How is your gifted kid doing at a lower-ranked college?

[Anonymous]

If your daughter is so very gifted, OP, money will not be a factor in her college decision.

I say this as someone who grew up poor in rural PA. My parents paid almost nothing for me to attend Harvard. I was offered generous aid and full rides to other schools as well.

Maybe you should schedule a meeting with your daughter's college counsellor to go over how this works.

[Anonymous]

What state are you in? If in MD, I would recommend St. Mary’s College

[Anonymous]

Of course there are gifted students at public flagships - there may be more than at most colleges because they often house the cream of the crop of the state due to financial reasons. Gifted students exist everywhere and yet most students are not gifted, including at ivies and top slac’s. I went to a top SLAC and I’d say it was filled with regular smart kids, not gifted, who were very hard workers and often gunners. The stand outs also excelled at executive function and common sense.

Your daughter will have to work to find her people no matter where she is in college, and hopefully she’ll connect with professors who in my opinion make or break the classes (which is my main reason for encouraging my kids to slac’s).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No, she's not on the spectrum. A psychotherapist friend calls her a late bloomer, which may be the case. She's a kid who reads a four-hundred page book in an hour, yet she forgets to study for an English test. I don't know what you call that. Immaturity?

ADHD.

[Anonymous]

Once your child is in high school, you drop the 'gifted' label. At that point is it 100% about achievement.

[Anonymous]

Here’s an actual answer to your question:

In my own experience and my niece’s experience — both CTY alums — state school “honors colleges” are a completely CTY-like experience. Just aim for those.

[Anonymous]

I must be the only one who thinks OP’s kid is insufferable. Everything is stupid and everyone is incompetent is a horrible attitude. Clearly she thinks she’s smarter than everyone. Wouldn’t expect that to change in college.

[Anonymous]

OP

John Hopkins program is not an indicator of college success. It's a marketing tool for John Hopkins a money maker so to speak. Parents are so dumb and insecure. Are these programs bad of course not, they are experiences for many kids great ones but again do not help with college admissions. You all keep believing that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She sounds really annoying TBH

She also sounds very entitled.

Maybe she should get a JOB.

Wtf is wrong with everyone? She sounds like a normal healthy teenager to me!! State school will be wonderful, OP. She will flourish and find her people!

Thank you. Even if untrue, this is what I need to hear! I'm sad that I can't offer DD the chance to go to a "better" school, but our finances won't allow it. I really admire her intellect (I wish I had her brains!). She's fun to talk with as she's so well read and has interesting opinions and ideas about all sorts of subjects. I don't want her to sink into a quagmire of mediocrity, which she seems to be engulfed by in high school. It's helpful to hear from parents whose gifted kids have thrived at lower-ranked schools.

OP, there are lots of smart students at public colleges and universities, and at lower-ranked private schools as well.

I have a DC who is gifted according to objective data. They graduated from an MCPS magnet with a 4.8 weighted GPA, a 1580 SAT score, ten 5s on AP exams, and national recognition for a musical instrument. We could not afford an elite school and DC chose a LAC with merit money over the UMD Honors College. They are doing great and starting a PhD program at an elite school in the fall.

Calm down. It’s about your DD, not about the school she attends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honors college at a state school?

This can be a great option. I was like OP's kid and it worked for me. Next stop: I got into all the top grad programs in my competitive field.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She sounds really annoying TBH

She also sounds very entitled.

Maybe she should get a JOB.

Wtf is wrong with everyone? She sounds like a normal healthy teenager to me!! State school will be wonderful, OP. She will flourish and find her people!

Thank you. Even if untrue, this is what I need to hear! I'm sad that I can't offer DD the chance to go to a "better" school, but our finances won't allow it. I really admire her intellect (I wish I had her brains!). She's fun to talk with as she's so well read and has interesting opinions and ideas about all sorts of subjects. I don't want her to sink into a quagmire of mediocrity, which she seems to be engulfed by in high school. It's helpful to hear from parents whose gifted kids have thrived at lower-ranked schools.

Ignore rankings. If she knows what she’s interested in (could be multiple fields), have her look at faculty/research. I’ve taken (and taught) college courses at a wide variety of different types of institutions (from community college, to commuter school, state flagship, HYPS, private t20) and found smart, interesting people at all of them. Sure, the percentage varies from place to place, but in absolute terms you don’t need that many. Large schools can be good choices in that respect, because finding a critical mass is not going to be an issue — if that’s what she’s looking for.

[Anonymous]

OP's kid may be insufferable but also may be right. Anyway, OP's kid is a kid.

Developing a real relationship with professors can help. This can happen at research universities where professors hire research assistants. (Michigan and UVA and Berkeley are not the only big state universities out there.) It also happens at many excellent but not selective liberal arts colleges. (CTCL has a nice list for a start.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Once your child is in high school, you drop the 'gifted' label. At that point is it 100% about achievement.

True. JHU CTY picks the top 3% or so. Many at Ivy kids are top 1% or so. That said, as a former CTY parent and now an ivy parent, CTY is amazing. It offers kids from 4th grade an opportunity to be with like-minded children. Every year, my D looked forward to 3 weeks of CTY. It's one of the highlights of her childhood experiences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, done all the net price calculators. No, we won't get enough FA to equal the price in-state. She's not exceptional enough to get a full ride scholarship at any of the schools like Duke or U Chicago that offer them. Yes, there are lots of CTY kids in this area, but many either qualify for FA or have the means to go to top schools We are not in either category. DD's going to a state school, more likely than not, and that worries me, perhaps needlessly, but I'm worried nonetheless. Even if she got into Harvard, she would not go there. They would not give us enough FA. Yale's NPC said we didn't qualify for any FA at all.

She has a 3.8 weighted GPA? If so, why in heavens name are you looking at Yale's NPC.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If your daughter is so very gifted, OP, money will not be a factor in her college decision.

I say this as someone who grew up poor in rural PA. My parents paid almost nothing for me to attend Harvard. I was offered generous aid and full rides to other schools as well.

Maybe you should schedule a meeting with your daughter's college counsellor to go over how this works.

This is not how it works. Harvard gives no money for being gifted. You got money because you were poor. Most top colleges offer no merit aid at all, only need- based aid.