I have a 17-year-old who finished a dual enrollment program at 17. He could have finished at 16, and we all agreed that he wouldn't be ready for college at that age. They let him stay for another year and he got an AA in a subject that isn't what he's studying now (broader education benefit). At 17, he's a bit younger than other college freshmen, but close enough to their ages that he's having what he calls a regular college experience.
A boy in his class is 15 (maybe 16 now). He has to live at home and isn't having a regular college experience. His classmates see him as an oddity who isn't one of them, though they would never say that to him. So he isn't getting an opportunity to socialize with people his age. He's an outsider. This matters. He also lacks independence, and doesn't get an opportunity to take a big step of going away from home and starting to fend for himself while there's still a financial safety net.
I realize that many people here advocate strongly for early college, but my advice is to be very careful. Your child may have been in classes with older kids for a long time, but this doesn't make your child their age. A sixteen-year-old may be living at a college, but in social activities, people will may worry that a minor will get hurt or get in trouble and they'll take the fall for it. And then there is the very real gap in age and experience that people here (IMO) tend to ignore. You cannot wish away a large gap in age and experience with a high IQ.
I also realize that people here write about themselves or their kids being happy or fine in early college, but the problem is that the response set may be biased. People who were miserable or whose kids had serious problems often don't want to make the problems public. I know of cases like this, for example.
I understand that very bright kids have educational needs that aren't aligned with high school. But there are often options like dual enrollment, the Davidson academy, community colleges and suchlike that allow the student to take classes at an appropriate level while also interacting with people the same age as they are. Again, age does matter during adolescence, and physical development and experience cannot be wished away with a high IQ.
