Does age really matter in admission process?

Answered

Age doesn't matter.

That being said, you have time on your hands and you can either place your bets this admissions cycle and see if colleges will give you admission with your stats, grades, ECs, recommendations, essays, or not.

I think this piece of advice would apply to anyone in your shoes whether they were top of their class or middle of their class.

One thing I hear over and over again with my senior friends is that Cameron I wish I had done more ECs, or better ECs, or I wish I took the ACT or SAT a couple more times, or I wish I spend more time studying English because my essays were not the best, or I wish I had fewer Bs on my transcript. Suffice it to say, a common theme among Seniors after they find out where they didn't get into, and what they have to settle for is that they all wish they could have a do-over.

And that applies to me as well. I wish I could have gotten into MIT. But I'm not complaining about Columbia and in fact, I'm eternally grateful. But when your very top top school passes you over you just wonder "what if" I took Physics C and Multivariable Calculus as well, would that have been the push I needed to get over the bar?

So my advice to you and any other younger senior out there is, think about how you would use your time if you took a GAP year and if that extra experience, coursework, skillset, "spike" would help you get into your very top college of choice or not.

My dad always tells me, "when you live to 90, when you look back at your life, does it matter whether you graduate from college at 20, 21, or even 25?....no, it doesn't matter."

But then he follows it up with "but if someone gave you a gift of time to do something meaningful for a year, would you take it?" I see his point and now I advocate for other younger people not to rush into college if they don't have to.

I'm not saying that admit rates are going back up in the 22'-23' cycle, in fact, I think the ultra-low rates are going to stay with us forever because let's face it Ivys and Elites want the clout and they don't need to build more dorms to accommodate more students. But for some students, take a year to either repeat 12th grade or do a Post Grad year somewhere else, or just travel and volunteer might be very useful to them in getting to where they want to study for 4 years.

Good lucK

First of all, wow! I am 16 and a junior. And secondly, no it won't be a disadvantage at all, as long as you have all the requirements for the college applications: like the ACT scores, the amount of AP classes and Honors classes you took, extracurricular activities, and an amazing GPA.

[watch out for people that might be jealous since you skipped/moved grade levels faster than others(just a joke lmao)]

Also, good luck! I hope you enjoy ur first year at college, and hope you make some friends!