Anonymous wrote:To reiterate what others have said, I was/am profoundly gifted. But, I refused to do work once I understood the material. That meant that I often got really high grades on tests, but crappy grades / 0's on HW. I graduated HS with a C average.
That left merit aid off the table.
Oh, I turned it on in college, where there was much less graded homework, transferred to a good state school, and then earned my graduate degrees from a top university (PhD, physics).
The one message I have is if your DD is really profoundly gifted (IQ's of 150+; could be 140+, as the tests lose accuracy at the top): you child may have problems relating to classmates; they may be thinking on a different plane. Be prepared for that.
A second message -- re college: Most people at that intelligence end up in STEM fields. In STEM, which college does not matter that much; there is not much difference between the classwork at, say a large state school and MIT. What matters is the terminal degree -- grad school. Do well at any good school (e.g., in VA, VT, W & M, UVA) and you can get into any program in the country.
Do not well at a top school, and you will struggle for grad school.
Thank you for your post. Very reassuring to know that a good state school can provide a solid base.