How does this work for academic year/university?

[kmo0416]

If someone was born in August of 2006, that means that when they were at school their classmates were born between September 2005 - August 2006.

Anyone born after August 2006, was a year group below them; anyone born before September 2004, was a year group above them.

Growing up, a person born in August 2006, would have been socialised with their age mates ie those in their year group. They would have done GCSEs/A-levels at the same time; gone to university at the same time (unless they didn’t go or took a gap year); would have taken part in the same championships and competitions due to the same age etc. This means they would have much in common.

When someone born in August 2006, was at school and in say, Year 13, for example, they would have likely thought they had much more in common with other Year 13s than someone in Year 12, even if that Year 12 was born in September 2006 (so only a few weeks after them).

This is as such person, even though a few weeks younger, would have been behind in terms of a year of education; would not be eligible for the same championships or competitions if they were based on year group etc.

All of this leads people to strongly identify with their academic age mates.

So, I wonder how this functions in university. Imagine if someone took a gap year and so the majority of the students in their cohort were not their age mates so a year group below, even if only a few weeks or months younger, they would not be their age mates. So, would this mean that such a person would profoundly find it difficult to relate to or understand such people because they weren’t part of the same academic year group?

How hard do you find it to relate to people who are not your age mates?

But that’s most of my worry. I have always loved feeling ahead of the year group below me and loved how it’s they who seek advice from the year group above so people like me. For example, since I’m on a gap year I’ve already gone through the whole UCAS process once but the current Year 13s obviously never went through UCAS before this year so at the start of the year, there were some Year 13s asking for advice on things like writing a personal statement or asking how A-level results day work and things like that because they didn’t know but I did because I was ahead of them by a year.

But, now when I go to university, they will have as you said “caught up” so I will no longer have that time edge against them.

If I hadn’t taken a gap year then I’d be going into second year now while they’d just be starting first year so I’d be ahead of them and have a deeper and better knowledge of my subject if we were to study the same subject, but now they will have “caught up to me” and I won’t have that competitive edge over them so won’t be able to feel good about myself in that regard.

When I was in Year 13 with my age mates, I liked enjoying the sense of seniority I felt over the new Year 12s since I had been in Sixth Form longer, they were sort of on my turf, and it just felt nice to be ahead of them. But, now I have to start at the same level as them.

How about reframing it as: there will always be people who are more experienced/ more able than you and there will always be people who are not where you are. There will always be people who can teach you what you need to know and there will always be people you can support. Let go of the need for “superiority.” It will not be your friend long term. Humility is an important part of learning and growing.

When my dd went to university, lots of her friends turned eighteen when she was almost nineteen because they were Scottish.

Almost everyone around you is going to know more stuff or different stuff to you. That's the joy of heading to university. You will quickly find that even those doing the foundation year will be in different places with their knowledge, life skills and backgrounds. They have all been selected for their academic potential and offered the extra year to level the playing field with their starting point for their actual degree course next year.

You really need to stop worrying about wanting to seem cleverer than everyone else. There are very clever people at ALL universities and in real life. However, many students at Oxford, Cambridge, UCL, Manchester etc are muddling along, doing what they need to do and not worrying about whether Fred is cleverer than Imogen and if they are also cleverer than Mo.

Ah @kmo0416 Ok firstly – the “which year are you in” factor definitely does not last beyond school years, and as many have suggested, lots of DC don’t really have it then – in that they have friends across different years – and maybe they support or are supported by them. That’s a good thing – on starting a new sport, you may be helped by someone who has been ding it for a while; or as a long-term member of the drama group, you may support a new member in finding out what to do.

Secondly – when or if you go to uni, especially if you go to Cambridge as I believe you are planning, there will also be students who know less than you, and you will also find students who are ahead of you, academically. This can be salutary – but at some stage in your life you have to come across peers who are more expert than you, who know more than you about xyz, who have done more on abc than you. It’s a good thing. Learn from them. Appreciate your own strengths and use them to support others (if and when they need it).

But yes, please stop thinking about being ahead or being senior. That’s not a healthy way to be thinking as you go into the wider world. Once you start working the differences in knowledge and skills will be even more pronounced. And that’s fine. We all have different things to offer.

If you have used your gap year wisely, you will have been working on your life skills as well as worrying about re-sitting your A levels. You have started to use trains, you have had to navigate sitting exams privately, but hopefully you have started to build other skills such as building relationships, budgeting, listening to others etc as well. These will be as valuable to you as A*s at A level.

Do you realise that nobody discusses their A level results when they arrive at uni. Nobody else is remotely interested in why you took your gap year and why you are doing a foundation year? Whether you stick with your 3Bs or improve your grades this time, it's not going to be the main topic of conversation. In fact, I suggest you avoid any conversations where you try to out perform others, as there will always be people who have done work experience at the Old Bailey or who have Helena Kennedy as their god mother.

Noone cares if you have resat A levels or are now part of a different cohort. Uni is a leveller. There will be others who have taken different routes into uni such as Access or Foundation courses, taken gap year/s and mature students. Some Scottish and international students may be younger still. You really need to get over the idea that being older somehow makes you better and younger inferior or precocious. Frankly age should be the least of your concerns and is not any reason to stall course plans.

