Just Had a Thought About College

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-06-2006
Just Had a Thought About College
13
Tue, 01-16-2007 - 12:27pm

DD is a young sophomore; just 15 this year, so that means she'll only be 17 when she graduates, and if she starts college that next fall, still only 17. She won't be 18 until late October.

How does it work for younger college freshman? Will her age be a factor? She really has her heart set on a 4-year university, living in a dorm, etc.

Julie

 

 

 

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iVillage Member
Registered: 11-28-1999
Tue, 01-16-2007 - 1:06pm
I don't really think it should matter much. I had some friends who didn't turn 18 until after school started. Now when I went to college, the legal drinking age was 18, so that might have made a diff. Now that it's 21 and no freshmen are supposed to be drinking anyway, I don't see that it would matter.
iVillage Member
Registered: 02-14-2000
Tue, 01-16-2007 - 5:27pm
Jason turned 18 right before he went off to school.
Pam
Avatar for mjaye2002
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 01-16-2007 - 5:35pm

Tell your dd that she will have to stay an extra year as a Senior, as colleges won't admit a 17 yo. then watch her have a heart attack! ROFL!

(aw, you probably don't have the preverted sense of humor that I do! I am so mean!)

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-21-2006
Tue, 01-16-2007 - 5:51pm

mjaye, you are too funny!

Julie, I do not know of any college that requires a student to be of any particular age to attend, as long as he or she meets the requisites for admission (i.e. graduation from highschool, grades, test scores, etc.)

Amelia

Avatar for phacademy
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-13-2003
Tue, 01-16-2007 - 10:03pm

DS2 turned 16 yesterday and will be starting his second semester at community college tomorrow. He takes 2 classes per semester until he graduates from high school in May (16y4m). We'll probably keep him there next year with a full schedule of classes, then have him transefer to a state universtiy the following year (he'll be 17 1/2

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2005
Wed, 01-17-2007 - 8:49am

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I have the same concerns for my son. He won't be turning 18 until mid-October of his freshman year of college. Not sure how it works, but I do know that maturity will play a major factor in the choice that he makes when the time comes.

stacy

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 01-17-2007 - 9:24am

It won't be much of an issue. Cutoffs for schoolage vary by state up through Dec. Colleges are used to receiving slightly younger applications. Some U's won't acknowledge the age factor in any way whatsoever. A few will have you sign a medical waiver to keep on file, (and if they don't, I'd make certain someone had a copy of one anyways). One college I know of had the parent sign the damage responsibility form for the dorm instead of the student. The military academies might require a signature, as I'm fairly certain one can't enlist prior to age 18 without consent. I've never heard of U hassling over the 17 age issue thing. Most don't even have a problem with 16. It's when you start sending the very young off that U's tend to vary widely in policies.

Now, as for the maturity factor, that depends entirely on the individual, but that would hold true for any student. Some are ready at 16, others at 18 and some not until 22 or never, for the pressures on a college campus, be it social or academic. A few months at one end of a calendar year isn't going to make a huge difference at this level. At this point it is more about the individual.

And for the record, I have a fall birthday son at U. He's done fine. No complaints thus far to speak of with him 1 1/2 years in.

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 01-17-2007 - 9:42am

The cut off back in my day was Dec 31st so with my Xmas Eve birthday I was 17 for pretty much the entire first semester. Didnt make a difference because, really, this was the same peer group Id always had(well, not as individuals but YKIM)

DS2 has a dec 10 birthday but because the cutoff was moved(actually June 1st at the time back in Indiana), he is experiencing everything at a year older age than I did. As a freshman in college, he just turned 19 last month.

Funny, I was just pondering the age thing because it seems that so many boys struggle with school and motivation-a co-worker is sending her son off to a military based residential school today in fact. He was started in kindergarten a year late as many experts recommend for boys

It would be interesting to run a study on that and see if there is some sort of correlation with boys starting school later due to cut off dates or red shirting and their lack of motivation in the middle to late teen years

My boys started 'on time' but were both incredibly bored and frustrated with high school by the time they graduated. Had we kept them back a year(and we seriously considered it for ds2 because he was so tiny)I wonder what the outcome would have been. NO, I dont think it would have been positive because they were more mature. I think DS1 would have been at risk of dropping out and ds2 would have been cutting left and right(instead of just left ;))

Well, I better stop saving the world and get working!

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-28-1999
Wed, 01-17-2007 - 10:37am
This is interesting because my DS's bd is 9/1. I had a planned C-section, so I could have chosen the day before. Now the school cutoff date in our town is 9/1, so he either could have been the youngest or oldest child in the class, depending in his bd. I picked the oldest cause of what they say about boys maturing later, etc. Even being the oldest, he is still one of the shortest (in 5th grade) so that probably would have been worse if he was a grade older. Since his father is 6'1", I am hoping he grows by high school. He is also one of the smartest, so I am hoping he won't be too bored in middle school, but in high school, they have levels of classes, so by then he can hopefully take all honors classes like his sister did. So I just realized he will turn 18 at the beginning of senior year and he will be one of the first in his class to get a driver's license. What fun!
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-19-2003
Wed, 01-17-2007 - 10:42am

I'd say its very common. Here in Canada kids are admitted to school based on the calendar year meaning kids will be in the same grade with the oldest having a Jan birthday and the latest a Dec birthday. My dd was born late September so she will start university as a 17 yo.

And based on statistics I found on Hallmark card website re birthdays, she won't be alone as October is the 4th most common month for birthdays:

Rank Month Percent
1. August 9.07
2. July 8.80
3. September 8.62
4. October 8.60
5. March 8.51
6. May 8.30
7. January 8.25
8. June 8.15
9. April 8.12
10. December 8.07
11. November 7.96
12. February 7.55

I think mommy is a bit nervous about dd going away to college????

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