My son is grade skipped, heavy into CTY math and science courses, but has struggled with writing for years. His writing struggles and young age led to him earning Cs in both 9th and 10th grade (honors) English. On the flip side, He scored 2360 on the SAT as a fifteen year old and will be National AP Scholar as a Junior. Here is my worry: He plans to apply to many of the top Ranked Computer Science programs (MIT, CMU, JHU, Etc), where many of the applicants have 800 on the Math SAT like him, plus perfect GPAs. He has these two low grades hanging around his neck, contrasting a long list of academic awards and scholarships that he has already won. How many admissions officers specialize in dealing with precocious students who are three standard deviations from the norm? The irony here is that he is now the top AP English student, out of 120 at his school, already scoring a five on the practice test.
I apologize if this comes across as braggy. I am legitimately concerned because most people don’t understand how a kid as exceptional as him (perfect 800 CR SAT at age 14) could end up with a C in English.
Your kiddo should be fine, but like all other kids needs to have a safety that he will get into that you can afford to pay, even with no merit or FAid. Many top schools are a crapshoot for all students, including yours. His maturity/immaturity may affect where you’d be comfortable wit where he applies/attends, as he will be somewhat younger than peers when he matriculates.
I’m not qualified to answer your question but I will stick my nose in with an observation. I am sorry to be a naysayer and please forgive me the indulgence of a cautionary tale. My freshman roommate had skipped a grade and therefore was by far the youngest guy on our floor. It created many issues for him and although he was brilliant, he ended up leaving school. I lost touch with him and I often wonder how things turned out for him. He most likely turned out fine, but he certainly went through a rough time.
So I will say this. It sounds like he will have no problem getting into a great school. Just please make sure that the school has a support system for him and that he is willing to use it. It cn be real hard being a 17 year old amongst 18 year olds.
I like what Disneydad had to say, has to be hard being a 17 year old amongst 18 year olds. Probably would be a good thread - “Schools that have support system for very young but advanced kids”. You don’t come across as a braggart by the way, it is what it is.
I agree that you are not braggy. It is a legitimate concern. Not to put pressure on him, but I have heard many admissions counselors say that mediocre grades in frosh and soph years followed by better grades in junior and 1st semester senior year is a good sign of growth that they really like.
17yo freshman is not “very young” - CA has historically had a late December cutoff, and many states have late September or October cutoffs. Lots of kids start college as 17yos, and being that young is not a problem in and of itself. (Plenty of brilliant 18yos have issues and leave school; the difference being that no one points to age as the reason.) Immaturity can certainly be an issue, but being young and being immature are not the same thing.
I moved between states as a kid, so was the youngest in my grade by an amount equivalent to a grade skip. I had no age-related issues in college, and was not conspicuously younger than my classmates.
I personally would not be comfortable sending my kid to sleepaway college at 15, or even 16, and it seems like most kids who go to college that young pick somewhere close to home, our have a parent who moves with them. But a mature 17yo is unlikely to be uncomfortably out of place at a top school.
While your son has those two grades, they’re also in english, which will not be taken as seriously since he is applying to top computer science programs. Since he is accomplished in the math/science/CS fields, I still think he’ll be a very strong applicant at all of those programs.
I wouldn’t worry about the whole being at college at 17 thing. I’m at CMU, and about half the people on my floor were 17 on move-in day. It’s actually quite common (mostly because of grade cutoffs and skipping a grade). If he had skipped more than a grade, however, I would say that it probably would be more of an adjustment for him.
This is great to hear ssrunner95 because my son announced last week that CMU is his top choice based on how many computer languages their CS grads master - on average. Also it’s big for AI he says.
Thanks to Disneydad, allyphoe, and all. This is great. I will probably re-post in another forum as directed.
I started college after just three years of high school and it was totally no big deal. Like, at all! And this was before the internet and cell phones and skype and facebook and all the other ways that parents can keep tabs on kids now.
I have a kid like the OPs except in opposite fields - humanities and arts. She had tapped out her high school and taken six AP classes at 15. But neither she nor I wanted her to go to college that young. She was tired of being two to three years younger than everyone and we opted for boarding school. She took an incomplete in one class to prevent her from earning a hs diploma too soon and is loving life as a junior in high school, but at one that can provide her with the academics she needs. It’s worth looking into.
Being young in college is not a huge thing. If you are accustomed to the social life of American colleges and have the maturity necessary you will be just fine. I know people 16 years of age at the college I attend that do just fine in the college environment.