I skipped grades and will be a 15 y.o. college freshman. What can I expect from college life?

College Life
1

<p>Hi everyone :slight_smile: I’m a long-time lurker and decided to post for the first time.</p>

<p>I’m a 14 y.o. (birth month July) HS senior going through the whole college application process.</p>

<p>First, I’ll give some context info about myself. I live on an isolated area (a small island actually, where the only way out is by plane). I always attended school, a very small school (largest single-grade class we ever had was 18-student large), but I got myself into online learning soon, and as a result of that I skipped 2 grades (promoted from grade 3 to 5 and then from 7 straight to high school). My HS class has 12 probable graduates including me… I’m a competitive applicant, under some realistic self-assessment, to some good colleges in the mainland (several stand-alone APs, ACT composite 34 etc).</p>

<p>For this double grade-skipping, I’m relatively used to always be the younger student around. I tend to think I’m more emotionally mature than my age-peers because that is the only way I could deal with schooling. Nonetheless, I’m anxious about what can I expect being 2-3 years younger than most of my freshman class in college. </p>

<p>If I behave in a way that is more consistent with the traditional freshman age, will I still get socially isolated a lot? Should I expect and mentally prepare to get the “young sister” treatment from peer students the whole college career? How much will I be under scrutiny in terms of people (professors, counselors) assuming I’m “too immature” and having to over-achieve to prove otherwise? Will the fact I’ll only be 18 at my senior year put me at much disadvantage when it comes to extracurricular activities like clubs?</p>

<p>Specifically, I’m fretting a lot about my residential situation. I contacted the offices for residential services of three of my preferred colleges. One told me they have an unnamed ‘transition floor’ on a specific small dorm with ‘staff experienced on dealing with young students’ and ‘enhanced safety measures’. Other college told me they recommend students below age 18 not to move to off-campus housing and also that they have an informal ban on sororities taking students younger than 17 (not that I had any interest on that anyway). The third college wrote me back that, should I be admitted, I’d be automatically placed on a ‘substance-free house’ and that they have a special seminar on drugs, alcohol and personal safety freshmen 16 and younger must attend during orientation (they have around 5-10 people in that situation every year, as they told me). I felt a bit of condescension, despite all college representatives to whom I have talked or written being nice and attentive.</p>

<p>My main focus will be about studying at a top institution, but also I can barely wait to escape from this small island for good, and I’m getting more anxious about how much will I be patronized and occasionally discriminated against on basis of my age. It is not like I’ve never been offered (and subsequently refused) alcohol, marijuana or certain other pills, and I also had to develop early awareness skills on dealing with the occasional assertive unwanted flirting boy in high school, so all these “special measures”, “special floor”, “special safety seminar” are giving me the impression that, even in college, I will still have to deal with ‘special attention’ from adults presuming I just can’t cope with life as other fellow freshmen, no matter how centered, focused and strong-willed I act, and how good my academic performance could be.</p>

<p>My parents are fully supportive of my plans, but some family friends and relatives, most having never attended college themselves, have tried to fear-monger me in that I’m not “ready to deal” with college life and that residential college life is “too dangerous” for me. Fortunately, their influence over my parents is limited on that regard.</p>

<p>Am I over-thinking the situation too much? Has anybody here been in a similar situation before (15 years old freshman) and what was your experience?</p>

2

<p>We actually did have a young freshmen in my class, 10 years ago (he was 15 y/o I believe). I won’t lie to you though, most students did treat him differently… not in a harsh sort of way, but just different. For example, he often wouldn’t be included in casual conversations unless he made an effort to engage in what was being said. When students did approach him, the conversation was almost always friendly but the tone was usually a bit condescending. I imagine this “special treatment” behavior is unique to every individual and situation though. This is just one data point to go off of.</p>

<p>Since you are a girl, I’m not sure how the older girls will react. I imagine the guys will be nice to you and respectful of your situation. And no, I don’t think you are overracting by posting this question… it is a very, very good question!</p>

3

<p>Once you get older, the age gap isn’t as apparent, but there’s a big difference between being a 15 year old and an 18 year old. You’ll be the age of an average high school freshman your first year of college, and you will get treated differently because of that–there’s no way around it. </p>

