"Can't you just switch out your senior year of high school for a year of college?"
This isn't as simple as that. A specific example: you are in 3rd year. Everyone is 21 and hitting up bars. You are 20. Some places you cannot even step foot in.
Being social outside your age group is really difficult compared to being social within it, and basically until you graduate from college, your age group is "your year".
To bring it to your current circumstances - imagine a 10 year-old child prodigy trying to hang out with a bunch of 15 year-olds. Or a grade 9 trying to hang out with a bunch of grade 10's. You can do it, but it is highly suboptimal.
I disagree with this. I've had no trouble hanging out with people much older, and a few that were slightly younger. My friend network goes from 18 to about 26 without there being much of an issue. True, I can't generally get into bars (I'm 20), but there are plenty of other opportunities to get smashed outside of bars.
This isn't as simple as that. A specific example: you are in 3rd year. Everyone is 21 and hitting up bars. You are 20. Some places you cannot even step foot in.
Being social outside your age group is really difficult compared to being social within it, and basically until you graduate from college, your age group is "your year".
To bring it to your current circumstances - imagine a 10 year-old child prodigy trying to hang out with a bunch of 15 year-olds. Or a grade 9 trying to hang out with a bunch of grade 10's. You can do it, but it is highly suboptimal.