<p>This is a bit of a long shot question, but I figured there’s no better place to ask then here.</p>
<p>Okay, so, for what should have been my junior and senior years in highschool (I only say that because I’m a crazy homeschooler, so I wasn’t <i>actually</i> spending any time in a public highschool) doing a college-in-highschool program called Running Start, where I take classes at a community college for credit along with (theoretically) being in HS. It’s a very popular program here in Washington state, so plenty of highschoolers do it for plenty of reasons. Obviously, I did it because I have no other GPA and, also, wanted to be properly vetted before I started college, never having been in a traditional school setting.</p>
<p>Now, since I chose to go to my state’s flagship (University of Washington) all of the credits I accrued over my two years at a CC are transferring over. All 88 of them. Now, this is great in some respects because I got to get all of my general ed. requirements out of the way for free (yay!) but a little iffy in others because I have to declare a major right away and jump right into it. This isn’t so bad, actually, because I know what I want to do… but I’m a little bit intimidated by the prospect being tossed right into a program where I’ll be surrounded by students who are ACTUAL juniors and seniors and who’ve been around the campus for a while. It doesn’t help that since I started my college-in-highschool program a little early… I won’t be turning 18 until January.</p>
<p>I think I’m a mature 17-year-old (and I don’t mean that in an arrogant way, or anything) but I’m still feeling a little bit shy and intimidated about the thought of being the youngest person on the scene by two or three years. So, basically, the gist of this whole rambly post is: has anyone been in a similar age-difference situation? Did being the youngest person in your major/program/what-have-you make any difference, for good or ill? If I keep on track I could conceivably be moving on to grad school at nineteen (although that thought freaks me out, and I’d like to try and stretch this out to three years) and I’m a little worried it’s going to make things weird.</p>
<p>Is this just a case of overthinking things and getting cold feet, or could it actually make things difficult for me?</p>
<p>I guess I have a different perspective on the age thing. D2 was very active in performing arts in high school, and now in college. From day one as a freshman in high school, she was participating in activities where the age group spanned across all four years. As a freshman, she made good friends with lots of seniors. The same has happened in college; as she has gotten involved in her a cappella group and other performing opportunities, she’s been with students of all ages and it has never been a problem. As she moves up the ranks, she, too, takes on those younger than herself. It’s just kind of like a revolving door.</p>
<p>No one will care how old you are unless you yourself make an issue of it. Students have friends all across the age spectrum. People don’t tend to talk about their ages when they are in college, and they tend to make friends based on interests, not age. Older S, who had skipped a year, was 17 when he went to college. He hung out mostly with students who were juniors and seniors whom he had met while working at the school newspaper.</p>
<p>Younger S took a gap year at college, so entered at age 19, He freshmen year friends included freshmen, sophs, seniors and even a student who’d graduated the spring before S entered.</p>
<p>Even though you are going in with advanced standing, can’t you take your time finishing? There are still lots of neat classes you could take. Can you plan to spend 3 years (or more) and perhaps just take one class in your major to start with. That way you could give yourself some time to get used to your new school.</p>
<p>There are two aspects to age. With regard to classes, after those that are designed for freshmen only (such as freshman seminars, English comp), classes have a mix of students ranging from freshmen to seniors and even graduate students. Age, in other words, does not matter.</p>
<p>Age matters more when it comes to social experiences. By their junior year, students have formed friendships. They have their own activities and interests which reflect the fact that they are 20-21 rather than 18.