<p>Is there a reason why you’re rushing to get into higher education so much? I get that you’re eager to see more of the mainland, but there are better ways to do so than diving headlong into college. If you believe you’ve exhausted your options in your area, you could perhaps consider a boarding school on the mainland–postgraduate years are becoming more common, even among non-athletic recruits. Or maybe take a gap year and explore the world a little. </p>

<p>Keep in mind that online learning is still different from more traditional methods of learning, and that’s another thing you’ll have to get used to. Your standardized test scores are solid and I’m sure there are colleges out there that would be happy to have you, but just because you’re qualified to go doesn’t necessarily mean that you * should *. If you see some of the threads on here, there are a lot of people struggling to adjust to a new academic environment without some of the unique challenges you’ll be facing. </p>

<p>In any case, I’m sure there’ll be many different views on this matter, and mine’s just one of them. I hope you weigh all your options carefully before proceeding. Good luck!</p>

4

<p>Make no mistake- the way the universities are treating you is not all about you and them presuming you can or cannot cope. While I am sure there is compassion for looking after a younger student, there is also a large measure of legal culpability. They need to do certain things to protect themselves legally (could you imagine them in court answering “You had a substance-free house, how could you NOT put a 15 year old child into it? What were you thinking?” or, “You let a 15 year old CHILD pledge a sorority??? REALLY???” Now that is a bad position to be in!). So it is not all about you.</p>

<p>Could you ask them to give your contact information to some of the other under-16 kids currently on campus, so you could get a first-hand assessment? I do not think that is too much to ask.</p>

<p>I found being young was a bit awkward (I was two years to the month older than you, 1-1/2 to 2 years younger than my classmates, you will be 3-1/2 to 4 years younger). I had not developed some of the interests, such as musical taste, as my classmates, and developmentally was not on the same page for emotional attachments and complexities of relationships- both same gender and opposite gender. From an enjoying-the-college-experience perspective, I felt I was a bit out of sync and missed something there. I did feel that I was treated pretty much the same, with no condescension, though my age difference was less than yours. As a girl, your physical body may be more fully grown- some 15 year old boys look more like 12 year olds than they do like 18 year olds- that, plus how you act, may be more of a predictor of how you are treated.</p>

<p>I was fine. My hormone-mediated feelings, emotions, and behaviors may have been out of sync. Not my fault- it’s physiological. Overall, it worked for me, and those not close to me assumed I was the same as them (why wouldn’t they?).</p>

5

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</p>

<p>Yes, in no particular order:</p>

<ol>
<li>Tight-knit overwhelming religious extended family that thinks I’m on a snobby/rebellious route*</li>
<li>Nothing much else to do around</li>
<li>Increasingly out-of-sync with the few friends around my age</li>
<li>Already too much withdrawn to online interactions due to lack of intellectually engaging friends/ lack of shared interests with real people I have access with</li>
<li>At my age, gap year alternatives are somehow limited, many programs require minimum age 16.</li>
</ol>

<p>*I never had any serious problem with anything around, it is not like I’m drinking or smoking or taking drugs, though that widely available here. It is more like several relatives (fortunately not my parents) always had this expectation I’d go the church training route, go live with extended family doing work in South America for a while, and hopefully find a nice church-raised ‘approved’ boyfriend in the process before being 'exposed" to the dangers of college life, California’s big cities etc. </p>

6

<p>You may not be interested in this route (depending what your interests are), but if you’re looking for a unique gap year opportunity that you can do at 15, maybe look into foreign exchange programs/scholarships (depending on your financial resources). You’ll learn another language, which is useful in any profession, and definitely mature and grow a lot, which would help you to prepare for the college experience. </p>

7

<p>I recommend applying to prep schools, then going on to college. My D was in a similar situation after acceleration and it has been a wonderful thing for her. Boarding schools will give you the academic enrichment you need and the time to hone your interests and be a killer college applicant. </p>

