College at 13

Book excerpt: What is it like to be 13 and going to college? Is such radical acceleration helpful or harmful? This book describes 14 highly gifted, young women, now in their 30s, who left home to go to college at age 13 to 16, skipping all or most of high school. The authors describe what they were like as young college students, the leadership, idealism, and sense of purposefulness that they developed, and their lives 10 to 13 years later. This inspirational book will help educators and parents of gifted children understand that gifted kids need academic challenge, that there are colleges with specific programs for such students, that it doesn't harm them to leave home early, and that keeping them interested in learning is vitally important.