<p>Frnakly as a parent, I would be greatly concerned about sending a 14 y o kid to be on her own and totally taking care of herself. First, 14 y o wil not have a license for several years. What would you do if you need to go to Emergency room? Yes, kids relying on friends a lot when at college. But the situation might happen that nobody is available. They do not have a car for year, but not having any driving experience before college and not be able to go thru the learning with the family support would make me very nervous. This is just one small aspect of a 14 y o going to college. While you sound very mature for your age, there is a huge difference between 14 y o and 19/20 y o.<br>
Frankly, I would not let a 14 y o to be on her own at college, period, end of story, no way, no how. And this is not from a memory of any sort. I have a 15 y o grandD, who is also mature beyond her age, straight A student at one of the top HSs in the nation, with tons of various interests and lots and lots of friends and who also connects to people easily and has been traveling thru NYC on her own for several years (that is what they do in places like NYC, thank goodness, I do not live there). I would not let her go to college as of now and I do not think that her parents (my S. and DIL) would. She is a HS sophomore and has few years. There is so much more at HS than strictly academics. There is a whole lot of growing up going on, what is the rush? A 14 y o should stay a 14 y o and not pretend that she is 19, there is absolutely no reason for it.</p>
<p>MiamiDAP you live in a different world. I got my license at 22 and I’m still waiting for both my boys to get theirs. We live in an area where there is plenty of public transportation. In an emergency you get an ambulance. </p>
<p>If she’s 14 now, I presume she’ll be 15 by the time she starts college. Would it give me pause? Sure. I graduated from high school at 15 myself. My parents encouraged me to take a gap year. I lived with a French family and studied French. But in terms of the amount of trouble I could get into - I’d say the gap year was not that different from college except that if I did anything silly it wouldn’t ruin a transcript.</p>
<p>My husband’s college roommate started college at 15. I didn’t find out how young he was until 30 years later when it happened to come up in some conversation about grade skipping. He fit right in - no problems. My 17 year old freshman roommate the same. </p>
<p>You sound pretty level-headed. I think you’ll be fine. Maybe you can reassure your relatives by telling them about things like church related activities on campus. Make sure they understand that most of the bad things that happen on or near campuses are because students behave foolishly.</p>
<p>I, too, was young when I went away to college at 16 years old. I just related somewhere else that while I felt like Alice in Wonderland at times, I was knew I was ready. And I was. </p>
<p>The OP sounds like an intelligent, sensible, mature young woman. I think those who care about her and her family would serve them all better by making sure she has the support she needs to make her college choices work rather than trying to stand in her way. </p>
<p>Frankly, it sounds to me as if the OP would get significant push-back from the same people no matter what her age. She’s living in a very closeknit community in an isolated area, bound by religion also, and I doubt that they are wildly enthusiastic about their kids taking off for the wider world, lest they not return. It is an understandable fear, especially in island communities. People are often torn between wanting their kids to be well-educated, which requires going off-island, and wanting their community and its traditions to continue, which requires that the kids come back. The fact that she is so young might be an exacerbating factor–I think almost any parent would be given pause by the notion of sending a 15 yr old off to college–or it might be, to some extent, an excuse for holding on to her longer.</p>
<p>OP, I think that you should concentrate on schools where you can live in dorms for 4 years, and that are not TOO big. U-T Austin doesn’t sound like a practical choice, unless you have close relatives in the area. (And that leaves aside the financial question of being OOS.) </p>
<p>You might want to look at something like this:</p>
<p><a href=“UW Academy for Young Scholars - Wikipedia”>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Academy_for_Young_Scholars</a></p>
<p>Re: #23</p>
<p>Agree that, while the age issue can be a legitimate one at many colleges, it seems likely that the relatives’ would resist the idea of the OP going away to college even if s/he were 17 or 18.</p>
<p>Two things:
- if your parents are supportive, forget your other relatives. What is the chance you’ll return to live there after college? Sounds like none.
