It seems like most people enter college at age 18. Then after a four year degree, one would typically graduate at age 22. Sure finishing at 21 probably isn't too uncommon, but graduating at age 20 and turning 21 after graduation? Maybe things were just different in the 60s, or maybe he had enough credits and completed a 3-year program.
shareI believe this age is used because it's symbolic--for a couple reasons. First, it points out that Ben is an overachiever because he finished his schooling a year early. Also, when Ben turns 21, he's officially an adult. And he struggles throughout the movie to try to figure out just exactly what that means.
shareBack then, kids wanted to go to school early and graduate in 4 years. Nowadays, these "students" take 8 years to graduate. There was a ton of sex and drugs going on in the 19060s, but the students were also well-educated.
shareIf a kid were wise enough to do so, he'd attend summer sessions between school years, instead of wasting his summers accomplishing nothing. If he started at age 17 (17 or 18 being the norm), he could attend as many as four summer sessions (if starting immediately after high school), which could easily shorten his college tenure by a full school year (particularly if he carried a heavy class load). Doing so, he could realistically graduate before his 21st birthday.
shareAmerican perhaps but in my country, many graduated highschool at 16/17 and entered College around that age as well, therefore graduating around 20/21. But my friend graduated highschool at 15, she was a year early and her birthday is on December and graduated College at 19.
Don't you have one of those people? Those whose birthday is either on December or entered school a year earlier than the rest?
He was a 1960s Doogie Howser.
shareI started college at age 17 in 1971 without having skipped any grades beforehand. It wasn't all that uncommon back then.
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