I’m going to apply to college in the fall, but I’m thinking of deferring my admissions for a year so I can fully finish the training for becoming a Marine Corps reservist (it takes longer than my senior year summer to finish it). Thus, I’ll technically be starting college when I’m 19, not 18.
Does anyone know what it feels like to be one year older than all of their peers? How does the dorm situation work (will I be rooming with sophomores, who are my age, or freshmen, who are my class?) Any comments would be appreciated!
Because you would be in the freshman class, you’d room with other freshmen. Several of my friends took gap years and it doesn’t have any impact whatsoever on their daily experience at least as far as I can tell. People really forget about it until your birthday swings around - especially when you turn 21 as a sophomore. But class matters much more than age in college at least in my experience.
@blurryface is absolutely right. We ourselves tend to make a big deal about our ages, but in college people don’t really care too much about that anymore. This is coming from someone who, in their college sophomore year, will be older than most students graduating college hahahah
I took a gap between undergrad and graduate school. The main difference that I noticed is that I came back a much better student than I had been when younger. In grad school I was a year or two older than most of the other students, but this was not a problem at all.
Really not a big deal at all as far as other students go. For you, the maturity and self-discipline you develop will really stand to you and help you be a more successful student.
Once you start with a freshman class, it won’t matter how old you are. But some freshman may still be 17 when they start so you may feel more mature…but just use that to focus on your studies and show leadership!
Agree, taking a gap year is not uncommon. Your Marine Corp training/commitment might mean that you will be more mature than the average freshman but you should be able to find like-minded classmates and you can use that maturity to your advantage both in and out of the classroom. Best of luck moving forward.
thanks for sharing!