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    Originally Posted by La Texican
    This is a heavy consideration. From what i've read early graduates might qualify for college but they don't qualify for most scholarships due to age only. That's different than homeschooling and taking a few college classes.

    That's really not true. The biggest source of money for college is financial aid and there are no age restrictions on that. As far as scholarships, yes there are early entrants who get merit scholarships. As with traditional age students the largest source of merit aid is from colleges and universities themselves. Students of all ages should understand that the most highly selective colleges do not give merit aid but they tend to be more generous with financial aid.

    Some states and some schools have good options for free or reduced prices on tuition for dual enrolled students (not yet graduated from high school). However, other students may find that taking courses part time - a couple courses a semester - is actually much more expensive than entering full time when they will be eligible for financial aid and scholarships.

    Last edited by passthepotatoes; 05/13/11 04:26 PM.
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    Originally Posted by mnmom23
    College, in this case I think, is merely a set of classrooms and teachers that allow a child to learn the stuff they are interested in learning and ready to learn. Since that is what we all hope for for our children (the right learning opportunities), I can't imagine that it would be a bad thing if it was child-driven.

    .

    I agree that it is key that it be child driven. Also, I would look for the child not just to be capable of handling college level work, but to have really exhausted other options. There are some early college courses at some schools that are frankly quite an overlap with high school and those tend not to be a good choice for an early entrant.

    While your early entrant isn't going to be hanging around keg parties, college can be a lot more than a series of classrooms and teachers. There are lectures, concerts, academic clubs, study groups, friends, mentor relationships, etc. I'd say my son's college experience is very similar in all those ways to my traditional age experience.

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    Originally Posted by passthepotatoes
    Originally Posted by E Mama
    I was not clear. In my mind I was thinking about 10-13 years old as going to college early. I am not sure why you find our family view on "well-roundedness" so offensive. I am not stating that you need to agree. We have a child that could graduate very early,but we are choosing to delay that with other options, so I am speaking from a perspective of a parent who has experience with a child who is excelling across the board.

    I don't at all find the concept of well roundedness "offensive." What I find to be a totally inaccurate assumption is your assumption that students would not be well rounded if they enter college early or that they would be more well rounded if their entrance to college was delayed. It may not be your experience, but yes, there are kids that young who are very well rounded.

    Agreed.

    I venture to guess that my daughter is one of them. She is not a 'freak' kid by any means, but she really IS that smart (or whatever you want to call it).

    It's hard work, as a parent, to keep them 'fed' with all of what they seem to need, and to try to gently offer up a mixture of things to them so that they CAN be that well-rounded that young. I don't necessarily find it offensive, but I think that perhaps it is a lack of understanding of the specifics.

    For example, my daughter's weekly obligations include:

    caring for her pets (cats, dog, rabbits)
    piano practice (around 6-8 hours a week)
    several 4H projects (dog, rabbit, and related leadership obligations-- 2-8 hours in any given week)
    community service (often about 3 hours weekly)
    school (high school honors student)
    friends
    side projects (animation, currently)
    household chores
    her small business
    honor society club officer duties
    swimming/Tai Chi/other sports
    art class with her dad at local CC
    reading for pleasure
    playing



    So yes, she really is one of those kids. While we could have 'prevented' her from being radically accelerated, I suppose, by unschooling and/or allowing her to lounge on the sofa day after day reading everything in sight (her natural state), I simply don't believe (as an experienced educator) that most kids are very well served by THAT environment, either, in the long run. I realize that there are parents that disagree with me on that score, and that's fine, but they aren't changing my opinion on that one given what I've seen in college classrooms over the years. wink We've had to be creative and innovative as parents and advocates in order to prevent her from graduating from high school at anything even younger. So it isn't that we haven't really tried going "wider/deeper" with her-- but there are really only so many hours in every day, and her schedule already makes MY head spin.


    Last edited by HowlerKarma; 05/13/11 04:40 PM. Reason: clarification

    Schrödinger's cat walks into a bar. And doesn't.
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    This has been an interesting thread!

    We're facing these choices right now with our 13 year old. We've skipped her to 9th for this year, so she's planning to graduate at 16. She could skip again, but I really don't want her to, for all the reasons people have already stated.

    We're still not sure what to do, or what we will or won't allow at that point. It's good to know that we're not alone!


