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For those parents who are looking for radical acceleration opportunities for their gifted daughters, then PEG might be something to look into.

As an aside, I am not a spammer, merely an admissions representative looking to get the word out about this remarkable program.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Best,

Gretchen Watson
Assistant Director of Admissions
Program for the Exceptionally Gifted
Mary Baldwin College
540.887.7211
gwatson@mbc.edu


The Program for the Exceptionally Gifted - Mary Baldwin College

The only residential program of its kind in the nation, The Program for the Exceptionally Gifted (PEG) brings together extraordinary young women from around the globe who skip up to four years of high school and dive right into college. Housed at Mary Baldwin College (MBC), a liberal arts college for women nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, PEG students begin working toward their B.A. or B.S. degree as young as age 12. While enrolled in college-level classes with traditional MBC students, PEG students reside in their own state-of-the-art residence hall in a community of their intellectual- and age- peers. The transition to college is guided by a full-time staff educated in the needs of gifted young women and able to give the individual attention that has made PEG a success for over 20 years.

If you would like to receive more information about PEG, please contact Gretchen Watson, Assistant Director of PEG Admissions at gwatson@mbc.edu or (540)887-7211, or the PEG Main Office at 540.887.7039 or peg@mbc.edu.

Hi Gretchen-

I am intrigued by your program. My oldest daughter is just seven, but she is radically accelerated through homeschooling. Can you tell me what you look for in PEG applicants?

thank you!

Dottie-

It will be quite a few years before DD is ready to leave home. I'm just curious, really. Thanks for offering to send the info, but I don't need a lot of detail at this point!

I wish there were something like that for boys or that Davidson Academy were boarding.

Bob D. mentioned that he forsees boarding in the future, and 200 students! Wow! I figure if my DS misses all the fun, he can always attend UofNevada Reno and hang out with the DA kids.
Who knows?

If you are willing to do boarding, there are many fine choices for boys, that while high schools, are certianly more challenging than many colleges.
Trin

Let's suggest it Cym! I would send Ghost there in a heartbeat if itwas boarding!
I don't know if he would qualify thouhg :-)

Shame on you Ania! Ghost would clearly qualify.

Lorel,

As you can imagine, the requirements for admission into our program are stringent, but not completely overwhelming. Applicants must submit three letters of recommendation in total (two from current teachers and one from a school administrator), complete four of six student essays (250 at least for each question and type-written), their parents must also complete some essays, send us their transcripts from 6th grade to their current grade, send us their SAT or ACT scores (PSAT scores will not be considered for admission) and finally complete a family interview with myself and members of the PEG staff, a process to gauge maturity and overall fitness for the program.

Once we have received all of their credential files and they have completed the family interview then I convene the PEG Admissions Committee, consisting of myself, the Director of PEG, and three members of the Mary Baldwin faculty, and make a decision on admission. Each applicant is reviewed on a case study basis, taking into account all parts of their application and supplemental material (some students have sent us written work that they've published, artistic pieces, science fair and video projects).

We accept young women 12-16, but we have occasionally accepted younger, those cases are dependent on the student. This year we have two 12 year olds starting with us as freshmen.

Those are the requirements for admission into the program, I would be happy to send along some print material to review if you would like. I also encourage you to review our web site www.mbc.edu/peg , as well.

If you have any other questions or concerns then please feel free to contact me. Again, thank you for your questions and your interest.

What do you do about the letters of rec for home schoolers?

I have no girls, so I'm just asking out of curiosity, not intent...

Kriston,

For letters of recommendation regarding homeschoolers I would suggest those people who best knew the students work in a somewhat professional environment (i.e. volunteer coordinators, youth group leaders, etc.).

Good question!

Kriston, as homeschoolers get older, many participate in outside classes and are able to get teacher references this way. At least around here it is very common. I feel it is nice for them to experience the dynamics of group learning and get used to working with different adults.

I'm not sure about the administrator letter, but I would guess that a parent could submit this.

Gretchen, have you admitted any homeschoolers?

Lorel,

We've admitted quite a few homeschoolers, in fact, I think that it's a shame that most homeschoolers are overlooked, or perhaps not overlooked but bypassed.

All of our admitted homeschoolers have proven to be quite adept and ready for the challenge that our program offers.

What I'm looking for with the letters of recommendation is just another perspective on the student's performance and maturity, much better than simply looking at grades or SAT/ACT reports.

Gretchen

Gretchen

Hi Gretchen,
I'm the mom of a son, but i wonder if you can share with us any of your collected wisdom. I'm specifically wondering about children who are intellectually interested in college level material, but who are maturationally and orgainzationally only at age level. Are there special techniques to deal with this type of asynchrony? Also, what about children who are used to being underchallenged in school and have been 'trained' to turn their brains off when they enter a schoolroom. Any hope for them?

thanks,

Grinity

Hi All,

Here are a few early college programs for gifted kids. Not as radical as Mary Baldwin though. Mostly one year early.

USC's residential honor program
http://www.usc.edu/dept/LAS/general_studies/RHP/

U of Iowa's National Academy of Arts, Sciences, and Engineering program
http://www.education.uiowa.edu/belinblank/programs/naase/

Wellesley college in Boston also admits high school juniors with its Accelerated Admission program.

http://www.wellesley.edu/admission/admission/decisionplans.html

However, it is not clear to me what can be gained by going to college one year early. These who qualify for the early program will probably get into a top research university a year later. So why hurry?