Unfortunately you didn’t learn a single thing from this thread. Good luck to you…
@socaldad2002 Many of the posts just berated me for being young… nothing to learn there. I did learn that I need some more ECs before I apply.
It’s not just being young…it’s the level of maturity and the limited awareness that you are portraying.
My mother went to college at 16 (or as a 15 year old near her 16th birthday) back in the 50s. I went to college at 17 in the 80s. Regardless of the academic outcome, looking back I think both of us would have benefited from being a year or two older.
However, my mother ended up with two BAs and one Masters, so academically, it didn’t really hurt her.
@twogirls Which was tied to age. A 4 year old can have limited awareness and an 80 year old can have limited awareness. It’s not an age thing. Hardly anything in life can be tied to age.
You’ve gotten some good advice here though it’s obvious it’s not what you want to hear. You can certainly try to apply to a Top 20. Getting in is basically a crap shoot anyway, but I would apply to back ups as well.
Like others have said, one of the things colleges want to see is the rigor of your coursework. I have no idea how rigorous your classes were but if you could complete 4 years worth in a year, I am guessing not very. Now that I have a daughter in a T20, I understand this requirement. Her classes are HARD, like extremely hard, and take a LOT of work. We’d been warned but honestly didn’t take the warnings that seriously We figured she didn’t struggle with her “rigorous” coursework in high school and she had good study and time management skills, so why would college be any different? Fast forward to her freshman year and I would say her classes are absolutely no joke. Even classes where the material is familiar (she is taking a Calc 3 class that is basically the same concepts from a class she took dual enrollment her senior year at a local university) she is working her tail off and getting grades less than she is used to. All of her classmates are super bright, yet many are struggling to pass their classes. And these are kids who all scored high on standardized tests, got top grades in rigourous high school classes, and took many AP and dual enrollment classes. So, if you can’t demonstrate from the classes you’ve taken so far that you will be able to be successful in that environment, a school will likely not take a chance on you.
I would recommend that you start looking at the boards here for the schools you are most interested in as the decisions start coming out and keep an eye on the stats for the kids who are admitted and denied. You will see that kids with perfect grades and scores and amazing EC’s will get denied from top schools by the droves. It’s actually quite sad. But compare your “story” to theirs and see if you think you’d stand out. The grades and test scores will get you past the initial screening but beyond that, do you show that you can succeed in a rigorous environment? Do you have leadership skills/positions? Do you have EC’s that make you stand out? I can tell you that in our experience those extra special EC’s are the difference between the kids who were admitted and those we were denied among my daughters friends.
Best of luck to you!
You really seem to have a thing about age. You must have a lot if people irl who talk down to you or don’t take you seriously because of your age. That can do a number on a person.
But that is not what is happening here. What is happening here is that people are telling you your age doesn’t matter. Experience does. Maturity does. What you offer the campus community does. In other words, age is just a number, as you say.
It could well be that a school likes your novelty and won’t care about the rest. But you likely aren’t novel enough just because of your age for that to be the case at a super elite. You have to prove you fill a niche better than anyone else despite your age. Try to take the perspective of an AO, and ask yourself what you will contribute to the school community that no one else does. What is in it for them? If the answer is “I am young”, then youth is a liability. That is all anyone is saying. That, and you have some great options that will help you reach your goals.
Good luck, hope you find a wonderful place to land.
My sister-in-law went to college at the age of 16. While she was definitely ready from an academic standpoint, her maturity level was sorely lacking. I really believe she’s struggled her whole life because of going to college early. 
I agree that it’s not necessarily about age. I know fellow high school sophomores who are incredibly bright and self-aware, and others who have not yet reached the same level of maturity. As someone who is 15 myself, I can relate to feeling condescended because I am “too young to understand”, so I understand where you are coming from. If you truly think you are ready for and will succeed in college, then, by all means, go ahead. However, I, like many others here, would caution you against rushing in so soon.
Also, just a curious question: Since you completed high school in 1 year as opposed to 4, why do you think college is a good fit for you if the traditional education system has not worked for you in the past? You seem like the sort of person who would benefit from something more flexible than a traditional four-year college.
Ok…we won’t discuss your age. You are still portraying limited awareness and maturity…even if you were 17 or 18.
My D interviewed at an “elite”school. She was asked the following question: What accomplishment are you most proud of?
