Hi,
I skipped my third grade in elementary school by the recommendation of our GT committee.
I thought skipping a grade is advantageous to get in but at the same time, I am worried if it is disadvantageous as well because of maturity and independence, especially physical maturity.
Any advice, please?
Are you asking about the effects skipping third grade would have in college admissions? Directly, none. College admissions do not care. A lot of kids skip a year, are behind a year, maybe even two. Beyond that , it might mean a closer look, but even then without red flags and a reason, not any big deal.
Indirect consequences are a whole other story. Are you less mature, less able to deal with things a year ahead of yourself? Or did skipping a year make this better? Or is it hard to say?
Really, it depends. You will not be given plus points for it, though.
There are kids who are on the young side at some schools. They may have skipped, been home-schooled, or just had a summer birthday. (Many kids with summer birthdays delay starting school so they won’t be the youngest in the class. If they don’t delay, they will be in the “right” grade, but young, especially compared to those who waited.) But if they demonstrated maturity and if the AOs feel they would fit into the community, it probably won’t matter.
There are also schools that recognize that their culture may not be good for younger 9th graders, and it will count against you if they feel you come across as young. Remember that it is not at all uncommon for students to start 9th at BS as a repeat 9th grader. Those kids will be 2 years older than you -3 if they had a summer birthday and waited to start school.
Remember that the schools are assessing how well you will do not just in the classroom but whether you will thrive in a 24/7 residential community. There are kids for whom being on the young side will make zero difference. There are others for whom being young could set them up for an unhappy experience.
It is not an advantage in any way. Most kids in boarding schools are wickedly smart so you skipping a grade is not “outstanding” to the admissions department.
In terms of being a disadvantage. It would only be a personal disadvantage for you. BS environments lend themselves to kids who are socially mature. If you are not socially mature you may feel out of place and have a hard time fitting in. It has been my observation at two different schools that the younger kids (young for their grades) have a harder time connecting with the school and other kids. You will be even younger than you are used to because many schools also have a lot of repeat kids. Many kids repeat a grade when attending BS so my kid who is “normal” aged is a full year/year and a half younger than plenty of kids. Will that be uncomfortable for you? To be 2 years ++ younger than a good chunk of your grade?
On top of the social maturity, teachers expect a LOT of academic maturity from kids. Your parents won’t be involved and won’t be able to help you with day to day teacher or school issues. This may be less of an issue for you but I would think about it, will you speak up in class, will you email teachers, advocate for yourself if you’re in the wrong class?
You will likely have an advisor, it’s not all gloom and doom! Are you interested in certain schools? Have you asked what the normal age range is for their grades?
@GoAP those are good points others have listed above. As a parent to 2 kids who both skipped 3rd grade and went on to attend BS, I can say it really is what you make of it. If you are excelling academically, have strong social connections and are involved in a variety of EC’s, I don’t think it will have any bearing on admissions to BS or college.
I am happy to answer more detailed questions on the social challenges they faced while at BS, more so my younger daughter as she was extremely young. (graduated PEA at 16). I hesitate to even call them challenges as they were more annoyances and frustrations really. And honestly I am not sure those weren’t more a function of her being PG then her age.
I don’t think the schools care as much as some people think, they will take you if they believe you can do the work and will fit in. At our school there is a massive age range, the freshman class ranges from 13 to almost 16 which to me is fairly insane. There are a lot of kids that repeated a grade and sometimes twice, or once and were held back to begin with, so there are almost 16 (I think a couple were actually 16 before year started). Then there are some academically precocious kids who either skipped grades or started school early and are 13 at the start. Academically speaking the young kids are actually all in advanced classes and seem to be doing well. I think it may be because the school would not take them if they were not well ahead. And they seem to excel in some ECs too, several are musical prodigies, some STEMy kids etc. It is harder for them in other ECs, particularly sports where physical maturity does make a lot more of a difference. Also, I think boarding school life itself if you go into one of the ‘swim or sink’ schools that run like a mini-college may be quite challenging at 13. I have noticed most of the young kids at ours are day students, and I think there may be a reason for that. So I’d advise you to definitely do your research.