- wherever you do end up, reach out to the counseling center for help since you will be much younger than other students. One of my friends entered college at 14, and graduated college at 18. One thing she mentioned is that some of the of age students were jealous of her, as they may be of you. Another is that there WILL be drinking on campus, and in the US a 16 year old drinking is treated differently than an 18 year old drinking.</p>
<p>And finally, I guess a third thing - if life is quite sheltered where you live, it will be a big change living in LA for example. Seek out honors colleges with honors dorms, that might give you more of a sense of community.</p>
<p>A friend of mine in college started at age 15. She struggled socially, but that may have been the same at 18. She is doing very well 30 years later. Talk to the schools you are interested in attending, and make sure there is a support system. The needs of a 15-year old are different than an 18-year old, and how others interact with you will be different. Not necessarily bad, but different. It’s hard to turn back the clock. If you are done HS, it is difficult to wait three years to go to college, and I wouldn’t advocate that. Find your place and have confidence that you made the right decision.</p>
<p>My daughter is at school at 17 this semester, and there are some things that are harder. I had to sign all the medical consents, the NCAA consent to drug testing, etc. She is a lot younger than most of the students on campus, and there are times when it shows. She was complaining about how serious some of the girls on her team are, and I pointed out that one is a senior and one a grad student - so they are 22-24 years old to DD’s 17. It would be like a high school senior hanging out with a 7th grader. I also went to college at 17 and was known in the dorm as ‘jail bait.’ Nice friends, huh? Most of the kids in my dorm were 18 and 19, but the legal age for everything was 18 (drinking, hunting license, giving blood), so being only 17.5 was a big difference</p>
<p>I really doubt a 15 could go to school alone. You have to set up a bank account, have all the vaccinations, deal with administration. My daughter is still having issues of the school not recording some of her documentation (most recent this week was her verification of her high school graduation, and that put a hold on her registration for second semester), and it takes time to work all this out. I’ve been making phone calls since June, and some of it is the school’s fault, some the high school, and some my daughter’s.</p>
<p>There have been stories of ‘Doogie Housers’ going off to college at 15 but most often a parent goes too. These students have a different college experience. They might join a robotics club or another academic club, but may not be allowed in some of the other activities. For example, a 15 or 16 year old probably couldn’t join an outdoor adventure club as he couldn’t sign a consent form for zip lining or horseback riding.</p>
<p>My freshman year my roommate was 16, while the rest of us were 18 1/2 or 19 years old. She was very immature and a pain. However, she survived and did well and so did we. We were roommates sophomore year. At 17 she started dating the man she married and is still married to today. We are FB friends now.</p>
<p>I know a student who went through the UW early college program that’s in one of the links up above. The kids do live on campus but they room with other very young early college students and have mentors who help them navigate college at such a young age. It’s been around for many years and kids generally do very well. The one I know went on to get her Ph.D. Perhaps OP’s family would be more comfortable if they knew she’d be watched over by people with many years of experience in working with young people like her.</p>
<p>As for be able to drive-nonsense. Many colleges don’t even allow freshmen to have a car on campus, and many other colleges are in urban areas with great public transportation, like UW, and a car is not needed at all. My H grew up here in Seattle and didn’t drive until he was 21 and didn’t own a car until long after that. Why bother when you can hop on a bus at any corner, and the U gives you a free bus pass?</p>
<p>You can’t persuade people who are encouraging you to live in fear. Are those places they’re sending you stories about suddenly safer when you turn 18? No. I’d quit reading whatever they’re sending and not respond to questions other than to thank people for their interest. Work with your parents to come up with a plan. Find out how much they can pay a year for college. Maybe you’ll need those extra years to work and save some money, but maybe you won’t. Are there affordable schools you’re sure to get into that you’d be happy attending (and you’re sure your parents can afford)? Do you know what you’d like to study? Start comparing programs and colleges so you can have a safety or two, some matches, and some reaches. There’s no reason you can’t send out applications and defer enrollment for a year to work or explore other interests if you change your mind about going right away, but if you don’t send in any apps you won’t have that option.</p>
<p>I’m more concerned about her having a good college experience than about the crime rate, and the driving is irrelevant. But is she going to find the major which suits her or will she decide as a senior that she in completely the wrong field? I gather from the college list that she is interested in STEM–as a practical matter, will she be able to get internships or work in a lab, or even take a college lab course at her age? I’ve seen 16 mentioned as a minimum age for some lab activities. Will she fit in socially? As the parent of an exceptionally mature 14 year old and a college freshman, I really don’t think so.</p>
