<p>@heatman7 Haha, I seriously doubt that IR is competitive because of people like me. I’m just a crazy kid who is exploring his options. I appreciate the support though. :)</p>
<p>“2. The earlier I finish college, the earlier I can begin work in a professional environment. The earlier I start working, the earlier I can retire.”</p>
<p>There is a lot of logic in that sentence but we humans enjoy the emotional things in life as well, such as love or friendship. Most people that are working and who are retired wish they could go back and relive college; it’s not science fiction, life gets really boring after graduation and it becomes really difficult to make friends when you are older. So i think rushing though HS and College is a really bad idea and If I were your parents I would have never allowed it. I mean if you were the next math genius who wanted to study your life away on p-serieses I would say go for it but for a liberal arts degree… and with the goal of working in a professional environment such as international relations… your whole career will be based on how well you can smooth people over–think Bill Clinton–and that’ll be directly related the amount of childhood social life experience you have. </p>
<p>With that out of the way. The biggest reason to transfer to a school like CWU is the EC perks. You’ll be in the middle of DC putting you in prime position to get good internships i.e. work for the govt. The student body of a school like that would be superior to your current institution with people that will go places in life i.e basically good connections / friends to make. Smaller class sizes should also help you connect with those people. So yes I would advise transferring BUT how big of a disadvantage will your age be? Correct me if I am wrong but you can’t even sign for a hotel room in your name until 18.</p>
<p>in short I second taking a gap year and then applying when are more typical college age. </p>
<p>@bomerr Thank you for you input but honestly I’m not really considering a gap year. I am very fortunate to be in a position where I can go to college so young and I would like to take advantage of that. As far as friends and connections are concerned, you have to remember that I will be 18 when I finish my undergrad degree. Plenty of time will be left for making connections, etc.</p>
<p>@Dzheims
Most people don’t make friends after college, ask around. </p>