@intparent 1) I have no idea, we are at the starting line. 2) I suppose this depends on 1). 3) After actually knowing some of the kids who are involved in these types of programs, I’m been somewhat unimpressed but that could be just due to the small sample size. Again, I realize this is CC but I don’t believe I share the same opinion of many here as to what an “elite college” is.
Perhaps you should ask this question in the college search and selection forum. People in this corner of CC are more likely to push you in the direction of boarding school or prep school. After all, this is the prep school forum! Sending her off to the local college might work for her, but she would also be missing out on a high school experience. I know two brothers that achieved perfect scores on their SATs in 8th grade but they continued on with high school. They both participated in lots of competitions (Mathcounts, Siemens, etc.) and they now attend Princeton and MIT. It’s all up to you and your daughter but keep in mind that she can still go to high school and be challenged at the same time outside of school. My advice is to supplement her with competitions and online courses. For math, I recommend the Art of Problem Solving. There are plenty of kids like her on that website and their classes can count as a math grade in some cases.
Thanks @goldenfygg. I really like your icon. 
My HS really is into math competitions too, which start in middle school mostly. Mathcounts, AMC 8/10/12, Math League, etc. AOPS has classes and short weekend jams in prep for AMC.
7th graders can look into applying for Caroline Bradley scholarship for high school. This is open to anyone with high SAT scores and achievements. Jack Cook Kent has a scholarship for 7th graders to apply for high school too - this one has an income requirement along with academic.
There are lots of potential ways to go through HS with a gifted child. Homeschooling is much easier now with online options. Stanford has a program as does Georgetown.
Good luck!
@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
I have a daughter in eighth grade and we have some experience with the programs that were mentioned in previous comments.
We are currently waiting for M10 decisions and hoping for the best!
- I support the postings about Davidson Young Scholars Program. It is a great program where you are connected to parents who are or have already gone through similar situations. It also has an annual summit where we get to meet other young scholars and their parents. The summit offers hands on classes for kids and lectures for the parents. We also toured the academy a couple of times. Yet, my daughter didn't wanted to apply for its academy for some personal reasons.
- Early college : She was accepted to an early college program when she was in 5th grade. We talked about it extensively but ultimately, she did not want to go because she wanted to be with her friends. So it was her young age that dissuaded us from accepting.
- Caroline D. Bradley scholarship: Since your child is in 7th grade, give it a try. I believe it would cover tuition for early college as well. Contact them for more info. I believe that it is a wonderful program.
- Local 2 year colleges: I agree that they are beneficial. The classes provide great opportunities. My child received a scholarship from one college's math department in return for her participating as part of their team in a national 2 year college math competition in which she did quite well on.
I believe taking SAT early was somewhat helpful see where my child’s academics were compared to others. In seventh grade, she scored a bit below 2300 on the SAT and was able to ace the SSAT and ISEE this year without much preparation (only 1 wrong on each test).
My child prefers to be with her age group. So I guess the early college option is not for my child. But everybody is different and it might be a good option for your child. My child and I believe that boarding school would be the best option for her.
Good luck! I’m sure that whatever path you guys agree on will be the best one for your child.
Give the kid a year off (call it home schooling if you like.) Let the child pursue some passion other than formal education. That’ll also buy you some time to think.
I am a homeschooler taking online courses for my curriculum. Homeschooling definitely allows for me to take more advanced/accelerated courses. If you plan on going on this route, I would recommend the “Well Trained Mind” forum to look for good curriculums for your daughter. forums.welltrainedmind.com.
I feel your pain @kunjiBoy. DD is graduating a year early from HS with 80 College credit hours. My advice to you is about priorities.
Every family and child is unique…figure out what works for you!
Knowledge without context has little value. Help her to persue the things she is passionate about and try to give her chances to explore her passion with wise and capable mentors. We used NUMATS at Northwestern in 6th grade and really loved it but our greatest single experience was the first time D stepped into the library at Kent State (our local public research university) it was the “kid in the candy store” moment! She started with independent projects in classics under the supervision of a grad student arrainged by the school of educational. Moved onto botany and finally psych (her team is writing and hoping to publish a 5 semester metacognition study this semester.)
Along the way she has had incredible professors, outstanding administrators both at her public high school and at college.
For us, and I am guessing for @forensicator15, extracurriculars like debate, played a big role in meeting D need for academic challenge while still letting her progress socially with her peers. As she grew, she shifted farther and farther toward college classes and peers.
At 17 she has really exhausted the opportunities here and is matriculating to a very rigorous college hoping to complete an advanced degree in 4 or 5 years which still gives her a chance to explore an “undergrad experience” and gain maturity.
Try to remember its up to your family to determine what constitutes happiness and success for you. She is more than just a test score or a gifted student. And happiness and success have a lot to do with being well adjusted and feeling loved and cared for.
Best of luck
What does the OP’s daughter want to do?
OP mentions her SAT scores, but how are her grades? Does she have any extracurriculars that she would need to stay on-age with, like sports or music?
My son had perfect CoGAT scores twice in math, and in 8th grade due to his trouble with writing (he is on the autism spectrum and has fine motor issues), he barely got through and was placed in regular math. He and my daughter were tested by JHU CTY (SCAT) and he did well enough to take online courses, which he does, but she got 95th percentile for both math and English so won an award from them. She is taking computer programming in 6th grade. My son did well in 9th grade and will be in all honors next year, but the actual school work part is challenging for him; standardized tests are easy for him. He may end up in a trade, or he may end up a history professor.