Without going into any detail…I will tell you that her answer had nothing to do with grades, high scores reflecting that she “learned everything,” high academics, being limited by traditional HS, finishing fast, etc. These are the things that you seem to be so proud of. The interviewer actually told her that she’s not allowed to say this…but she hit her answer way out of the ballpark.
P.S. She was waitlisted ?
You have a lot to learn…and that’s ok. And FWIW…kids who choose to babysit at 14 …can be pretty impressive to colleges.
@inflorescent College is completely different from high school. I’ll do better in college than a regular high school, college fits my personality more. I dont need someone standing over me telling me to do my work, it just stresses me out even more. I’ll do good when a professor is lecturing me and the exam is next week. I will have to prepare for the exam, I will have to take notes, I will have to go to class. I will succeed in that enviorment.
You mention the traditional public education system. Public k-12 in the U.S. is horrible. It’s not about learning, its about producing obedient people who can follow orders. Most of the time spent in U.S. public schools is related to managing behavior. The academic “education” that these schools give you is far inferior to what you’ll learn homeschooling. I can learn in a day what public school learns in a month. I dont mean to sound arrogant or cocky, that’s just the way it is.
I am homeschooled because I care about real learning.
“I can learn in a day what public school learns in a month.”
That comment (and attitude) alone will get you rejected from the very schools you think you are qualified to attend.
When my son was six years old, he wrote out a statement and read it in church. There were a lot of homeschoolers in our congregation. Afterwards, a mom came up and said, “He did great! Are you homeschooling him?” “Uh, no, he’s doing very well in public school, thank you.”
You do sound that way, and no, that’s not the way it is.
@twogirls I dont mean just me. I am saying anyone who homeschools can learn more in a day than public school learns in a month.
Wow. I guess you’ll be bored in college, since they will have to teach down to all those hoards of public school graduates.
It’s not a crapshoot.
Think about it. Kids need to be qualified and present a compelling app package, the “whole” in holistic. Assuming this is as simple as stats, adding some ECs, is way off.
When kids ask on CC, some take the ball. They consider the input, not fight it. They don’t focus on, say, one or two comments about age. Or insist the one or two plusses out weigh the minuses. Nor shrug things off and claim it doesn’t matter, that they’ll rush ahead anyway.
Instead, they process. They evaluate. They come up pretty quickly with ideas and accept feedback. They act, not simply react. (Im looking at you, @HKimPOSSIBLE.) They never rest on laurels- or assumed laurels.
Those are the kids who are thinking. The ones I have faith in. It’s more-and more special- than insisting.
Top colleges want that.
I do frankly wonder if finishing in a year, with good stats, was a matter of ‘learning to the tests.’ Without the full picture that matches the whole top colleges want, that’s empty. A fatal flaw.
Adcoms know what great homeschool or online kids can accomplish, well beyond checking off course boxes. They aren’t rubes.
OP has a choice. Apply blindly, thinking he’s a special snowflake. Or stop now, learn what’s expected, fill his own blanks, grow the thinking skills and perspective, and apply as qualified.
I have no respect for rush. Blindly assuming.
Some people on the forum act like it’s an Ivy or bust. They lack the critical thinking skills and maturity to realize that in the end, Harvard isnt going to get you that much further than your state U.
“I don’t mean just me. I am saying anyone who homeschools can learn more in a day than public school learns in a month.”
Your clarification is not helping you.
@twogirls It is true. U.S. public school is horrible. Also, on average, homeschoolers have higher standardized test scores than public school students.
I am not going to comment on test scores…it takes a lot more than high scores to get into top colleges.
I will comment on K-12. education in this country. It isn’t equitable and is often determined by your zip code. That is why colleges look at students within the context of their school, and don’t penalize kids who don’t take AP classes etc if none are offered.
Colleges also take other things into consideration …such as babysitting for siblings to help out family, etc. Not everybody can do all kinds of ECs etc.
My question to you is this:
You clearly feel as though you are more accomplished than many other students, and you believe that k-12 public education is inferior to home schooling. You believe the system stinks.
What have you done, or what do you plan to do…to help solve the problem that you feel exists? Surely you have thought about what you can do to help…right?
Perhaps you can work on this during your gap year. Like I said earlier…try tutoring, developing and coaching sports etc.
Or…you can ignore it and write an essay about how blessed you are.