Getting into college, especially inclusive of playing sports, is all business. There is no fair/unfair, just compliant/non-compliant. Birth years are for candles on the cake and tombstones at this point.
No it is cheating, you cant hack it or have issues in school - that is what a PG year was for not masquerading a problem be it athletic or academic in MS.
No, you are calling it cheating, because you want it to be cheating. It is not cheating when done in compliance with all rules and regulations, so it is actually and literally the opposite of cheating.
