17 when going to uni. Do they cope?

[Puygo]

Why do scotlands education system do this? Kind of wishing we were in England where ds would be oldest in year and would be almost 19 when going to Uni. Did anyone have dc go to uni at 17? Don’t they seem really young still? We are a few years away , but just worrying about this already.

Yup, they all have individual rooms/shower rooms, and shared kitchen and living room.

@trickotreat @Invisimamma

So in my case... Scottish, Dec birthday and I'd been moved up a year because of max class size in primary and I was able - so I'd done sixth year. I then went to England so 3 year honours degree... hence graduating at 19. I only really told close friends I was under 18 and no one really cared. It all depends on the person really - my dd is doing medicine and been set on that path since she was about 14 but another dd has barely been able to choose her next steps...

I didn't take a gap year as I was going a maths subject and anyway under 18 made it hard to get any interesting experiences, underage for work permits, etc. But I did turn down a place at Cambridge because they insisted on a year out. This was the right choice for me anyway.

I don't think you need a whole life plan, just next steps (keeping options as open as needed). I'm on what I consider to be my third career now lobed the first and third, not so much the second. Life's a collage not a tin of paint. 🤣

Ah right. Is it the new builds In Causewayhead? I live in stirling I'm just being nosy😀

I went to uni in England at 17. I'd only just turned 17 in the summer so graduated at 19. Looking back I do wish I'd done a 6th year and think I'd have enjoyed it more if I'd been a bit more mature. Most of my friends at uni were at least a year older and some had taken a gap year as well.

Mind you this was many years ago so ID wasn't an issue.

I think when you're 16 the idea of being away from your parents is quite appealing although the reality doesn't always match up.

I was 17, turned 18 the following January so I didn't miss out on much. I could go to the student union and pubs, I just couldn't have a drink. I wasn't much of a drinker until I was a lot older anyway.

I remember one girl in halls who had come from England and asked me if it was weird being at uni when I was only 17. I said no, honestly I can't see how it would've been any different if I'd been 18.

Meant to say feel free to ignore my nosiness!

No - on campus. I think there was a mix of 8 person and 10 person, either single sex or mixed sex.

Too late for those already in the school system but this is another argument for deferring entry to primary school. If a child doesn't start school until they are 5, they will turn 18 in S6.

Yes we should have deferred my dc is mid 20s though at the time it was discouraged
I think more are deferred than not now, especially the Dec-feb birthdays.

As pp have said it is common to begin uni at 17 in Scotland, and most will cope fine.

Regardless of age, there are three main areas where uni students need to cope with to be successful, and generally they'll be fine if at least two out of the three are on track at any point in time.

The first is academic preparedness - is the course suitable for them? Are they capable and interested? Did they choose the uni for them, not because parents liked it or their girlfriend lives nearby?
Do they realise that they will need to independently study? Keep up with materials and seek help if they can't understand or keep up?

The second is social - do they have an interest already so they can join the choir/basketball team/chess club? If they don't have an interest do they recognise that joining clubs and societies is the best way to make friends and build a network? And actually how important that it is to meet people, as well as maintaining contact with friends and family from home.

And lastly, can they look after themselves? Can they prepare some meals, use the washing machine, clean the kitchen? Do they understand the need to clean up after themselves in shared flats, to live considerately with others? Can they budget and live within their means?

And if anything goes wrong, do they know they can come to you for support and help to navigate through any difficult situation?

DH did this but he did live at home while studying as did many of his friends 😊

Ds was 17 when he started at Aberdeen Uni (nearly 6 years ago now ), even though he'd done a 6th Year.

He turned 18 on the first day of term though

He says he didn't really miss out on Fresher's Week as he was able to go the "pre-s" (the pre-going out to night clubs parties and then there plenty of other parties in the flats). Aberdeen encouraged most 1st years to stay in the Hillhead Halls of Residence complex so there was a good community.