If you have been comfortable so far being with students older than yourself, you should be just fine.</p>
<p>Will you be living in a dorm? Most early college relatonships are formed with those you live with rather than those you sit next to in class. A big sch. like U. of W. is bound to have all sorts of dorm options. Check with housing and see what your options are for dorm life. If you are comfortable and happy with the people you live with, the classes should not be a problem.</p>
<p>My S1 is a senior at a big state u. this year and will be taking a couple of freshman classes that he didn’t take his first year. As a jr., he took a grad.level class with people two years older. The age thing really isn’t much of a problem in class.</p>
<p>My husband’s roommate started college at 15 and was 16 or 17 when I met him sophomore year. He sometimes seemed like a clueless geek, but I had no idea he was so young. I found out about 5 years ago! I agree with others - social life in college tends to revolve around activities and dorms more than classes. And if you’ve been through the basic classes with kids who are several years older than you, nothing is fundamentally changing. </p>
<p>If you are worried, you could look at options for taking a gap year. I graduated from high school at 16 and my parents found a program where I spent a year in France before starting college. I learned to speak French fluently and got to grow up another year. It worked out well for me.</p>
<p>My H started college when he was 16. He was active in sports, a musical group, and the school newspaper, made lots of friends, and had good grades and good relationships with profs.</p>
<p>Our kids started taking college courses at 15. One is taking a half-time load this semester along with other homeschooling subjects. Our son is in his second-year full-time but he could be considered a sophomore or a junior based on credits. He took a bunch of upper-level classes last year.</p>
<p>His first college course had other student from about six years older to three times his age. He got used to a lot of salty language in that class.</p>
<p>There are a lot of homeschoolers going the CC route these days so there may be others in classes that are your age or younger.</p>
<p>Maturity is more important than age. I’ll assume that you’re fairly mature given the number of credits that you’ve accumulated.</p>
<p>My D3 just left home for a private university, also has 2 years of classes under her belt and was just 17 when she left. It is a small private and they are allowing her to both group with the freshman for some activities and with the transfers for others, to allow her to bond with all age cohorts. So far, so good.</p>
<p>My oldest graduated at 16 from HS and went off to a big UW type school, she recommended little sis not leave until the “normal” time. Of course with a late year birthday in a state with a different cut of month than where we began, D3 has always been a year younger than even the normal kids in this state, yet she seems about 25, so it all seems to work out. D does refrain from mentioning her age whenever possible, esp when she was 15/16 and others at CC were 25ish</p>
<p>My husband started college when he was 15. His family moved around a lot when he was a kid, and since he was a smart guy his mother kept advocating for him to be in the next grade up when they moved :-).</p>
<p>He did fine academically, but he felt awkward socially. He looked very young, and he was known as “Robin” (as in Batman’s sidekick) among his friends. I think this would be much less of an issue for a young woman, since young women in their teens often look older than young men of the same age.</p>
<p>My daughter is a year older than most of her cohort, because she went to a funky alternative elementary/middle school that likes its students to have an extra-long childhood. She felt a little self-conscious about it when she first went to high school, but now as a freshman in college she is old and proud :-). So there may be more non-standard age people than you think, especially since you’re staying in state and your program was a popular one.</p>
<p>EG1 – I would really like to try and stretch it out to three years, because I definitely want to savor my college experience and try lots of new things. The only thing that might cause difficulties are the school’s credit caps, which don’t leave me with TOO much wiggle room as far as dabbling and also finishing a degree. I’m sure I can make it work, though.</p>
<p>Packmom – I will be living in a dorm, yes. It’s also a triple with two other freshladies, so that’s a relief!</p>
<p>Thank you all for your comments. It’s reassuring to hear that age isn’t a big factor. I know it’s a little silly to be worried about it (after all, I was 15 when I started at the CC, which made for a waaay bigger age gap than I’ll experience now) but I just wanted to see what others thought.</p>
<p>You should be fine.
Many of the Freshman will be 17 years old also.
As you are just entering UWash, you will likley take some lower level classes in your intended major.
Also, my son entered with 45 credit (you usually have a two year minimum stay for graduation) and was taking 300 and 500 level honors classes last year (as a freshman). We consider him a freshman with lots of credits rather than having called him a second semester soph. Now he is a sophmore that is actually finishing up his Jr year this fall and will have senior status in January. He is finishing his major this fall and also starting a second major now. Our plan is not to rush him and let him take as long as he wants to graduate, do study abroad and take advantage of being in college. No rush to start grad school. </p>
<p>Age wise you fit in just fine. (I was a freshman at age 17, not turning 18 until winter break). College classes are filled with kids of all ages. No one really cares. </p>
<p>Enjoy your college experience. Sounds like you are off to a great start!</p>
<p>Lots of entering students are 17 and lots of these students already have sophomore standing due to AP credits. It doesn’t really matter though because students aren’t taking courses necessarily in any particular order. It’s not like HS where the ‘class’ tends to move through together. When students change their major a time or two, pursue a minor or a double major, spend 5, 6, or even more years to get through, and others start later than 17/18 after a stint in the military or otherwise, the ages of the students in classes gets all mixed up.</p>
<p>If you’re going to be an engineering major it especially doesn’t matter since you’ll start at or near the beginning in the engineering courses regardless of the classes you took elsewhere.</p>
<p>So, don’t worry about it. You should consider using your jump start to your advantage and maybe pursue a double major or strong minor depending on what you actually want to pursue in life. Don’t cut your time too short.</p>
The only thing that might cause difficulties are the school’s credit caps, which don’t leave me with TOO much wiggle room as far as dabbling and also finishing a degree. I’m sure I can make it work, though.</p>