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    When my children were much younger, I really appreciated the wisdom and perspectives of parents with older children who understood vast landscapes I hadn't begun to travel. I think PTP brings an enormous amount of wisdom gained from experience following an unusual path. I think parents with younger children, myself included, can learn a lot from parents much farther down the path of parenting extremely gifted kids, but taunting is unlikely to lead to learning or any kind of worthwhile exchange.

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    Originally Posted by passthepotatoes
    I don't at all find the concept of well roundedness "offensive." What I find to be a totally inaccurate assumption is your assumption that students would not be well rounded if they enter college early or that they would be more well rounded if their entrance to college was delayed. It may not be your experience, but yes, there are kids that young who are very well rounded.


    So, are you saying you think 10-12 are well rounded enough to be in college full time? Maybe well rounded for 12 year olds, but their intellect alone does not make them well rounded- in my opinion.
    You sound as if you are looking for a "fight". I stated it is my opinion. I do not need to agree with you ,nor have I asked anyone to agree with me.

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    Oh woe, think this got funky quick?! Am I still on the regular board. �Of course everybody's got their own row to hoe. �
    Tsk . �Tsk.

    Tolerance and respect seem to be in order. �There is a saying that I have recently come across while reading a book that I will quote out of context in order to illustrate a proposal for a perspective that would promote tolerance and respect. �"anything that is possible must be". �Therefore if something is a possibility that possibility must exist. �Perhaps it would help if we were able to assume that active participants were replying with a dual purpose of both joining the current conversation as well as to leave our thoughts in writing for lurkers now and in the future. �I don't think anybody here would want to take away anyone else's parental prerogatives. �Just accept every perspective as being "possible so they must be allowed". �If it helps you can assume that they are not meant for you personally but are left as a possibility for other parents viewing this thread and weighing these issues to consider.

    <end Rap 123>

    Sheesh I talk to people and I sound like I'm talking to toddlers. �Forgive my presumptuous rudeness. �I am with children all day. �That clearly has an effect on my tone. �LoL


    Youth lives by personality, age lives by calculation. -- Aristotle on a calendar
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    Originally Posted by passthepotatoes
    While your early entrant isn't going to be hanging around keg parties, college can be a lot more than a series of classrooms and teachers. There are lectures, concerts, academic clubs, study groups, friends, mentor relationships, etc. I'd say my son's college experience is very similar in all those ways to my traditional age experience.
    That's a good point, and one I hadn't considered. I didn't really think about younger kids taking part in those experiences, but they seem like they would be very valuable to students of any age.


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    Originally Posted by La Texican
    Originally Posted by Cricket2
    My oldest will be graduating high school at 16, so not nearly as young as some of your kids, but she plans to attend college out of state straight out of high school. Hopefully we can figure out a way to finance that b/c we really don't have the $ saved and hopefully she won't be so young as to give schools pause about accepting her.
    This is a heavy consideration. From what i've read early graduates might qualify for college but they don't qualify for most scholarships due to age only. That's different than homeschooling and taking a few college classes. I just made a mental note because I want to feel like I'm one step ahead of my kid's needs so I'm overplanning, anticipating the possibilities, preparing to react to reality as it unfolds.

    If children finish college earlier, they can start working earlier, and the resulting extra earnings over their career should not be ignored. If peak career earnings are about $100K for a bright college graduate, and if 4 years (say) are added to the peak earning period, that's $400K extra dollars. That's a lot of money!

    The effect can be even larger if the years saved by early college are invested in graduate training that greatly increases earnings. Some doctors may not do fellowships beyond their residencies because at age 30 they want to start working and earning decent money. If the residency is finished at age 26, the doctor may have more patience to do a fellowship in a high-paying specialty.


    "To see what is in front of one's nose needs a constant struggle." - George Orwell
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    Originally Posted by Bostonian
    Obviously adolescents have sexual desires before entering college, and ideally they will have dates and go to proms (if they want to), but it's a lot to easier to monitor and protect your daughter (or son) when she is living with you.

    I'd keep in mind that many early entrants do live at home. And, of course that countless teenagers have shown it is just as possible to have sex at 3 pm as it is at midnight.

    This is a rough time to be a kid (and to be a parent). I don't see high school as any protection from exposure to sex or drugs. And from what I've seen in the last few years I suspect that it is quite typical to hear a lot more inappropriate language in the halls of a typical high school building than in a typical college building. I'd hate to see parents of kids who would benefit from early college scared off with the assumption that high school is safer.

    Last edited by passthepotatoes; 05/13/11 09:09 PM.
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