<p>AUlostchick, agreed wholeheartedly! So very very dumb. I think it's great that minors can get tested for STDs or be prescribed birth control without parental permission or notification many places, and wish it was that way everywhere, but how stupid to have things be more rigid for simple, non-controversial medical decisions!</p>
<p>my friends just turned 18 in the middle of November and it hasnt' been a problem for her at all. The only thing you might miss out on is going to clubs, but really, that's not a big deal. There really isn't a maturity difference once you get to our age, so it shouldn't be a problem :)</p>
<p>Thanks for all the advice. I guess there really isn't that much of a discernible difference.</p>
<p>I was 17 for almost the first month of college (skipped 5th grade), and it was a bit of a drag, but it has turned out fine. The first month is when people start getting to know each other, and a lot of socializing goes on in bars or pubs (I'm in college in the UK, so the drinking age is 18), from which I was excluded. It did stop me from meeting a lot of people right away, but I've still met a lot of great people and everything has been fine.</p>
<p>I'm going to college at 17...but I have a late birthday.</p>
<p>I was 17 in college. No big deal.</p>
<p>I was 17 for all of freshman year. Yes, many classmates were surprised to find out I was younger than them (only because I didn't look like it); no, it didn't affect anything related to the OP's worries.</p>
<p>Glad to hear all this. I skipped fourth grade myself, and I'll be 17 until Jan of my first year.</p>
<p>I wish I was 17 when I graduated high school!! You'll be done with college at an earlier age =)</p>
<p>just lie about your age to your friends, if you feel uncomfortable with being younger</p>
<p>U2maniac, I wish I had more time! I will be graduating in May at age 20 (I went to college for four years but I started school early AND skipped a grade in elementary) and I wish I could stay in college longer. If I could pay for another semester, I would stay, but my scholarship runs out at the end of the four years.</p>
<p>Still, you had your 4 years of college. You're 20 and you'll be graduating!</p>
<p>I'll be 17 for my first few months and I've never skipped a grade. Unless you're like just turning 16 when going into college I think you'll be fine.</p>
<p>Actually, the hardest part -- being the last one to get your driver's license -- that's over in high school.</p>
<p>I'll also be 17 going into college, never even considered that it could be an issue (possibly b/c i've had a summer job as one of the only people on staff under 18) but I suppose there could be a problem when I'm 20 and all my friends are 21 as far as bars and such</p>
<p>I'm 17 now (senior) so I'll be entering college as this age, but I'll quickly turn 18 in October (on the 3rd, too). So, it's perfectly fine. About 85% of people nowadays starting off in college for the very first time are 16~18. Some people who are those ages can be more mature and mentally ready than those who are older, so it's a-okay~!</p>
<p>The age for going to college has increased from 80 or so years ago. I read that Jacques Barzun, who is a respected intellectual, attended Columbia in the 1920's when he was 15.</p>
<p>I skipped a grade and started school early, so I got to college at 16. I wouldn't recommend that, but I wasn't the most mature 16-year-old either.</p>
<p>I was sixteen for about two weeks at the beginning of freshman year, for that same reason, gadad. I think it depends on the person really. I handled it fine, so it really wasn't that big of a deal for me (and turning 17 at the beginning of the next month helped too).</p>
<p>not really. my bro went to college and 17 and so did my friend. it's about like how it was in high school, you are 15 while everybody else is 16 and driving around. no biggie.</p>