Does anyone here have direct experience with the Transition School or Early Entrance Program at the University of Washington? Any information/insight would be much appreciated!

I'm not sure our experience is direct enough, but it may jump start the discussion. We looked at the program, went to the orientations, and DD has friends in the program. Our impression was that this program's yearly cohort does provide a good group of peers for that first year, but it is not well maintained as the students disperse to other classes. The program seems, IMO, to provide a "bridge" to college, not a total college experience. After the students are done with the transition school, they are in the regular population. Our take home was that the students need to be college ready, with all that implies, after transition school. At the time, we did not think this was a good choice for DD. Now that we've seen high school up close and personal, we're not as sure that the social aspects of high school are really that much better than college. The many distractions and potential derailments from academic pursuits (namely sex, drugs, peer pressure, dating, scary (to parents) friends, and authority figures giving bad advice) are all to be found in both places.

Some of these issues may be easier to deal with for a 13-14 year old than for an 18 year old college freshman. The 13 year old can't drive, earn enough money to declare independence and move in with their significant other, or decide to leave school and hitchhike across the middle east, while the 18 year old can do all of that.

Today, I would say that families considering this option should look hard at what they hope to get out of it and examine the reasons that they expect early college to be better than the available high school choices. Additionally, I'd think hard about how this will position your child for future education and career choices. Examples: Students wishing to pursue lab experiences to position themselves for admission to medical school may have difficulty finding a lab that can take them when they are under 16, leaving them with less experience than other applicants. Students may not be able to take internships that are vital to engineering and computer science career success if they are under 18 and would need to travel to another city and rent an apartment (or car). Students may not be able to get security clearance if they are under 18. Students may have a hard time getting a part time job that is relevant to their major if they are under age.


That said, high school really has not presented any academic challenge for DD. Executive function challenges galore in the form of homework load and coordinating multiple goals, but no academic challenge.

I'm just not sure that the college classes would have been challenging either.

On another note, we did like that students live with parents the first two years. Most early college experiences go fine, but I can't forget the Alabama case:
http://espn.go.com/magazine/vol5no12uab.html

I'm not saying don't do it, just be clear on the goals and impacts.

Our son is planning to apply this year.

I'd be very interested in communicating with other families/kids who are in the same position.

That article is bone-chilling.

Yes, it is. I never lost sight of what kinds of things are swept under the rug at universities... and this is why my only child (also a 15yo PG girl who is far too pretty and nice for her own good) is living at home and attending a local university for her undergraduate experience... and why rather than being in general population coursework, she is part of a small(ish) honors college cohort.

We are WATCHING them. And her. She also has faculty watching out for her, being a home-town kid. NO WAY does a child-- even one who grew up in a university town and has been deliberately coached for the environment presented-- belong in a dorm setting on a huge college campus.

We also forbade them to "out" her as a publicity stunt. NO way. Her classmates (and not a few of her TA's) don't really know her chronological age. We've carefully coached/groomed her so that this is possible-- for her to "pass" as just another college girl, albeit one that isn't overtly sexualized or particularly focused on her appearance to the opposite sex. She dresses within the normative range, but on the modest end of things (which is, in our estimation, much more age-appropriate anyway). She doesn't hide what her days look like, and shares with me when she interacts with others (all of whom are far older).

We're very very fortunate that her boyfriend and his twin are also serving as a sort of entourage and-- yes-- eyes and ears. This is how we know when DD is getting hit on (and oh, boy-- does she EVER) even when SHE doesn't interpret interest from others that way.

Being introverted also helps because she isn't necessarily lonely enough to go looking for sketchy means of accomplishing acceptance. She's okay not having acceptance if it comes at that kind of cost, if that makes sense.

Not all kids are ready for that college environment at a young age, and it often has little to do with maturity and executive development, and everything to do with their personalities and what drives them.

I'll also note that college coursework might not (quite) be what it used to-- but it's a lot more rigorous than what passes for secondary educational curriculum these days. College is DEFINITELY a step in the right direction. DD's AP coursework seemed like it was much much better than her honors classes, but even her "fluff" gen ed course is way better than anything that she had in high school in terms of reading volume, pacing, etc. etc.

So I would not suggest that a student who is academically ready for college work be kept in a high school setting and just placed in AP coursework for two years rather than moving into post-secondary coursework for their placement. Even the one year (last year) that we did that strategy, it was not all that successful in meeting DD's academic needs. The volume was there, but not the depth that she needed.

We've been invited to interview for Transition School. We'll be making a trip back to Seattle in early/mid-March for this (we live in Beijing but will return to Seattle if DS is admitted). Would be very interested in connecting with current/former TS students as well as current applicants

DS has been admitted to Transition School. Would be very interested in connecting with any current/prospective families, especially as this move involves a major relocation for us (I will be moving back to Seattle, where I have family, with DS while my spouse and daughter will remain in China).