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Early Entrance Foundation: FAQs
This page will hopefully answer many of the more Frequently Asked Questions about early college entrance programs, but it is not to take the place of personal contact. We hope you will feel free to contact the Early Entrance Foundation or the Early Entrance Program of your choice.
My child has tested well, but is having trouble in school. Does this mean he/she would not be right for an Early Entrance Program?
Sometimes children do act out in school because it is such an unsuitable match for them. The characteristics of a successful EEP student have more to do with desire to learn and responsibility than previous academic success. The Queensland (Australia) Association for Gifted and Talented Children summarized some of the characteristics of these children, and possible associated problems. Please click here for the list.
Are there lots of these programs available in America?
There are only four college programs for children ages 11-15: CSULA EEP, University of Washington (Seattle, Washington) Transitional School and EEP (TS/EEP), The Davidson Academy of Nevada, and the Mary Baldwin College (girls boarding school in Staunton, VA) Program for the Exceptionally Gifted (PEG). These four programs have specific facilities, support and curriculum geared toward the needs of the young scholars, to aid in the transition from what is usually middle school to college. Then there are several colleges that have programs for older children, ages 15-17, who are skipping one or two years (reference the list at http://www.earlyentrance.org/index.shtml). Finally, many community colleges will accommodate individuals. It is suggested that you work with your present school and your local community college to see if an individually-tailored program can be worked out for your child. The Foundation would also like to know of your interest in such Early Entrance Programs, so we can determine where the most interest might be, for possible future expansion of the EEP model, so please contact us.
Why do you have to test first? My child does not test well, is there another alternative?
The testing is not just for admission into the Early Entrance Program but also for admission into the University. Most of the programs do allow the child to retest a second or third time, so this should lessen the pressure on the first attempt.
What does the application process consist of?
The application process varies at each program, with thorough interviews a key component to gauge a child's readiness for this type of radical acceleration. Some programs have an interim year before the college immersion, and some have a provisional summer before commitment. Please click on the links for the program of your choice for specific details: CSULA EEP, University of Washington (Seattle, Washington) Transitional School and EEP (TS/EEP), The Davidson Academy of Nevada, and the Mary Baldwin College (girls boarding school in Staunton, VA) Program for the Exceptionally Gifted (PEG).
How do the older college students react to the EEP children? And the professors?
Generally speaking, the older college students and the professors react positively to EEP students. The primary goal of college students is to learn, and the primary goal of the professors is to teach. Since there is no ranking of all the students, such as in most high schools, the college environment is not as blatantly competitive as most high schools. Most EEP children are in the EEP because of their love of learning and because they are ready for a rigorous academic curriculum, so there is no problem with them fitting in. EEP students have historically taken part in many college activities such as the Honor Society, Class government, debate team, Mock Trial team, music, sports, etc.
How safe is the campus for such young teenagers? Is it intimidating because it is so large? How large are the classes? How big is the EEP program?
The campuses for all four EEPs are very safe, and range from city to country locales, and parents do feel safe sending their precocious children to school in these environments. One important difference between these Early Entrace Programs and High School, is that at the university, students are there by choice, not law. In other words, all students in the university are there of their own volition, and paying for it, in order to learn, unlike high school which is compulsory. The size of each Early Entrance Program varies, with the new Davidson Institute being the smallest, to CSULA being the largest with 150 current students. Most programs have dedicated campus space for their EEP students to use before, between and after classes, usually including a lounge, computer facilities, dining area, conference room and study areas. The size of each university and each class varies as well. CSULA is the largest university with 18,000 students, however, since almost all of these are commuter students, and many only take classes as night, the campus is not intimidating. Class sizes vary as well, but the locales were generally chosen with class size and professor support in mind -- for instance, at the largest site CSULA, the average class size is about 25, with even smaller classes in the higher-level courses, and the professors often take a personal interest in their students.
How much does college cost? Is there financial aid?
The cost varies signifcantly between each program. PEG at the top of the range is a private, boarding school (costing a total, with textbooks, transportation and meals, of over $37,000 per year), while public college CSULA EEP is at the bottom of the price range (costing a total of about $4,000 per year). Every program offers financial aid through the university for which EEP students qualify; EEP students are matriculating university students just like all the other students.
We had been thinking of a foreign exchange program in High School. Is there anything like this at the university level?
Yes, many universities encourage students to study abroad, although at the college level it works a little differently, as the student usually resides in a dormitory rather than with a host family. The usual exchange period is a year, although there are some summer-only opportunities, and some foreign study can be extended for a second year. IPs (Internation Programs) offer opportunities at 150 U.S. colleges as well as in 17 foreign countries. EEP students have attended Oxford University in England, and American College at Dublin in Ireland, among others.
What do the children do when they finish at EEP? Do all of them go for graduate degrees. and where?
EEP graduates do what normal college graduates do -- some go to work and some go to graduate school. However, the vast majority of EEP students do go for graduate degrees, to a variety of schools including Harvard, Yale, Duke Medical School, Dartmouth, Vanderbilt, Cornell, Columbia Law, NYU, Georgetown, Cal Tech, Johns Hopkins, USC, Washington St. Louis Medical College, Thomas Jefferson Medical School, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Brown and all UC campuses including UCLA and Berkeley.
How is it possible to skip so many years of school seamlessly? Shouldn't they at least need some brush-up on math and some sciences?
Most of the EEP students are generally well-rounded, even if their passions lie in a particular field. If the prospective student is uni-dimensional, he/she may not be ready for a total college immersion, but may benefit instead from supplemental college courses in the field of interest, such as in the CSULA PACE summer program, or at a local junior college or community college. Most college introductory courses do not have requirements for entry; what usually sets the college courses apart are the speed and lack of repetition in their coursework. Generally speaking, it is important for all prospective EEP students to be strong English students, able to communicate excellently both orally and in writing.
Don't children belong with their peers? Why can't gifted children fit in the normal public school system?
Regular public school simply is not the right fit for all children. Profoundly gifted children (IQs greater than 145, which is 0.5% of all children) learn differently from the average child, just as children with IQs less than 55 learn differently. The issue is whether we accommodate and nurture these differences, or whether we ignore them. Profoundly gifted children often have trouble in a normal school setting, and rapid acceleration can be the answer. The purpose of programs like EEP is specifically to put these children in a setting with their peers. One parent of a 12-year old boy describes how well her child responded to rapid acceleration at CSULA's EEP program -- "When people ask me if I think I robbed my son of his childhood by putting him in college so young I respond, 'No, I've given it back to him'" -- click here for complete article.
Early Start - Gifted Education Communicator, Fall/Winter 2003, by Richard S. Maddox. An article for the CAG Journal describing the EEP Program at CSULA. "It is reasonable, if not absolutely necessary, to understand that such a program is not the right choice for all highly gifted students but it is viewed by the majority of EEP alumni as the only choice that would have allowed them to reach their potential as scholars and as people." Click here for complete article.
The Early Entrance Organization website, written and maintained by a 1998 graduate of TAMS (Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science), also has a list of FAQs which may be of interest.
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