University before you're 18?

Hope this is in the right forum, and that it hasn't been asked too many times before - the search function is not behaving itself on my computer :mad:

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This is not for me, but for my sister who is two years younger than me but a year ahead of herself, so is in the Lower Sixth at the moment. Have heard lots of conflicting reports from different sources about whether or not it is ok to begin univeristy while still 17. Was wondering if anybody has done so / knows anyone who has done so, or if anyone knows the exact nature of the law for this matter? Her birthday is in June, so basically she will be 17 for the whole of her first year at uni unless she takes a gap year.

Thanks! :smile:

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Reply 1

Lisaanne

some unis allow it, some dont.. not many will allow her to live on campus tho coz of insurance and stuff... ur best bet is to call a few and ask them.
If it was me tho, id take a gap year anyway so i could be the same age as most others when i started... imagine doing ur whole first year not being able to legally drink!! the horror hehe.
so yeah... it depends on the uni.. tell her good luck tho!
lis x

Reply 2

Talya

I think someone on here applied to Bristol at a year younger and was offered a deferred place. But yeah, definitely call or e-mail unis ASAP (before she applies) so she doesn't get disappointed :smile:

Reply 3

dancingqueen

One of my friends started here (Oxford) a year early, and never had any problems. However I know another guy currently in the first year who is still 17, and the college warned the barmen not to serve him or let himdrink in the bar! He's still allowed to live in college accommodation and everything though. Think it must be pretty embarrassing and annoying not being able to nip down to your own student bar for a quick pint!!

Reply 4

Acaila

Scottish unis are generally alright about them as it's easy to leave school a year early (our Highers are done in our second last year) and because of the way our years run. I actually have a friend who, due to a combination of the above, was 16 when she started uni and she's doing fine.

Reply 5

SuperhansFavouriteAlsatian

Two of my friends is going to Oxford this october, and they're only 17. I know a few others similar.

Also, in Scotland, many people start under 18.

Reply 6

mikeyT

One of my friends was 17 (Oxford as well) when he started. We didn't believe him when he told us that he was 17 but the college bar didn't care/know so he got away with a lot of drinking. And somehow he got into the pubs, bars and clubs in our freshers' week.
To be honest, I think its better to take a gap year so that everyone else catches up. Unless your sister is going to be taking maths- you lose a lot of the ability to do maths after a few months of not studying it.

Reply 7

Arminius

probably best o have a gap year, i think for most people there will be large gap in maturity between a 17 year old and say a 19 year old returning from a gap year.

Reply 8

Apricot Fairy

I would definitely take a gap year. Spending the first year either not getting into the places all your friends go to or worrying about not getting into them would suck. And yes, a LOT of people take gap years, especially girls. A lot more than I thought before I went to uni. I thought I'd feel old starting uni at 19, but there are a lot of first years my age, or a year or more older, or significantly older. I really wouldn't want to start before turning 18. I can just remember all the problems I had in my social life when I was 17 and couldn't get into places and my boyfriend and his friends were all legal. That made me miserable at times, and most of my other friends were still underage. She'd probably be one of the only ones who wasn't 18 and it could cause problems. Imagine she goes out in Freshers' Week with a big crowd of people she's just met and then she can't get in without ID? Who's going to go home with her? Everyone else will be legal, up for it, probably drunk, and not likely to go home because some girl they don't even know can't get in.

Gap years are great. She can earn some money, or maybe go travelling. And she'd come back a lot more mature, with a lot more life experience and either lots of money or a great tan. She wins all around.

Reply 9

tenjon

Apricot Fairy

Yeah, I have mentioned it to her. She dismissed it initially; she goes to school in Holland at the moment (where legal drinking age = 16), whereas I go to school in the UK, so it's a problem she hasn't really experienced. Lucky her! I'm still 17, and all my friends are turning 18 and I've still got two months to wait :frown:

.......

