I did look at his LinkedIn - after the long list of accomplishments he lists the languages he knows: besides English, Hindi, Bengali, Greek. And he lists a number of programming languages with them! He seems like a great kid!
Cool story. I only wonder if after taking ten + years of MIT coursework if there are any undergraduate courses left for him to take? (Kidding of course).
@MotherofDragons - So often we see parents who think their child is a “special snowflake” when their kid is one of thousands like them. I meant that this kid seems genuinely exceptional and special. I should’ve just said that.
I met a guy recently who was homeschooled by his dad, started university at 12 (not MIT), finished his undergrad at age 14, got his PhD in Computer Science at age 20 and was hired by MIT at that point, where he now has tenure. He won a MacArthur Fellowship at age 22, I think. He makes art with his dad (whom I also met) that draws on his CS work and is extraordinary as art (has been exhibited at MoMA and other high-end places). I wouldn’t say there was any deficit in social skills compared to other CS professors I know or frankly other STEM professors at MIT whom I’ve met. I found him very interesting, although I don’t think he’s so strong on small talk (but neither am I).
@tiger1307 in regards to early college, there are students who simply are ready early and need the atmosphere of college (both homeschooled and traditional schooled). My sister started college at 15, although not at MIT. The idea of early college came from her high school guidance counselor who knew she was not doing well emotionally in high school. The change to college was exactly what she needed and she thrived there both academically and socially.
There are a number of colleges that now have early programs. CSU Los Angeles for example has a progran where kids 11 and up can enroll. The University of Washington accepts children as early as 7th grade. I am surprised this student waited until he was 15.
This thread example fits nicely with my conviction some kids can stretch, if we give them the chance and know their strengths, have some wise and well-considered idea of what they can do and where they need balance. And stay on top of the balance part. These kids exist and this one is a great example that they aren’t all miserable, cloistered, and odd ball. Or sleepless.
Well-done homeschooling by parents that really value education can be fantastic, but I think the bucket also includes a lot of parents who are keeping their children sheltered from the world and from knowledge in general. Some may undersocialize their kids, or be trying to work from home and home school, or just not have enough education to consider all the positive aspects of school which they need to replace, including the same age socialization and really the experience of teachers, coaches, etc in helping kids both socially and academically (yes, I think most do). What if the parent is an introvert or a TV addict but somehow has convinced themselves that their half baked home schooling is better than public school? What if they truly have wacky ideas (I will not define) or were poor students and are using some crummy textbook with no lectures to teach science or math ? What if they can’t write well and can’t teach their children to write well.
It’s a long road for a young adult to walk if they haven’t learned a reasonable amount by say age 15 …
I have always thought parental education was key, but the MOOCs and other offerings may make this less critical, as long as the parents are able to act as information officers or whatever.
Of course many well-educated parents just can’t homeschool or aren’t suited or whatever … and so go search out good school districts …
In this case, the kid basically was raised at MIT, which is perfectly reasonable if you have a child this gifted.
None of it would have worked for the vast majority of kids … and I sure hope that my grandchildren do not have to do this just to be wanna-bees at to a top 60 school …
@PickOne1 I used to think just like you do. I assumed that teachers had some special magic that was needed in order for students to learn, school offered a unique place for socialization, and that textbooks were specially designed for optimal learning. School worked very well for my older son who is now a senior and applying to top 20 schools. But when my younger son got to middle school, I realized that traditional school was a disaster for him. He was miserable and he started falling his classes. Socially things were not working as well. He just did not connect with others. That is when I decided to look into homeschool. I was shocked at what I found.
There is an entire industry that has emerged for homeschooling families. There are many many curriculum options, from fully boxed curriculums which include all subjects, to individual options for singly subjects, to online courses, to coops which offer classes. There are charter schools, which offer funding for curriclum, classes, and enrichment. There are support groups that have weekly park days for kids and parents to meet and hang out. Local museums, science centers, and aquariums offer homeschool days. Places like art studios, skating rinks, swim centers music schools, and theaters offer homeschool programs during the day. The hard part is choosing. So many options and not enough hours in the day.
