Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion dual enrollment advice

My son 13 just finished his first week of community college. He is taking honors biology, honors history and college algerbra. I am worried that it might be a bit overwhelming for him to start with 3 classes. So far he is fine but is finding he really has to study to grasp the biology. He scored a 27 on the ACT science section but has taken very little science in school just very well read. I really do think he can handle it but also don't want him to burn out at 13. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Sounds like he is doing just fine, so far! It might be a good learning experience for him to have to study. (Some of us didn't learn that skill until graduate school, even with a full college load around this age.) As long as he seems happy, well-rounded, well-rested, and able to enjoy his typical age-appropriate downtime activities, I think you can probably just monitor and keep the lines of communication open with him. Remember that there's no shame in withdrawing from a college class at 13, if it's too much all at once. Also no shame in earning a C in your first college experience.

Even I agree with the other person who's commented. A few questions you could try to answer are, Does your son have enough time to pursue his other interests(could be anything music, dance, sports, theatres, poetry)? Is he having enough leisure time away from school, studies, and other interests? If the answer is a 'yes', then it's safe to pursue these 3 subjects. If it requires an extra half hour or one hour to better understand the concepts, that's not much of an issue. But supposing the additional subject mentally wears him and is consuming time away from his passion and leisure, it is best to withdraw from one subject.