Personal anecdote: I have a friend who is in a non-tenure track teaching job. She entered college at 14, graduated at 18, and went to medical school. Long story short, she dropped out and got her PhD in a science instead, getting married somewhere in there (the guy is two years older only, she met him when a junior and he was a freshman). She was totally on the fast track and then real life stepped in. She’s not unhappy, but the experience of college as a young teen was stressful for her, and it took her getting to 18, 19 years old to realize that maybe she didn’t want to be a doctor, or make that level of commitment.
My take on this is to see what your daughter wants. There are so many options depending on your financial and time resources, and what she is interested in. You don’t need to “put” her anywhere, but if you have the money, provide extra programs to supplement her learning. I agree with looking at local universities to see if she can help with a professor’s research. There are also supplementary programs with JHU CTY that are very interesting, even ones for the whole family.
PS - automatically approved for JHU CTY with those scores as far as I know. Just apply and send a copy of her scores.
Places like Phillips Andover, Phillips Exeter, and St. Paul’s not only have multiple courses beyond calculus but offer independent study as well. If I were you I would call up a couple of Directors of Admissions at top boarding schools and have a discussion, as well as speaking to someone at CTY. These places are used to dealing with very bright kids and may be able to give you some good advice.
What’s best for your child intellectually may not be right for her emotionally, and vice versa, so you’ll want to weight her intellectual growth with her growth in other areas. I know more than one adult who was radically advanced as a child or teen and who regrets it now, feeling that they missed out on normal peer interactions and social/emotional opportunities.
I second rednecktiger regarding some time off. This depends on the kid as some kids with similar scores want to be learning formally at a high level, but for those with a lot of independence and self-motivation, some time away from formal requirements (or minimal formal requirements) can give time to pursue passions, loves, and other work. Similarly, I know very smart kids who manage in a regular school because their real energy is spent elsewhere – music, sports, programming, or theater.
@2PrepMom – I hope there are lots of kids like this in boarding schools. I expected that after reading on CC, but in visits and interviews, multiple AOs were concerned about meeting academic needs. It certainly helped to narrow the applications to schools without that reaction. Will most schools offer 3 years of independent study when math curriculum has been exhausted? For an 8th grader done with calculus, there aren’t that many schools that seem to have enough. And subjects other than math seem harder to find challenge, not easier.
Regarding challenge outside of school, I’m a big fan, but it’s still a lot to ask a kid to spend hours and hours a day doing work that isn’t appropriate level attending a local school and trying to fit in real learning around the work and time of regular school. One poster above said he/she was studying 3+ years ahead and kids like that run out of anything vaguely appropriate in a local high school. Not sure if boarding school can meet those needs academically. Maybe. It seems that some boarding schools can offer a college level learning experience with a social peer group.
@ Kaibab3
Sounds to me like you are exploring wisely. We met with relevant faculty at every boarding school we visited (gasp, 14 of them) and laid out what D had done by 8th grade, and would want to do in HS, and asked them if she should just go to college. Only a couple of the schools stepped up to the plate in a meaningful way. We did not consider “independent study” with one teacher as promising, but some might. It seemed too risky to us.
Both Andover and Exeter seemed fully capable of further educating a 9th grade student coming in at + AP BC math level. I suggest you look at the course catalogues carefully. For example, at Exeter when students come in with AP calc, they go through “transition” problem solving assessment the first term ('X" series) and then are advised on a level, basically a starting point.
We were cautioned at both institutions that level is chosen by one’s willingness to spend time as well as innate ability. The 40 kids on the competitive math team, for example, put in a lot of time (40+ hrs/week) but those kids love it, and they are a great group. They often arrive already gold medalists in major math competitions.
Common classes that are FULLY ENROLLED at Exeter after BC calc include multivariable calculus, linear algebra, discrete math topics, statistics, special topics (non-euclidean geometry this term I think), and over two years of graduate student level theoretical proof based math. Several kids go down to MIT on the train on Saturdays for work with math professors there. One just won the Davidson award after a summer of math research at RSI/MIT.
Science has several years of post-AP coursework at both institutions, notably in molecular genetics and physics.
I think it is easier with humanities and languages to come in at a high level and find interesting ways to branch out or delve deeply at many good schools.
One note of caution: acceptance into these schools may improve somewhat with high test scores and challenging coursework, but as the discussion boards show year after year, acceptance is by no means assured even for the very bright. And it is a rude awakening to find oneself in a math class with the winners of the IMO!
As I said in my prior post, though, each family and very bright child have different needs and resources to work with, and while challenging because they do not fit the usual mold, parental involvement with these kids really makes a difference, whether they are in dual enrollment, boarding school, early college or homeschool.
Exeter is 50K a year?
@KunjiBoy: $46905 for boarding, tuition only. $36430 for day, tuition only. http://exeter.edu/admissions/109_1370.aspx.
46.3% of the student body is on financial aid and the average grant is “$40,559 plus $850 that all financial aid recipients receive toward the cost of books and supplies, for an effective average award of $41,409 (which covers more than 86 percent of tuition and fees).”
Tuition is free for those with an income of $75k or below.
Phillips Andover is needs blind.
@my2goldenapples, I’d encourage your daughter to attend THINK for a summer. The kids are her own age, AND at her level intellectually. My kid was a little nervous before going, but she had an amazing time and made some great friends. She has a few she is still in regular contact with, and also she kept running into kids from THINK at accepted students visits for college, too. So even if she doesn’t want to attend the academy during the year, the 3 week THINK experience could be great for her.
My daughter and I will look into it. We always got info from Davidson about the camp, but never looked into it. But we will this time. Thank you
@intparent (or anyone with relevant info) Do you know if the Davidson THINK summer institute is a selective program like CTY? We are deciding between the two. Thanks.