8

<p>My “game plan” at the moment is this: if I don’t get accept into any of the following colleges (Stanford, UCLA, USC, Caltech, Harvey-Mudd, UT-Austin, UC-Boulder) this cycle, I’ll then “activate” a conditional offer I got for a boarding prep academy, to follow an IB program. I really wouldn’t want to study again some same subjects, and would rather go to college already, but the director of this prep academy told, and wrote me, that they would take me on a full scholarship for a 2-year program, as long as I commit to stay both years there, which would then bring me back to my age cohort at college. </p>

<p>I’m not excited about that, but if things don’t work out, I might well go that route to improve my credentials, get more and better AP scores etc, an IB diploma etc. I won’t go to my safety college this next year. </p>

9

<p>You won’t be repeating anything, not of it’s a reputable boarding school. But do keep in mind that top prep schools have admit rates in the teens. Your geographic diversity will help. Applications are generally due January 1. Look at Exeter, for instance. It’s very much like a small college, just keep in mind that you likely won’t be the top student. </p>

10

<p>^I’d recommend Exeter, since the junior-senior classes are very much like college classes and if your family’s lower income, it’d be almost free for you (provided they admit you). </p>

11

<p>How old do you look? If you look young, I agree that everyone will treat you differently. You may well not be included socially. If you look older, you will be included more, but that is a double edged sword----you may be included in things that aren’t appropriate for you. </p>

<p>The exchange student idea is intriguing. How do your folks feel about that? You would have a chance to grow up a lot studying abroad and in the areas that are appropriate. </p>

<p>Boarding school is another idea. Another year or two of high school might burnish your resume so you would be more attractive to top schools. You would also be able to find peers who are more like you.</p>

12

<p>It’s important to understand that two years in an elite boarding school are nothing like high school. The level of classes - content, discourse, depth - really is similar to what you’d find at one of hte most selective colleges. </p>

13

<p>In a boarding program, the “curriculum” you would be learning is how to deal with others in a social setting. In your case, the academics will be the easy part.</p>

14

<p>I was in your situation and it was fine. It helped that I was an intense driven nerd with no interest or need for socializing. </p>

<p>I became a senior by end of sophomore year by taking crazy number of courses and ended up going to med school at 17 and finishing 5 years younger than my peers. No one knew how young I was; it rarely came up. For me, not making a big deal of it worked out smoothly.</p>

15

<p>Two years on a full scholarship to a top-notch IB program sounds like a fantastic back-up option. I went through the IB program rather than graduating early and it was a great intellectual experience. As long as you’re sure that offer will be still be available after you hear back from colleges, your plan sounds like a good route to me. I used to have the attitude that I wanted to get through school as quickly as possible: graduate high school and college early, go straight into a PhD or MD program. As I’ve gotten a bit older, my priorities have changed somewhat and I’m learning to enjoy and take advantage of the opportunities I have while in school. </p>

16

<p>Hi everyone,</p>

<p>I’d like to thank everyone who replied. I’m very happy to tell you that I was admitted. I’m super excited and immensely grateful for the good financial aid package I was offered as well.</p>

<p>The day after I got my early decision notification, I got an email from the admissions office. They have some issues to arrange with me. </p>

<p>They want to me visit campus over the winter break, and meet my future “RA”, another junior student, on my program of interest, who was himself admitted at an younger than usual age, and a “special counselor” that will help my transition to college life. </p>

<p>I will also be allocated to a specific dorm with “higher expectations of student behavior and a no-substance self-enforced policy”. They offered me an option of a single small room next to the RA’s own room, for the price of a shared room. If I understood the underlying message there, they are offering me a small single without any surcharge (the carrot), under similar provision made to a students with special circumstances like pregnancy or disability (the pretext), as long as I abide to some specific rules (sent on a separate PDF) other students are not subject to (the stick). </p>

<p>The list comes with formal letterhead but looks hastily written, instead of some formal policy handbook. It is actually a list of restrictions on student life, concerning issues like overnight visitors (none during freshman year), telling the RA if I’m staying outside my room after 2AM during first month, keeping RA and housing services up-to-date with my phone number, notifying the RA if I leave campus for more than 24h during freshman year. I didn’t see any of these restrictions on the normal student handbook or housing model contract for ‘regular’ students. They appear patronizing and a bit annoying, in that they assume worst-case intentions on my part (partying, drinking, having sex with random students), but I can live with that and my own single room (albeit small). </p>