I started college at 14. When I first read the title "very young" and your post of a 9 year old, I thought that would be way too young. But to get prepared and maybe actually enter in the teens, that's probably more feasible. Not many colleges are willing to accept such young students. Whe I was accepted, 14 was the youngest students they had ever accepted. I was fortunate that there were another 14 year old also going there. We had common ground in that we had both already skipped a grade(which I might suggest you trying first) and had actually gone to high school together. Let me just say that socially, such kids will always be misfits no matter what grade they are in, so you might as well put them in a level suited to their academic needs. Like for me,in that one year of high school, I was technically a freshman but taking mostly senior level classes and night classes at the community college to prep to go to the university.
If you think that's the path he should walk, he'll eventually need to take one of the college tests like the SAT or ACT. I took the SAT at 7th grade for the Duke university TIP (http://www.tip.duke.edu/about/index.html) program. Did well enough that my parents went to a local university and applied. They didn't want to lower their youngest age to 13 and felt I needed some prep classes, so that's why I ended up with a year of high school.
In all honesty, the undergrads are mostly immature kids. They're just out of high school, and just out from under parental supervision - in other words, out to party(at least the first 3 years, while the last two are probably more to buckle down and get a decent job). To truly get the intellectual stimulation, he needs to develop relationships with the grad students and professors, which he'd need to in order to go into most scientific fields anyway.
The US public school system is academically behind the rest of the world up until college, which is why we start college so early! Socially, I know there were time I wanted to be back with my high school friends, but academically there was nothing there for me. And from discussions with my dh, it was a waste of time for him. He did have fun, but still, a waste of time.
If you think that's the path he should walk, he'll eventually need to take one of the college tests like the SAT or ACT. I took the SAT at 7th grade for the Duke university TIP (http://www.tip.duke.edu/about/index.html) program. Did well enough that my parents went to a local university and applied. They didn't want to lower their youngest age to 13 and felt I needed some prep classes, so that's why I ended up with a year of high school.
In all honesty, the undergrads are mostly immature kids. They're just out of high school, and just out from under parental supervision - in other words, out to party(at least the first 3 years, while the last two are probably more to buckle down and get a decent job). To truly get the intellectual stimulation, he needs to develop relationships with the grad students and professors, which he'd need to in order to go into most scientific fields anyway.
The US public school system is academically behind the rest of the world up until college, which is why we start college so early! Socially, I know there were time I wanted to be back with my high school friends, but academically there was nothing there for me. And from discussions with my dh, it was a waste of time for him. He did have fun, but still, a waste of time.
for your communication with your child, and for taking their feelings seriously. I have serious issues with the mainstream plan of 4 years of high school and straight into 4 years of college.