Even though he wasn't much a drinker (despite being a rugby player ), we did leave him with a supply to last him until he turned 18

I went to Uni 40 years ago at 17.5 (from S5, but I was at the "old" end of the year). It did take me a while to settle as I was away from home at a Uni that was full of mostly English people (St Andrews) who had done A levels and were therefore older than me. I was very naive and I did get teased a bit - but it was meant in good heart (which I eventually realised ) Drinking wasn't a problem as most of the students were English or had done s6, so the pubs assumed that everyone was over 18.

@Invisimamma
My youngest DD is at Glasgow and in her flat of 12, she is the only state school person and only one of 3 Scottish. Incredibly wealthy people but she's confident and has made good friends.
Class is only an issue if you make it one and I personally rarely come across a Scottish person caring about it; although it is a MN obsession.

I had a friend who was still 17. Didn't impact him academically. I think it probably did impact the range of Freshers' Week activities he could participate in, but frankly going clubbing would have been his idea of hell anyway so it mattered relatively little and he found his tribe by staying back and finding those who shared that view.

I skipped a year in school and went to uni at 17 - I just didn't ever mention it in bars and no one really knew (it didn't really come up) until I had my 18th birthday party.
I was fine - I think I'd have been fine at 16 too, tbh (there was stuff I had a learning curve on as I moved to looking after myself but that would have just happened a year later if I'd gone at the usual time).
I'd also been on European holidays with just a female friend (no adults) aged 16 and aged 17 beforehand and that helped a lot with the transition to self-reliance - I'd suggest offering more independence now, not less, and then they'll have had some experience before actually leaving home.

Was this a while ago?
I have a DC at uni now and the ID is regularly checked. On the door of bars and regular spot checks at the table through the evening. 17 year olds who borrow ID have it confiscated. You couldn't just ignore you were 17 in their university town and go out with your mates

I skipped a year in school and went to uni at 17 - I just didn't ever mention it in bars and no one really knew (it didn't really come up) until I had my 18th birthday party.

Sorry I meant to quote @BestZebbie in my last post

PiHanLot - yes. 'turn of the century'! I agree it would a lot more socially awkward if you couldn't get into pubs and clubs in town nowadays, if that was something you want in your uni life (though I also believe that going out on the lash as the primary/sole entertainment for big groups of friends is dying out a bit nowadays).

I went up to uni young - I was in a "special" class at school that were pushed on a year and took all exams a year early.

I must admit I found it hard - but I was doing Social Sciences which really needs a wider life experience to get the best out of. And I felt that everyone else was much more confident and on top of life in a way that I wasn't. I got there in the end and things worked out OK, but I did find that first year very hard.

I was a young, precocious 17 when I went to uni, and now (as an academic and a mum) I can see that I would have done better waiting a year. I am from a small town in north of Scotland, and a fine but bog standard Scottish high school. Had worked locally during school but I was utterly awed by the super confident, often privately educated 19 year olds in my classes, most of whom seemed to be back from exotic gap years. Just faded into the background. Was absolutely fine academically - excelled in fact - but I wasn’t very worldly, and struggled to assert myself socially and in classes. First semester of struggling to get into clubs and bars with my friends was a bit rubbish. This won’t be all 17 year olds by any means, but now as a lecturer, I can see a fair number who would get more out of it if they waited a year to learn a bit more about themselves and build up their confidence.

You’re joking. We all had fake ids and even without, a friend would grab the drinks or whatever. I don’t recall ever not getting entry or served when I was 17 in college in Dublin.

DH went at 17 and graduated at 20. He’d skipped a year at school and found it a bit of a culture shock but coped well. This was almost 40 years ago. He’s English.

But unless you're very very young and have only just left you need to understand that things have changed. DS is at university in England. You can't even go into the pubs in town without ID. They check on the door and also check on your phone so that you can't use fake ID.

My daughters birthday is end of November and yes she struggled, says she’ll be having children from March till July when the time comes 🙈

Agree that they are much much stricter on ID than they were 10 or 15 years ago even.