What does research conclude about academically advanced students
delaying their entrance into college? Is there evidence of greater college success?

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Clarification of Question by wmuball-ga on 30 May 2004 09:51 PDT

Have an example of a current seventh grader who scored 22 on ACT and
received straight A's  However, parents want him to repeat the seventh
grade so he will be 19 instead of 18 when he enters college. We need
data to support our argument that this would increase his success as
an engineering college student.

Results of such a study would depend somewhat on how accademically
advanced. ie some extremely advanced students can learn twice as fast
without college which is too easy for them. This small group can work
in their field, get credit for life experirence, and pass exams for
credit in subjects they have not studied formerly and complete a PHD
at say age 35 with less  than 1000 hours of class room study.
 Conversely the top half of typical high school graduating classes,
likely ends up with less life time income if they do not start college
within 4 months of graduation from high school even if they start
college later. The level of college completed also has some baring on
the results. Perhaps you can clarify.  Neil

The difference between 18 and 19 is not significant in my opinion for
college success. Also, the level of maturity between the two age
groups is not significant, so I am not sure that a 19-year-old who has
been in highschool and lived with his parents is more mature and ready
for college than an 18-year-old who managed to graduate from
high-school at 17 and to work or gain other life experience in the
year between high-school and college.

In other words, even if you find a study that 19-year-old fare better
in college, it could be not a direct reason, because they were left a
year behind in highschool, but because of other indirect reasons
(people who tend to go to college later are more mature and
responsible people anyways; people who go to college later have
already life experience in the job market and know what are the
expectations from them; etc.)

However, one should consider, that in the professional field, more
significant age difference matters (and adversly so for the more
mature students) - both for academic vacancy (the difference between a
25-year-old grad student and a 35-year-old one); and in order to get a
good job as an engineer or a scientist.

In addition, unless there are some psychological reasons as well
(extreme immature personality, for example), why repeat a year? This
could discourage him socially and bore him - the reason, probably,
that he did so well is that the material is already understandable.
Since no-one must go to college immidiately after high-school, why not
wait until he graduates, and then let him decide whether he wants to
go to college, when h wants to do it, and what he wants to study? If
his parents (and of course, he himself) would still think it is too
early for him, they could always take a gap-year, work somewhere or do
something else that would satisfy him - travel around the world, do
students' exchage, etc. Repeating a year is in my opinion not a
solution to the "problem".