High achieving 15 year old Junior

Chance Me / Match Me
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Thank you for your comment. Our school counsellors are calling colleges about waving CSS profile. Some of the schools are filling to see the evidence (court records, ongoing appeal) Tulane and U of San Diego agreed to look at our documents so far. But neither one of them is a fit for my son (not because of the rank). But since they agreed to work with us, we will be applying there.

The ex-lives in the US, yes, but he will not cooperate, with paying, or filling out the CSS profile.

Yes, I know that the same child support goes for each kid. That’s how we filled out FAFSA. SAI 5500 is with child support, it’s viewed as an asset.

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He started paying child support last year and I did put full year of it on FAFSA

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Your son has a very interesting profile. I do think his biggest hurdle with schools will be his age. I know you’re looking for chancing, the reality is no one here is going to be able to give you better than take his shot - he’s qualified with a very interesting story, but a negative (age) - who knows what any particular AO will do on any given day.

Just a name to throw on your radar if you haven’t considered, University of Rochester. I do not know how they treat CSS waivers, but offer both need and merit and have an unusually large international student body (was around 30%). My son actually knows several students from Russia and Ukraine. And it certainly has the cold weather he seems to crave.

Also a total aside, but University of Hawaii has an extremely strong admissions advantage for its residents for Med School, EXTREMELY. If you are residents of Hawaii and he is that passionate about med school, just something to keep in the back of your mind when you’re talking about changing your residency.

Best of luck to you, it’s a tough process in normal circumstances and sounds like you have some extra unique challenges. Personally, I’d also talk frankly to your private school about the advantages of a gap year - schools are much more used to a 17 year old, so it may significantly impact his admissions chances if he can find something productive to do with the time.

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Thank you so much for your comment! We are trying to get either on the East Coast, or West Coast (CA, WA, Oregon) That’s where most Eastern European live. Since I will be moving with my son also, it’s important to all of us. We will be applying to the schools in TX, NM and the South, but it will be hard. I went to college in Lubbock, TX, so I am very familiar with NM-the lifestyle is very difficult for the Europeans to get used to, and it’s very isolating not to have any community. The diversity is fantastic there, I agree. But East Coast is our main goal-I lived in NYC for most of my life.

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Thank you so much for your suggestion! I am adding U of Rochester to our list.

I know about UH Manoa, but we are all leaving Hawaii, I am leaving and my daughter and my son does not want to stay here either. I know it’s a silly, but he is a young boy, and dating is the most important thing for him. My son went to Russian schools and dated Russian and Ukrainian girls. He tried dating local girls here, and it’s not working out for him. He is lonely. So we are looking for places with large Ukrainian and Russian communities. He is a boy after all, and there have been a lot of talks about going back to Russia for college or to Eastern Europe, just for the girls. That’s why we are not considering UH Manoa at all, he would be there for a few years, and dating would be hard. I hear talks of Moscow University more and more. Washington State (Seattle), Northern CA, LA, East Coast-huge Eastern European communities, Utah, Colorado. If I tell him to go to UH Manoa, he will pack his bags and will be on his first plane to Russia. He is obviously a very strong-willed kid. He has no attachment to the US, that’s why it’s so hard for me to push affordable schools in the US, like BAMA or U of New Mexico.

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He will be 17 years old when he start college, he turns 17 on August 20, 2027. He cannot take a gap year, unfortunately, he will lose his Child Support, he has it until 23, if he attends college full time.

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UH Manoa is more expensive in state, than U of Utah, most of the kids from here go to the mainland, because WUE schools give more aid than UH Manoa. We literally do not have anyone from our school going to UH Manoa, and I dont know anyone who went-I am sure if it was affordable, many people would choose to stay in Hawaii. The only kids who go there are studying to be Marine Biologists. We had 20 kids go to Temple University in Japan last year, they chose it over UH Manoa. They give great aid. Also many kids go to U Vic in Canada, also lots of aid, but I cant convince my kids to look into it.

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I am not at all suggesting UH Manoa for undergrad. I was saying if there is an option that allows YOU to keep Hawaiian residency it could help him down the road when applying for medical school. The med school is extremely favorable to Hawaiian residents. Just something to know if that is his end goal.

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Thank you, that’s very good to know. I will look at keeping our HI residency!

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Your son looks very accomplished. That should advance him into the still-very-large pool of exceptional candidates at both schools. His interesting personal history will likely be an advantage.

His age will likely count against him. As AOs put together a class, they are looking not just for kids who can excel in the classroom but ones who can be part of the community in a way that is beneficial to them and their classmates. Someone who is significantly younger is less likely to be that person, and that’s before they start thinking about liability.

My hunch is that none of us can say that his chances are much better or worse than for any other applicant. So he should throw his hat in the ring and see what happens!

And if you are looking for prestige/name recognition, Princeton is known for its math program. I think that if a school is going to overlook something on an application (like age), it will be because they think that kid will be a stellar outlier in their academic field. If your son might be this (and particularly if he can add some competition results to back it up.), it might be worth considering.