<p>My suggestion is still to put off college until 16 at least. The OP seems to think that money is not a big issue, so perhaps a year at a prep school could be a good transition to college, or perhaps working with someone at the local U if that can be arranged. And how strong is her preparation–9 APs is a lot but what does “passed” mean? You are a very big fish in a very small pond but you do want to thrive when you get to college.</p>
<p>Back in the last century, several of my college classmates enrolled at age 15 or 16. Did they face some challenges socially because of their ages? Yes. But in all honesty, we all faced social challenges. If the OP is ready for college, and the place admits her, she should go.</p>
<p>I don’t understand the worry about bank accounts. Provided she has a US bank (or credit union) account (that can be joint with any adult friend or relative) with a debit card that functions on one of the national networks, it is all but certain that she can get her hands on cash she might need, and I have yet to hear of a college/university that won’t take an out-of-town check.</p>
<p>I understand you wish to remain on the west coast. Otherwise, I too would be encouraging more women’s colleges. several CC parents have students at Mudd and other schools in the consortium, so I hope they chime in.</p>
<p>My son was 17 when he started college, skipping senior year of HS. He said MANY were younger than he at Caltech. Another classmate started as PhD student at MIT at 16. He had lived at home for UG, near an excellent college. Another poster mentioned that it is easier if the college has a House system, where one lives for all 4 years. </p>
<p>Is it possible for you to commute to college from home for 2 years? That would give everyone peace of mind. </p>
<p>Yes, my now 18 year old freshman went off to college wth his bank account from home, opened when he was 16 I think. He also got all of the required vaccinations as a minor before he left. Which is typically how vaccines are done. Colleges usually want the records before you show up on campus. Bank accounts and vaccines aren’t really an issue as far as I can tell. </p>
<p>There are factors to consider but banking, vaccines, and driving are not really issues IMO. </p>
<p>I’d really take a closer look at Bard…yes, it’s in MA (so not west coast) but its geared towards pre-18-year-olds who are ready for college now. </p>
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<p>Indeed. That kept my D from some high school summer science programs she was interested in.</p>
<p>There’s another issue I don’t think anyone has raised yet.</p>
<p>Yes, many excellent colleges may be willing to take younger kids in the case of real prodigies. But while OP is undoubtedly very bright, given the kind of environment she is coming from, I wonder if this is a case of a wunderkind, or just a really smart girl whose small, perhaps not all that competitive district didn’t blink at the idea of their star student skipping a grade or two. I’d lay at least even odds that had she gone to Exeter or Stuyvesent or a competitive suburban public, she’d probably be graduating on a more usual schedule. </p>
<p>This doesn’t mean she isn’t every bit as smart as many eighteen year old freshman, even at the best schools - but they’ll have three years on her, as aside from the skipped grads, she seems to have been young for her grade. Plus, unless there are things we’re not hearing, she won’t necessarily look markedly more amazing than other applicants, so colleges may decide taking on the liability for someone who is going to be a minor for most of her college career isn’t worth it.</p>
<p>So, OP, if any of this rings true, I think you should take a gap - not because your relatives are nervous or your community is putting pressure on you, but because a) you may have more choices if you wait a year or even two and b) you may yourself be more prepared for college, especially if you continue with some academic enrichment in the interim. And, as others have said, the social life will be easier.</p>
<p>I say wait until you get your admissions results.</p>
<p>If you are admitted to a college that you like, ask to talk to some advisors there about whether or not it’s a good idea for you to start college at 15. Maybe it is; maybe it isn’t. </p>
<p>If it isn’t, you have an easy solution. Many colleges will permit you to defer your admission for a year, no questions asked. If going to college at 16 seems iffy too, you could ask to defer for 2 years. (The worst they can say is no.) </p>
<p>But it’s also possible that the college may not consider your age to be a problem. Highly selective schools like Stanford or Caltech may have a lot of experience with unusually young students – maybe more experience than less selective colleges do. They may think it’s perfectly fine for you to enroll at 15.</p>
<p>OP: </p>
<p>You see a number of people here giving you advice. Please don’t take it as we are agreeing sight unseen with your relatives. Take it as a number of adults who have some thoughts to share. </p>
<p>Right now, you are the most mature you have ever been. You think you are ready for anything! But as people who are older, we know you (an all teens!) have more maturing to do. </p>
<p>So consider if taking a gap year or doing an exchange year through something like “Youth for Understanding” will allow you to immerse yourself in a culture/language but live with a host family, come out a year older but more independent but not off on your own just yet.</p>
<p>But if you decide that college is the thing for you now, then think about how to set yourself up for success.<br>
You are the smartest in your school…but how do you compare to the typical freshman at college?
So it would be good to check out schools that may have more support for a younger student, or women’s colleges.</p>