How to navigate high school after skipping a grade (and how could this affect admissions)

Answered

If you fast forward to your senior year, applying to college at 16 is complicated for many reasons. And I'll list them in no particular order.

1. Isolation problem: Most Ivys, Elite, and Top liberal arts colleges with the exception of Columbia, Harvard, MIT, and UPenn are in the middle of no-where. You can't walk out of your dorm room and find a lot of things that 16 year olds can do on their own.

2. Age problem: Unless you are extremely social you will find it challenging to have a fulfilling social life at top schools that have both undergraduates and grad students. You will be too young to join Greek Life and maybe not old enough to other club activities, and dating (I won't even go into the problems but you can guess.) Yes there might be a few 16 year olds like 1%-2% but you will miss out on certain rites of passage that many college students look forward to experiencing.

3. Independence Problem: If you are a young smart genius, then I'm 100% certain that certain things in your life are not your day to day responsibility. You are too young to drive and will be throughout high school so either you take the bus or your parents drive you. The same goes for after school activities, sports, ECs, competitions, and any other things you do on the weekends. You get 3 square meals a day, your laundry is taken care, your home is cleaned by someone other than you and when you need something, someone takes you shopping or gets it for you. The lack of experiencing complete independence can be a very challenging miscalculation even by the smartest students. If you show up at Stanford or Harvard or Columbia, you are not going to have the same level of support, unless your parents buy a condo across the street and re-locate for 4 years. You are going to have get up by yourself, make your bed, get dressed, get your own breakfast, work out, get to class on your own, eat lunch on your own, buy your own supplies and books, schedule your office hours, schedule when to study, organize all your on campus ECs, clubs, commitments, get your own dinner, and rinse and repeat for 4 years. If you feel sick, you will have to get yourself to the health center on your own, if you need new contacts, you'll have to figure that out on your own, if you need something for school and there isn't enough money in your checking account, you'll have to figure that out. The list goes on and on. And on top of that, there will be times when you will homesick, miss your mom's home cooked meals, and your pets or other things you left behind.

I'm not you so take my advice with a grain of salt. I don't think any elite colleges believe that 16 year olds are the best fit for their institutions for the reasons I mentioned above. Even Eileen Gu took a GAP year. And I feel that is the responsible thing to do. When she starts Stanford at age 19, she will be an adult and ready to hit the campus running. There is just a lot of adulting going on and I'm not sure 16 year old are ready for that.

I think it you would be better adjusted if you found a way to attend a top private boarding school that challenges you both academically, athletically and socially to live outside your comfort zone. If you could get accepted into an Exeter, Andover, Hotchkiss, Deerfield, Lawrenceville, St.Pauls, then you will find the most rigorous coursework available to HS students, the best possible athletic facilities and coaches to help you develop your abilities (maybe even getting recruited) and you'd be living in a dorm, eating in a dining hall, going from class to class just like on a college campus. Plus the socratic or tutorial style learning methods and small class sizes would also prep you for Elite colleges. Plus, your chances of getting into your college of choice will improve exponentially.

Again, I'm not you but I'll share something unique about me. I frankly don't care what age I graduate college or get my Ph.D. because I plan on living a long productive life. Academics are v.important to me. But making the most of my time at college and having the most excellent experience is just as important. I know I'm going to leverage all the opportunities available to me because I'm mature enough to know what I need to have in my life which is self-care, and healthy work/play balance. I admire all the kids that skipped a grade because their schools were unable to teach them things and keep them engaged with peers. But that is not the case for many Ivy-bound students that attend private schools.

So forgive me if I answered your question with an answer that came out of left field and made you read long passage before getting to the punch line.

Punch line:

Personally I don't think you are in the right school.