Anyway, that's beside the point. She's fairly ambivalent towards a gap year, so I think I'll advise her to take one! Thanks for all your advice :smile:

Reply 10

Apricot Fairy

If she lives in Holland, she has no idea. Bouncers are so strict about ID in the UK. Unless she looks a few years older than she is, she'll have problems. It's all very well to say that you're not at university to drink, and that she'll probably get into places anyway, but she might not, and a thing like that can seriously restrict your social life. It only has to happen a couple of times near the beginning for some people not to want to go out with her in case they can't get in anywhere.

Gap years are great. I'm planning on doing a law conversion course after I graduate, and so the only thing that makes me even slightly regret taking one is the fact that I won't start earning until I'm 24. For her, that won't be a problem because she's younger anyway. And I know I got into a better uni than I otherwise would have gone to because I look a gap year. (Bristol vs Exeter.) It might affect her application, too. Some universities will probably reject you just for being too young. Some universities specifically say you must be 18 when you begin your course. Halls of residence which have bars (i.e. the best kind) normally have a clause in their contracts which say you can't live there until you're 18. And really, you have to be in halls. There's no comparable way to live your first year.

Reply 11

tenjon

Excellent advice :smile:

I think I'll encourage her to apply this time round (ie this autumn) for a deferred place (2008) - then at least she can see what offers she gets, if she doesn't get any she fancies then she can withdraw her app and apply again during her gap year, with a year's experience of the 'UCAS system' - highly valuable, as your experience illustrates.

Reply 12

turbochargedk

Well I moved out at 17 annd the most annoying thing was living with over 18's and not being able to get into pubs or having to drink cola. You can drink with a meal but if your mates aren't eating that is really weird and the licensing laws are the strictest they've ever been. I am so glad that those days are over!

Reply 13

gianthead

Some universities, Birmingham for instance, specify you must be 17 by Oct 1st the year you start. The university then has repsonsibility for you because you're a minor and you have to live in the accomodation provided.
Sometimes you can get into bars etc using your student card cos they'll asssume you're 18.

Reply 14

la fille danse

I was 17 for the first semester of uni. It made no difference whatsoever. Perhaps it would've if I was into drinking and clubbing, but I'm not.

Reply 15

JennLlama

I was 17 for the first term of uni as well and didn't really have any trouble. None of my choices told me I had to defer, or even recommended it, and I didn't have any trouble living in halls either. Most places accepted my student card as "proof" I was over 18 and my Students' Union was more concerned that I was a student rather than that I was over 18 anyway! Although I'm at a campus uni - I suspect if I'd been trying to go out in the local towns and cities, I might have had more trouble as they're stricted on ID. If she wants to take a gap year, then fair enough, but there's really no harm in applying. I wouldn't have been happy going to university aged 16 (which was also a possibility since I'm Scottish!) but aged 17 I was ready for it - maturity depends a lot on the person so I don't think it's possible to say that someone aged 17 is not ready for university.
Jenn xx

Reply 16

Beelzebub

I was in the same situation, a year ahead of my classmates, and taking a gap year was definitely the best decision I could've made. After a year of having to go home alone when I got IDed (and I still get IDed everywhere I go at 19, 5 times in one night I think is my record) after all my mates at home turned 18 I was so not up for dealing with it in freshers.
The way I see it, it's the best way to make use of the extra year you've got. What's the alternative? Another year slogging it out trying to find a job after you graduate? Taking a gap year and still starting uni at 18 is definitely the best of both worlds.

Reply 17

George Agdgdgwngo

Acaila

Yep, i've heard of a few 16 year olds going to uni. Infact, if i didn't stay on for sixth year I would have been 16 when Iwent to uni. I didn't feel ready for it though. Still don't think I am. :eek:

Reply 18

icecube

hmm...I will be 17 at uni for the first half of it anyway...I don't seee why going before 18 should be a problem. But if you are 16 when you start uni then that could be dodgy. But like someone said, manu peeps in scotland will be 17 when they start.

Reply 19

Lexy86

That's ridiculous... they actually have a law/protocol against being under 18? Wow. I was a month shy of 16 when I was accepted into uni (not in the UK, though), and barely 16 when I started... wouldn't it make more sense to reward those who skipped grades/did better than their peers in school?