@KunjiBoy Hi there! Your daughter seems very smart. As an early entrance student myself, I love hearing about students engaged in learning. Starting college early is has some significant benefits, but also some downsides to consider. I have a lot to say on the matter, so if this reply is disorganized, I really do apologize; it’s why I’m not an English major. :stuckouttongueclosedeyes:
For me, one of the biggest benefits is–of course–graduating early so I can go onto my Masters and PhD sooner. As a young student with a double major, I’m encouraged to stay an extra year to get the most out of my undergrad experience, completing a thesis and research before I turn 19. The detrimental side of this, however, is graduate schools often make assumptions about younger students, saying they don’t have as much life experience and aren’t as well-rounded candidates. In actuality, our school encourages us to get our and do internships/jobs/research to get that experience! Grad schools tend to make a gross generalization of us, and it has hurt some of my friends applying to MD/PhD/JD/etc. in the past.
On my campus, there are a lot of other early entrance students, ranging from 12-21 in age. We have a HUGE peer support system, and it’s another benefit of being here early. Upon admission, we are constantly reminded to be humble, courteous, and mature, because as one of our professors likes to say, “you’re never going to be the smartest person in the room.” I think this is one of the biggest problems for gifted kids in middle/high school. Often times, they’re put on pedestals by parents and teachers, giving them a sense of overconfidence, which likely leads to peer stigma. This is often blamed on the child being smart (you have no idea how many parents I’ve heard say “oh my child is being bullied because no one understands the reaches of his/her intelligence!”), which is generally untrue; with kids my age, there is always a reason beyond someone getting good marks to harass them, and most of the time, it’s arrogance. Early entrance (or at least where I am) provides a fantastic reality check into giftedness, and helps students mature in more than just an academic way.
Whether you see this as a detriment or not, many early entrance kids I know simply stick within a friend circle comprised of youngsters in college. Personally, I think branching out to traditional-aged students is beneficial as well. Making friends with traditional college students has been great for me; I’ve joined a lot of clubs in which I’m the only minor, and although it weirds people out for a little while, it’s fun to have friends older than me. They’ve taught me a lot about adulthood, things I wouldn’t know just hanging out with people my own age. However, often times, early starters don’t do this, pigeon holing themselves into a group of our own kind (okay that makes us sound kind of like aliens). I don’t know your daughter, or what her peer interactions are like, so I don’t know what else to say on this matter, but I thought it was important to throw out.
On the topic of boarding/residential programs, I would personally discourage it. Healthy (emphasis on HEALTHY) parental relationships in college have been found to better a student’s chances of doing well socially and academically. Also, not to generalize my peers, but early starters away from home have tendencies to do some… bad… things when they’re alone in a college environment. I have a friend who started at 13, and after just two years of being away from home, she had tried more drugs than I can count on my fingers, and with her parents more than 100 miles away, they have no idea what she’s been up to. Again, I don’t know your daughter at all; I’m just laying everything I think is important to consider out on this thread.
I hope you (and anyone else considering early entrance) will consider what I’ve said in regards to your gifted daughter. Starting college early is the BEST decision I’ve ever made, but I really tried to eliminate my biases in what I’ve written. Parents of gifted students generally do not listen to what us early starters have to say (I’m fifteen years old; I guess I can see where they’re coming from), but hearing from someone who had been through it all was helpful to me and my family in making that decision, and I hope it’s helpful to you, too.
Best of luck, and take care!
~forensicator15