I'm wondering whether this is about a particular person: you are feeling slightly narked that Tom, who you have always been "ahead" of is now going to be in the same position as you. Kindly, Tom is not important. Run your own race. As PP have said, if you do go to Cambridge (or indeed any other uni) you will discover some people can run rings around you academically. I went to Oxford and REALLY enjoyed the experience of being "normal" in the room and finding people who could properly challenge me and there were times all I could do was sit back and applaud their academic prowess.

I don’t understand the question. They aren’t more intelligent as a group. And they are more advanced because they’ve had a year more of school.

I also don’t think people do always associate strongly with their school year group and no one else. Sports clubs are often done by age (football team under 10s, under 11s etc), at things like scouts and brownies they’ll mix with other children.

If someone took a gap year before uni, other students would know just from general conversations. But no one is thinking “ooh they’re actually the year above! Not like us!”

@kmo0416 you seem to have founded your entire personality and personal narrative on being superior to other people.

Drop it. It’s pointless.

As an adult the only reason people younger or older than you will seek out your advice will be because they enjoy your company and find you personally appealing. Otherwise they’ll find a better option.

Concentrate on listening to those ahead of you in their life stage (like everyone on this and your other threads). Try to learn from others, now.

The whole point of going to uni is to learn - not only from the course but from the experience, from the many and varied people you meet. Not to feel superior to anyone.
Your age and position re the school cohorts you knew is irrelevant. Everyone starts as a little fish in a new much bigger pond. That can be daunting but we grow through these challenges. And there will be some things you know that others don’t - silly example but DD got to know the girl who has remained her BFF by teaching her to ride a bike. Not to display superiority but to be friendly and helpful, of course!

“I liked enjoying the sense of seniority I felt”

OP’s many threads in a nutshell. She likes to feel superior to everyone else and isn’t happy that at uni she’ll just be ‘another’ student.

You will have more experience than all students in the year or two below you at uni.

Think past fresher year.

Age is not relevant at uni

Focus on yourself and where you are, not everyone else!

And being a year ‘ahead’ of someone in school terms doesn’t make you more intelligent. DD is 34 years younger than me but has been ahead intelligence-wise for a very long time! You’re confusing knowledge with intelligence. There will always be people who know more than you and it has nothing to do with age.

Age gaps get less important as people get older.
DD is going into Y2 at Uni in September and will turn 21 not long after, most of her friends are th same age or at least 19

OP, you're really overthinking this.
Do you have anxiety issues?

My son did a Btec and made friends with fellow students who were an academic year avove him as they had to resit their GCSE's. At university he socialises with students from all years. Two of his friends took gap years.

Dd went to drama school aged 16 and socialised with students between the ages of 16-21 (the age range for the drama school scholarships). She is now at university after having worked for 3 years and socialises with students with age ranges of 18-25.

In my opinion, as a university lecturer, and mother of 5 children, 3 of whom have already started uni, all at different ages and stages, this is absolutely a waste of worrying space in your head. I mean this in the kindest possible way. University is not school, there will be people much older, a little bit older, and a year younger in your year. It doesn't matter one bit, relax!

For instance, imagine if you are 55 years old born in August 1970. Would you instantly click with people born between September 1969 - August 1970 and see them as “one of you” while finding those born in 1971, 72, 73, 74 etc a bit different?

Of course not. Do you walk into a room and demand to know everyone's school year and categorise them accordingly? I know lots of people at work and have no idea when they were born-you may never know.

IME adult friendships have nothing to do with age. I am mid fifties, the friends who came over for a BBQ this weekend were aged from 28 to 68. We are friends mainly through shared interests. My husband would have been 2 academic years above me but if he’d been born on his due date he would have been 3 years above me. Once at secondary school I socialised with others from various year groups - again, all down to shared interests.

That's a very odd attitude tbh. When you're at uni (assuming you manage to overcome these issues enough to actually accept a place and go there), you will inevitably be one of the newbies in your first year, with nobody to look up to you, but once you're in the second year, there will be new first years for you to feel superior to.

I don't recall ever 'looking up to' people in the school year above me (or looking down on the year below). It's just an age difference. There's nothing clever about aging - we all do it!

So it's all about feeling superior. However you need to remember that all those 18 year olds going into year one will be academically ahead of you who would be going into the foundation year. It's just how it is.

But this is your one chance to get into Cambridge, so take it if you get the grades, and get over yourself.

You do start some "interesting" threads OP. Do you not have people in RL to discuss these random questions with? Life is not all about feeling superior to other people and you are going to have a fairly difficult time at uni and beyond if you try to classify people in this way.

It's one year people delay university for various reasons they need to resit ,Ill, health, gap year etc
I doubt it's something most people think of.

I'm in my 60s.

This year I have been to various friends' birthday parties.
One a 21st, one a 30th, one a 40th, on an 80th, one a 90th.
I know all of these people through different things I do. I have got to know them and become friends with them, because of various shared interests in the first place('friendly with') and then just 'clicking' due to us having the same sense of humour or us getting on in some other way. None of them thought 'I can't be friends with Carpet Knees because we were in different school years'.