p>It's all in your head...I'm 1 year younger than a lot of my friends, but there are also a lot of friends who are just about the same age as me. Nobody knows or cares until they see it's your birthday on facebook. haha</p>
<p>I dont think it matters... i started school a year early here and at one point this year one girl in my grade was 19 while I was still 16. Cause i'm taking time off now, when i go to college it will be the first time in my life I am somewhere near the right age (turning 18 in september 2009). But I've never had social problems because of it... I've had social problems beause I go to a girls school lol. But yeah, why would it matter.... if its a girl it helps pulling off the whole cute/adorable thing anyways</p>
<p>Don't worry about relationship issues--My boyfriend skipped the fourth grade and went to college went he was 17. His birthday is in May, so he's 1 1/2 years younger than some people in our year. My birthday is in April, so it's only one year between us though. I don't really notice the difference in our ages, although if he's acting immature I will tease him about it. Academically, he has done fine at our school. The weirdest thing is that he'll graduate before he turns 21, but he doesn't drink so it's not an issue.</p>
<p>I turned 17 right after freshman year started and I never had much problem. My only issue was having to get things signed until I was 19 (stupid state, 19 is legal age here instead of 18). Pretty much I would just call my mom and say, "Hey do you mind if I sign your name to this?" She never cared.
It can be hard when all your friends are 21 except you, which is my case right now (I turned 20 in September), because they can buy their own alcohol and go to bars and such. But you will NOT have a hard time finding alcohol whatever age you are in college. It's everywhere. Even freshman year when many of my closest friends were only 20, there were never any problem with that.
I do have some friends my age or younger too, they are hs class of 2006 or 2007. I was c/o 2005.
Schoolwise, I've always been ahead (skipped 1st grade) so it wasn't any more difficult for me going into college.</p>
<p>Zafara, I wouldn't stress. I have a late birthday, graduated 2 years early, then took a gap year, so I turned 17 a few days into this (freshman) year. No one would ever guess I'm younger, and whenever maturity is a problem it's me wishing my friends were a little less immature :)
If you feel comfortable with people who are older than you, you'll be okay - and at least now, everyone's underage, so the under 21 thing isn't a problem. (When my friends are all 21 though, I'm going to get a good fake - I go to school in Boston where the bar scene is huge and strict).
I also do recommend you think about a gap year, just because mine was such a great experience. If your parents can pay for it, consider traveling - before college is the perfect time to explore without responsibilities!</p>
<p>My girlfriend was 16 way back when she started undergrad. She found it to be a little annoying since there were a lot of pretty creepy dudes that would hit on her. Other than that, it wasn't much of a problem.</p>
<p>I'll be seventeen for the first bit of college (late summer birthday) and I think it completely depends on your personality. I know some fifteen year olds who act 25. I know some 17 year olds who really want their teddy bear at times like this (haha me). It doesn't help that I'm an identical twin and pretty asocial because of it (I was too lazy to make friends... I mean, I've got one built in, why bother?). You might want to consider going to school closer to home the first year or something, if you're really concerned about your readiness for college.</p>
<p>wait a second why would there be a problem about getting counseling or a throat culture without parental consent?? what if you have a health problem that you don't feel comfortable with them telling your parents about?</p>
<p>I'm in the same boat. I skipped a grade in elementary school and my birthday's in November; I'll spend about three months at college still seventeen. My original plan, like yours, was to take a year off, but now I've decided I'm just going to go straight to college. I think if you're doing fine now in high school (academically, socially, mentally, etc.) then it won't be that bad in college either.</p>
<p>dramakitty, I addressed that question in detail in the other thread, so you should check that link out if you want links with interesting statistics about what medical stuff needs parental permission and notification in what states.</p>
<p>The basic gist is that unless it's a service deemed "sensitive" (like STD testing, reproductive services, and mental health services) it's assumed that your parents will uphold your best interests and you won't have a compelling interest in keeping the information from them, so they have to give permission for general medical things. Some states allow some or all of those sensitive services to be procured by minors without parental permission, some don't--most allow at least some. However, most states require parental permission for regular doctor's visits unless you're emancipated, pregnant, or married.</p>
<p>So in New York, I could easily get birth control at age 17 without my parents knowing, but needed parental permission for a throat culture.</p>
<p>Yeah legally I will be 16 when I enter college. I know your wondering what I mean legally, their was a mix up when I came to America and my mom gave a wrong birth year. Apparently they have no problem lowering your age but when I asked for them to change they said they couldn't. Probably a problem with people trying to get a jump start on retirement. So i'm also wonder what you can't do in college?</p>
<p>That's so dumb Pseudonym, the laws I mean. It's like hey, let me go get tested for STDs, that's fine we don't need to tell your parents about that, but heaven forbid if you need to get a procedure done to check for illness!
I'm not sure what the laws are in my state (Alabama), except that the age here is 19 for most things where it is 18 elsewhere (like buying cigarettes or signing a contract), but at some point in college before I turned 19, I had to have more than one x-ray (almost broke a toe once, also was having leg pains another time), have blood drawn a few times (checking for mono, etc when I was sick), throat swabs when I had tonsilitis, and at least one gyn exam. Also, some counseling at the health center as well. None of it required parental permission.</p>