According to DegreeDirectory.org, most junior or community colleges require that applicants have a high school diploma or GED or be 18 years old. The prevalent image of college students falling between the ages of 18 and 22 is due mainly to the mass media
The average age for students on most American college campuses is 25, according to the National Center for Education Statistics (nces.ed.gov), and the trend at many schools leans towards working students in their late 20s. Universities and colleges accept students of any age and frequently young teens share classrooms, cafeterias, libraries and gyms with middle-aged and elderly returning students.
For evidence that colleges and universities consider the applicant's high school diploma and entrance exam scores more than age, look no further than the articles that appear at graduation time about some of the youngest graduates. ABC News featured a 12-year-old who had enrolled at the University of California, Davis, while the Baltimore Sun newspaper described the youngest graduate to date from the University of Baltimore, 15-year-old Ty Hobson-Powell. Both had completed high school and immediately entered universities.
Some community colleges permit parallel enrollment, enabling local high school students to acquire college credits before high school graduation. Since many high school students have not turned 18 in their senior year, both the high school counselors and the students' parents must consent to this program that allows seniors to leave their schools for college campuses during the day.