Our week this time around included a trip to the science center for a homeschool day where my son dissected a fetal pig in a lab group, figure skating classes, art classes, a math test from an online math class, science class at the co-op, and a one on one tutoring with a writing special ed teacher, all of this paid for by our charter homeschool. Our schedule is pretty typical for homeschooling students around here.
Are there families who choose to homeschool for wacky reasons? Yes. But I believe that these families are not the homeschooling norm. They are about as common as this young man at MIT. Most homeschoolers are typical children whose parents have chosen an alternative to traditional education and it works.
Frankly, lots of k-12 is wacky, too. The real trend in homeschooling isn’t isolationist. So many kids weave in and out of some functions on their own, some DE, some activities through the local high schools, sometimes even the same science or language competitions. Plus many have other outlets. It’s significantly evolving from old stereotypes. Many parents now share the teaching responsibilities. One friend is a brilliant writer and strategist, she teaches several kids and other parents did language studies for hers. Sure, there will always be outliers.
https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2006/homeschool/TableDisplay.asp?TablePath=TablesHTML/table_4.asp lists reasons parents gave for home schooling in 2003:
Applicable Most important Reason
85.4% 31.2% Concern about environment of other schools
72.3% 29.8% To provide religious or moral instruction
68.2% 16.5% Dissatisfaction with academic instruction at other schools
28.9% 7.2% Child has other special needs
20.1% 8.8% Other reasons
15.9% 6.5% Child has a physical or mental health problem
It looks like academic reasons are the most important reason for only a small percentage of home schoolers, but a reason for the majority.
Similar experience here @LKnomad !
I was always a big believer in traditional education. Went public all the way through law school.
Homeschooling is a very different enterprise than what many people imagine. We have been thankful to stumble across the option, especially after paying a small fortune at an exclusive private school down here, and still needing $$ to tutor. It finally occurred to my husband and me that - if we were were going to pay for private school AND tutors - perhaps we should cut out the middle man. 
We were amazed at all the opportunities available, and it’s only gotten better in the last few years. My younger son and I have been at it for 9 years, and he graduates this year with a couple of full tuition scholarships (so far). Homeschooling gave him the chance to address a specific deficit (visual processing), as well as thrive in his gifts (science and math). As much as homeschooling drives me nuts at times, I know I’m going to miss these days too.
Ucb, that;s still 2003 and, as with things college, trends change fast. Also, most school districts or states have oversight of some form, for home schooling, some core expectations. I’ve got some young friends who, like the MIT kid, lost boundaries by homeschooling. They could study a subject as far as they wanted. Their parents sought the right support as they exceeded the parents’ abilities. And, unlike brick and mortar schools, all sorts of extra enriching experiences can be added.
A lookingforward said, 2003 was awile ago. Homeschooling is becoming more mainstream and more and more secular families are finding that it is an good option. Secular curriclum is quite easily to find these days. In CA numerous charter schools have started programs which combine public oversight with a true indpendent study, parent directed education. We turn in work samples every 20 days and do state testing, the rest is up to us. What had been amazing for me is learning what my son’s real interests are. Who knew my 13 year old was so heavily interested in politics. I am thinking of having him work on the presidential campaign next year. Why should you only study about government from books and in a classroom, when you can actually become involved. This is what homeschooling lets you do. Real in depth learning, which in turn helps you to get ready for higher education. Most of the homeschoolers around here also leave high school with DE credits. Our community college is free. In the end, the opportunities that homeschoolers have allow for a much better resume when applying to top schools, if a student wishes to put in the effort.
And some of us are Christian homeschoolers that have kids with academic needs that could not be met by the local schools. Our local high school’s average SAT is around 1300. My older boys scores were 900-1000+ points higher than that. My oldest started at the local community college at 12. My youngest son isn’t academically advanced, but in the same way that my older two sons’ needs would not have been met, so, too, my youngest son’s needs (severely dyslexic) would not be met by the local school.
Agree that the survey that ucb posted is outdated. The online communities that I’m involved with paint a very different picture.
We are a family that has always homeschooled. It’s more of a philosophy and way of life for us, but I know plenty of people who came to it kicking and screaming. 
My son has loved dual enrollment at our local community college, and a university near us. I only wish we had started sooner.
