How old will your child be when they start college?

Coyote1989
Wed, 26 Sep 2012 13:14:47 +0000

Sorry to bump this old thread up from years back, but I think it’s still relevant and I’ve gained some new insights. I think starting college at a young age is best as long as that age doesn’t compromise academic performance.

If maturity is defined as the tendency to use one’s own and vicarious experiences to make decisions that one won’t regret later, then lack of maturity is not the reason many people struggle to get through college. The main reason people struggle to get through college is a lack of direction and doubts about what to do.

I would tell most above average students to try to start taking community college classes at 16 so they can have an associate’s degree by the age of 18 and a bachelor’s degree by 20. Once they have this degree, they’ll have a much better idea of what they want to do in life because they’ll have seen a lot more subject material. You can’t pick an occupation without knowing at least a little bit about the subject matter.

If the student is advanced, with an Algebra and Trigonometry background, I would tell him to try to start taking college classes at 14 so he can graduate college at 18. It doesn’t make sense to waste four years in high-school if you don’t have to.