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Just wondering: how do you get into MIT at 16, and is it worth it? I mean would you be missing out as a 16 year old at MIT (or any other university) because you

by Tichy 15y ago

Just wondering: how do you get into MIT at 16, and is it worth it? I mean would you be missing out as a 16 year old at MIT (or any other university) because your peers are into other things than you, or is it an overall net plus? I assume that it is not some inherited genius that enables kids to get into university, but some unique "strategy". Of course I could be wrong. I also assume it would be doable without ruining the childhood, that is, the kid should be naturally excited about science and stuff, not forced into it.

jackowayed 15y ago
To be accepted into college at 16, you simply need to skip one grade and have your birthday be later in your school year than your acceptance to college. I skipped a grade, then I got into Stanford "early action", which means I found out in December when I was still 16. I turned 17 fairly soon thereafter, and was 18 for roughly half of my freshman year of college. So one doesn't have to be that far ahead of schedule to "be 16" (even if that means almost 17) when getting into college. Being one year young doesn't really inhibit my ability to take advantage of Stanford in a serious way. The fact that there will only be one quarter when I am eligible to take the wine tasting course is about the extent of it.
DarkShikari 15y ago
She probably skipped a grade. I was 17 when I started college and this wasn't unusual; I wasn't even nearly the youngest person in my class. I doubt that age is that big a factor. I don't think a gap of two years makes it any harder to find people with the same interests; if that was true, freshman and seniors could never be friends. Throughout my past ~5 years I've been friends with people 5 or more years younger and older than me; I never noticed any sort of dramatic issue.
waterlesscloud 15y ago
When I went to first grade, they did the usual testing, and then told my parents they wanted me to skip every other grade. Which would have had me in college at what, 13? At the time I was disappointed my parents vetoed the crazy scheme, but in retrospect, it was a crazy scheme.
kwantam 15y ago
I got into MIT at 16 and turned 17 during my freshman year. I can't say I ever suffered socially as a result; I'm a very social person and had a large group of friends at school. As far as the strategy, if you can call it that: I wasn't getting much out of high school and realized I could finish all my required classes in 3 years, so I did. By far my most time consuming extracurricular activity was studying the violin; until I entered MIT, I'd been primarily a musician, and I certainly wasn't forced into science or engineering. I'd taught myself to program and decided that EE/CS was an interesting career path, so I applied to MIT. (Now I'm an integrated circuit designer.)
impeachgod 15y ago
I have my birthday fairly late in the year, so technically when I started UCLA I was 17 years old.

by Tichy 15y ago

jackowayed 15y ago

To be accepted into college at 16, you simply need to skip one grade and have your birthday be later in your school year than your acceptance to college. I skipped a grade, then I got into Stanford "early action", which means I found out in December when I was still 16. I turned 17 fairly soon thereafter, and was 18 for roughly half of my freshman year of college. So one doesn't have to be that far ahead of schedule to "be 16" (even if that means almost 17) when getting into college. Being one year young doesn't really inhibit my ability to take advantage of Stanford in a serious way. The fact that there will only be one quarter when I am eligible to take the wine tasting course is about the extent of it.

DarkShikari 15y ago

She probably skipped a grade. I was 17 when I started college and this wasn't unusual; I wasn't even nearly the youngest person in my class. I doubt that age is that big a factor. I don't think a gap of two years makes it any harder to find people with the same interests; if that was true, freshman and seniors could never be friends. Throughout my past ~5 years I've been friends with people 5 or more years younger and older than me; I never noticed any sort of dramatic issue.

waterlesscloud 15y ago

When I went to first grade, they did the usual testing, and then told my parents they wanted me to skip every other grade. Which would have had me in college at what, 13? At the time I was disappointed my parents vetoed the crazy scheme, but in retrospect, it was a crazy scheme.

kwantam 15y ago

I got into MIT at 16 and turned 17 during my freshman year. I can't say I ever suffered socially as a result; I'm a very social person and had a large group of friends at school. As far as the strategy, if you can call it that: I wasn't getting much out of high school and realized I could finish all my required classes in 3 years, so I did. By far my most time consuming extracurricular activity was studying the violin; until I entered MIT, I'd been primarily a musician, and I certainly wasn't forced into science or engineering. I'd taught myself to program and decided that EE/CS was an interesting career path, so I applied to MIT. (Now I'm an integrated circuit designer.)

impeachgod 15y ago

I have my birthday fairly late in the year, so technically when I started UCLA I was 17 years old.