Looks like there was a 2011 survey:
http://www.responsiblehomeschooling.org/homeschooling-101/reasons-parents-homeschool/
Important Most important Reason
91% 26% Environment at other schools
38% 22% Other reasons
74% 20% Academics
64% 17% Religious instruction
78% 5% Moral instruction
44% 5% Nontraditional approach
15% 5% Physical or mental health
17% ? Other special needs
I have been homeschooling since 1994 and have done so in 5 different states and internationally. The stereotyped “keep them uneducated and isolated from the world” is just that, a caricatured stereotype based on media sensationalized stories. Even back in the 90s when those who were homeschooling for religious reasons were the dominate group of homeschoolers, there was no lock-step view. Within certain “movements” there might have been, but those groups did not encompass all homeschoolers then, any more than any group represents homeschoolers now. My Catholic homeschooling family did not reflect any average Catholic homeschooling family… Every Catholic homeschooling family I knew was doing their own thing. The only common denominators were Catholic and homeschooling. Our group of homeschoolers was again very different form the evangelicals who were in our community at large. But, all the families we knew (small in number compare to today) took their roles as homeschooling teachers seriously.
Even today there is no such thing as an avg homeschooling family bc every single family is a unique school. Our homeschooling objectives do not match any other families’. Depending on the day you ask me why we homeschool, I might give a different answer bc it isn’t as simple as academics. I might respond other bc for us homeschooling is a lifestyle, a philosophy, a methodology which all mesh together with our academic goals. We never planned on homeschooling. I had never even heard of homeschooling before we started. Ironically, it was our local public superintendent’s office that introduced me to the idea. Once we started, we never looked back. We started for academic reasons, but we continued bc of the lifestyle and the additional opportunities it provided on top of the academic freedom.
While some homeschool parents are not providing their kids a strong academic education, they by no means represent homeschoolers at large any more than some schools failures are an indictment against all schools. Only 33% of 8th graders in th US test at or above the proficient level. 34 % in reading. If homeschoolers at large match or exceed those standards, then they are no different than what you see in general nationally. (It is hard to find statistically valid data since every state has its own laws and many do not require reporting standardized test scores. For example, I have only reported scores in one state. )
Non-biased research data is hard to find, but here is one limited study’s findings:
Many of the public school stereotypes of homeschoolers are perpetuated by families who find they are unsuccessful at homeschooling and put their kids in school bc they are not meeting academic standards. Those students arrive in classrooms behind their peers and they become the “homeschool” representative while ignoring the fact that those who are successfully homeschooling often choose not to enroll their kids in school. (I didn’t say do not choose, bc some do, especially for high school.)
Fwiw, the parent in the article represents the vast majority of homeschoolers I know, not in educating a gifted student, but in that the key to homeschooling success is finding resources that meet your kids individual needs. It is false that parents need to be masters in the subjects their children study. My kids are perfect examples. I am not strong in math, science, or foreign language, but my kids are. (chemE, physics/ math double major, and one who has reached high levels,of language proficiency in 3 languages I do not know.) My knowledge is not their limiter. As the article demonstrated, there are resources available for learning just about anything.
(Sorry if that is incoherent. Lots of life going on.)
One undergrad classmate graduated a few years ahead of me at 17 years of age with high honors after his parents and local educators concluded he was better off skipping high school and go straight to college. He was also pretty independent and so mature one would never guess he was that young unless he felt you could be trusted enough to mention it and show ID proving his younger than average age.
Had another classmate who started college around 14 at Simon’s Rock of Bard before transferring into my LAC as a 16 year old junior.
Both were well-adjusted and had no issues with attending a residential college and integrating themselves into campus life among the rest of us. If anything, they were both more independent and resourceful than most 17-22 year old I’ve known.
What’s the rush to get to college? For every one of these anecdotes about someone who experienced “success”, there is another one you don’t hear which doesn’t have such a happy ending.
@justonedad Early graduation is an individual family decision. We have made the decision to not let our kids graduate early. I know several other families who hold a similar POV. My sister made the decision to let her dd graduate at 15 and go off to college. Different families different priorities.