Markedly Early Entrance to College: A Multi-Year Comparative Study of Academic Performance and Psychological Adjustment

The Early Entrance Program at the University of Washington enables bright and highly motivated adolescents to enter the University of Washington without attending high school. Previous research indicates that students do well academically at the UW, with grade point averages much higher than those earned by regular-age students, and that they adjust well to college life. This study exaimined student perceptions of early college entrance, focusing on the reasons students choose this unusual educational option; their experiences with peers, regular age students, and professors; and the effect of skipping high school on their social, emotional, and intellectual development.

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confidence: 99%

But What About the Prom? Students' Perceptions of Early College Entrance

Noble

Drummond

1992

“…The studies by Pollins (1983) and Robinson and Janos (1986) provide useful information about the adjustment of adolescents who choose to enter college early, but they do not provide direct evidence of how early college entrants fare while in the acceleration program. We were able to locate only one published study (Janos, Robinson, & Lunneborg, 1989) that compares early college entrants over time using repeated administrations of a standard, well-validated personality assessment instrument. This is surprising in light of the frequent claims that acceleration has no harmful effects on adjustment (Cornell, Callahan, Bassin, & Ramsey, 1991).…”

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confidence: 99%

“…In their study of the Early Entrance Program at the University of Washington, Janos et al (1989) administered the CPI at 1-year intervals (although not prior to beginning the program) to several classes of early college entrants as well as several comparison groups. They reported some overall group differences at the time of initial administration but could not identify any individual scale differences between early college entrants and any of the comparison groups.…”

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confidence: 99%

Personality Growth of Female Early College Entrants: A Controlled, Prospective Study

Cornell

Callahan

Loyd

1991

Many educators fear that early college entrance may be too stressful for young adolescents and therefore deleterious to healthy personality development. Advocates of acceleration point out the absence of research support for such concerns. In fact, the available evidence is not conclusive because previous studies:(a) often fail to use standard, well-validated personality measures; and/or (b) do not examine student adjust-

“…There is little debate about the positive effects that early entrance to college or university can have on gifted students' academic and intellectual development (Brody et al, 2004;Brody & Stanley, 1991;Janos, Robinson, & Lunneborg, 1989;Noble & Drummond, 1992;Noble, Robinson, & Gunderson, 1993;Olszewski-Kubilius, 1995). Indeed, our own experience indicates that the academic performance of many young scholars is stellar.…”

Section: Research About Radical Educational Accelerationmentioning

confidence: 88%

Love and Work

Noble

Vaughan

Chan

et al. 2007

This is the second follow-up study of the Early Entrance Program at the University of Washington. Ninetyfive individuals (45%) participated. Respondents overwhelmingly chose early university entrance because they were excited to learn; many also praised the peer group, intellectual stimulation, and faculty and staff support. Some reported feeling too young to make important academic, career, and social decisions, with more males regretting the lack of dating partners because of age differences. As the program has matured, so have students' positive experiences in it. Significant differences were found among three groups of students who entered at different points, reflecting this maturation. A wealth of open-ended comments indicated that the program continues to exert a profound and positive influence on graduates' lives. Putting the Research to Use:There is no argument about the need for a variety of ways to help gifted adolescents work to their intellectual potential. Early entrance to college or university after seventh or eighth grade is an option that we strongly encourage more colleges and universities to implement. However, the results of this study clearly indicate that for young scholars to succeed in this type of program, they will need: a period of intellectual preparation in a supportive and rigorous environment, a peer group that is large enough for them to find same-age friends, and a faculty who enjoy teaching, advising, and mentoring them. Equally important, early entrants need a welcoming college or university environment. This study opens up a variety of new avenues for research. The authors found significant gender differences in respondents' satisfaction with platonic and romantic relationships, suggesting that age might affect males' experience of radical acceleration more negatively than that of females. The authors wonder whether this is true in early entrance programs that admit older, less accelerated students. Much of the extant literature about early entrance focuses on accelerants' self-concepts and academic achievement; this study demonstrates the value of also focusing on the long-term effects of early university entrance on their personal and professional lives.