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Thank you for your comment. My son will be 17 when he starts college (August 20 is his Bday), it looks like many kids go to college at 17, it’s not uncommon.

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I haven’t read this entire thread, but I came to say that your son could consider applying to Vanderbilt, as they do not consider the non-custodial parent’s finances in determining financial aid. I believe that University of Chicago does the same. Best of luck to you son!

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Then again, this student has life experiences quite different to the average 17yo in the US.

Yes, but most of those turn 18 pretty quickly. My student is the youngest in their class at high school and will turn 18 in October - your son will be at college a full year before he turns 18.

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You may want to check on this. I believe child support continues until he turns 18, even if he has already graduated from high school.

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Yes- but the kid will be living with a parent off-campus. Which is not a problem at CUNY or other commuter-type colleges, but reduces the likelihood of intense campus involvement at a mostly residential place like Stanford or MIT.

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I was looking at it from an admissions perspective. However, Stanford and MIT, like many other colleges, require freshmen to live on campus so I assume mom would be “nearby” rather than having the student actually live with her should he get into one of these.

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I don’t think there is a problem with a 17 year old applying and being excepted. That’s different than a 14 year old applying, or even a 16 year old starting school. My daughter started at 17 and didn’t turn 18 until after the first semester ended. The only things she couldn’t do without my signature were a few medical things so I had to sign at orientation, and some NCAA forms (she was an athlete). She could sign student loan papers and even file FAFSA (of course I had to sign the parent portion but I had to do that for my 18 year old too).

Many of the east coast states have cut off dates in the fall (for starting K or 1st grade in Aug/Sept) so it isn’t unusual to graduate hs at 17 and start college at 17. California had a Dec 1 date when my kids went to hs there, but CA was moving that back and I think most kids are now 18 when starting college. OP’s son will be on the young side, but maybe only 6 months younger than other freshmen. My siblings and I were all 17 at hs graduation and 3 of the 6 of us were 17 when starting college (summer and fall birthdays).

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As a young male, I would look into some of the geopolitical things going on in Russia, what the chances are of him being drafted into the military’s ongoing war efforts, and how he might be treated as a Ukrainian citizen. I don’t know the answers to these questions, but they are certainly things that I would investigate.

If that is the plan, I would not be necessarily looking at a Top X school, as most of them are residential schools, and your kid would be missing out on a lot of the experience that makes those institutions worthwhile.

For folks like me who are not as familiar with where current immigrant populations are living, here are two snips from this source, where I’ve selected Ukrainian and Eastern European immigrants:

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If the family wants to live in the same city (whether the child is living at home or in a dorm), then I would focus on places with a lower cost of living. So taking a look at those maps, I’d start off looking at the Chicago metro, then Minneapolis/St. Paul, Cleveland, and others.

For Top X schools, think about U. of Chicago and Northwestern University. I’d also add in Case Western (in Cleveland).

If he becomes interested in smaller liberal arts colleges, then Macalester (Minneapolis) would be one to look at. If he is willing to be around an hour from a big metro hub of Ukrainian/Eastern European immigrants, then I’d also have him check out College of Wooster (outside of Cleveland) as well as St. Olaf and Gustavus Adolphus (outside of Minneapolis). In fact, there’s a slew of options that could be considered.

If he’s more interested in just taking the coursework while living at home, then there’s U. of Minnesota which is the state flagship that probably does well in a world ranking (in Minneapolis/St. Paul). Depending on how important the “name” is, there’s U. of Illinois (in Chicago, not the flagship), U. of Michigan (in Dearborn…part of the Detroit metro area, not the flagship). Wayne State in Detroit is actually known for its med/health programming and would be another option to consider. I don’t know how much less expensive it is than Seattle, but U. of Washington - Tacoma is another school that seems to be in an area with a high population of Ukrainian/Eastern European immigrants. Also, Columbus, OH doesn’t have quite as big of a relevant immigrant population, but it is showing up as a dot and Ohio State is the state flagship and has a good chance of showing up on a world ranking list (and has some generous merit awards available, though by no means guaranteed).

If anything that I (or others) mention is resonating, let us know and people can provide more pertinent suggestions.

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I don’t have data on this, but it’s not the norm. There may be a handful who turn 18 in the first month or 2 of school, but the trend in the US is to hold kids back when they are starting kindergarten. Many kids attending elite BS repeat 9th, and it’s not unusual for athletes to do a PG year. Whether this is good or bad is a whole different discussion, but it is quite possible that there will be significantly more 19 and 20 year olds in the freshman classes at this type of school than 17 year olds. My kid turned 18 toward the end of his senior year of high school and was one of the youngest in his class, all through school and college.

With that said, I’m wondering if agreeing to a gap year (in advance) would put any of those concerns to bed.

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Parent has said Gap year is unworkable due to finances.

As I stated upthread- it will be important for the teacher and counselor recommendations to focus on the kid’s maturity, ability to be a leader/influencer among his peers, self-direction, etc. There are 17 year olds with all the intellectual horsepower in the world that you wouldn’t want on a college campus- even just between 8 am and 6 pm. So the teachers should head that concern off in advance.

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