Anonymous wrote:17YO DS just graduated from high school and is headed to college in the fall! Coastal Carolina here we come.

His birthday is in October so he will be 18. He did great in high school.

At the grad party a “friend” said “why are you sending him to college this year? He should do a gap year due to his age.”

I had no response.

Anyone else experience this?

That was me 34 years ago. Went to school at 17, turned 18 in October.

The only time it mattered is when I got shitfaced at a dorm “golf” party (where each room had a different drink with a different par) and nearly busted by a campus seekie. Since I wasn’t an adult yet it was a juvenile offense, no big whoop. A couple of weeks later it would have been a first degree misdemeanor and a big fine and jail time.

DD graduated HS at 17. Is now a junior at a top 20 school. It is very common.

Anonymous wrote:Very weird comment. That person has been exposed to too much redshirting nonsense. I was 17 when I went to college and it went great. Congratulations to your son!

+ infinity

I think OP is trying to tell us how smart his kid is.

No, both of my older kids went to college at 16 - one turned 17 a few days after arriving, in late August. The other turned 17 in late November. I'd have responded "He should do what's right for him personally, and not what someone things everyone at a certain physical age should do."

Your friend isn't good at math. Your DS is not a year younger. He is only a few months younger than some of the other kids.
I was a young immature 17 yo who struggled a little at first and then caught on, but I know other 17yos who did fine from the beginning.

OP back in the day in the DMV, the age cutoffs for K used to be Jan 1 so it was more common to see 17 yr/olds heading to college. Now it's rarer.

It's ok not to have a response to an awkward comment.

Anonymous wrote:17YO DS just graduated from high school and is headed to college in the fall! Coastal Carolina here we come.

His birthday is in October so he will be 18. He did great in high school.

At the grad party a “friend” said “why are you sending him to college this year? He should do a gap year due to his age.”

I had no response.

Anyone else experience this?

Lots of kids graduate at 17. Not unique at all. Friend was uninformed.

Does it matter? Do you really care?
Just smile and nod and say "what an interesting suggestion!" and change the subject.

Have I ever been the recipient of a dumb comment? Sure. Unfortunately, I'm sure I've also made my fair share of dumb comments. Don't waste any time thinking about the comment.

I wouldn't put too much stock into such a rude comment. A few years ago my company had an intern who was a 19yo junior (late August bday so completed internship shortly before turning 20). She was so exceptional they hired her immediately upon graduation.

Very weird comment. That person has been exposed to too much redshirting nonsense. I was 17 when I went to college and it went great. Congratulations to your son!

Everyone parents differently. If your friend was in your situation, they would have made a different choice than your family. Nothing wrong with that

Their mistake was assuming that their way was the right way and communicating that to you (a bit awkwardly).

If your kid is graduating HS and this is the first time you have been bothered by unwanted parenting advice, count yourself lucky!

That’s odd. I went to college at 17 and didn’t turn 18 until April. The only difficulty was having to get my parent’s signature on this or that because I was still a minor.

17YO DS just graduated from high school and is headed to college in the fall! Coastal Carolina here we come.

His birthday is in October so he will be 18. He did great in high school.

At the grad party a “friend” said “why are you sending him to college this year? He should do a gap year due to his age.”

I had no response.

Anyone else experience this?