This article is adapted from Davidson Institute’s student and parent versions of “Early College – Considering the Options: A Guidebook for Investigating Early College Entrance”, part of our collection of free guidebooks for gifted and 2e families.
Many – indeed, probably most – academically gifted students are ready intellectually for college at least one or two years before their age mates. While many of these students can handle the pressures of college life without special support, some of these students may not be ready personally for college.
Not All Early Attendees are the Same
For those who opt to enter college at 16 or 17, special provisions may or may not be necessary. They may be able to handle dorm life, to manage their own affairs with maturity, and to take advantage of the college environment, without special attention or parental support. It is very common these days to find several 17-year-olds on campus who have “come in the front door,” fulfilling all the ordinary admissions requirements and even achieving advanced status by means of previous college courses they have taken, or the Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate credits they are awarded at the discretion of the college.
However, for a few exceptionally gifted students, acceleration by a year or two is not enough. It is a very different matter to be a young student on campus than to be a 17-year-old freshman. Consequently, students who enter college more than a couple of years early, often called radical accelerants, have considerably more complex issues to deal with. For example, there may be a significant discrepancy between intellectual and personal readiness for early college entrance.
While both groups of students can benefit from using this guidebook, students and parents who are contemplating radical acceleration into full-time college need to take extra care to plan, weigh all alternatives, and make thoughtful decisions.
Why Communication Matters
Each student who considers accelerating through secondary school and/or entering college early has their own reasons for doing so. While it is likely that a number of these reasons are similar, individual differences produce a myriad of possibilities. No single text could cover all potential scenarios. We encourage you to recognize the decision process as a work in progress. Students and parents will likely experience unanticipated questions and concerns in this process. In addition, parents and other family members may have different perspectives from one another during the course of this decision-making process.
For the benefit of everyone involved, we recommend that parents and students be open-minded and flexible when considering accelerated education and/or early college entrance. Discuss your concerns with one another frequently and thoroughly. All too often, students and parents feel trapped by limited choices. Even when a decision has been made about acceleration, it is important to keep options open. Circumstances change. Students and parents may find that what seemed to be the best option is not what they anticipated. Open dialogue with one another is a key factor in communicating throughout the process of deciding whether or not to pursue early college entrance. By considering all the options, even those that do not initially seem to be desirable, students and parents are more likely to feel comfortable with choices that are made.
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