13 Years Old Wants To Take College Classes

My 12, soon to be 13 year old daughter has been begging me to take a college course. I wouldn't say she is a genius, but she is pretty up there as far as intellect is concerned. She is also quite disciplined. I have decided that if I could make it work, I'd let her. I should add that she is a straight A student. She is in 6th grade, still. Her teachers think she is quite capable. Her other two sisters recently completed their Pre-Med degrees and starting January, will be working on Masters in Biology. She also has me to help guide her. My question is, are you aware of any higher education institutions that would admit her at such a young age?

Thank you for your time and attention!

 

My advice would be to look for schools with open admissions and that allows you to be non-degree seeking. Most of the time I believe non-degree seeking student status is open admissions. In that case, they may not care about previous educational background, such as whether or not you completed high school, etc. If there is a specific place she has in mind and they have a stricter admissions policy, you could always contact admissions or department chair and ask if it is possible for an exception to be made, assuming this is as a non-degree seeking student. So, in short, I would check out local state colleges that are non-profit and regionally accredited.

You could look at correspondence programs, but I would not advise it. They have largely gone by the wayside. Correspondence is entirely self-paced with very minimal interaction from instructor. There is a good reason it is not funded by federal funds. I did not enjoy the correspondence format.

Online educational programs can require substantial discipline, which is not always in line with one's intellect, so keep that in mind as well. Some people may chime in with talk of home schooling, etc., and I would encourage you to not listen. I would urge her to take as many rigorous courses in high school (AP, IB) as possible and if necessary skip a grade / graduate early. If the school cannot keep up with her, she may want to keep taking additional courses on the side, informally as a non-degree seeking student. Some states provide students the ability to start college younger via Running Start, although often it is through a community college. Thus, that may be less than desirable, depending on the student's goals and dreams. She may want to attend a selective school where she could thrive and be properly stimulated, so she may be better advised to get those years of education done in that environment.

 

Bluefield College in Virginia has a very nice online dual enrollment program. Tuition is as cheap as community college tuition in many places...

http://www.bluefield.edu/admissions-aid/on-campus-admissions/dual-enrollment/

You do have to be at least a sophomore to start the dual enrollment program, however. If your daughter wants to get a head start on college, there's no reason why she couldn't start taking CLEP and DSST exams.

 

My plan to have my kids doing the same thing, but most of schools not give this option. The best interest would be having your children to take course at Khan Academy and take AP and CLEP. Also, Saylor Foundation is not option or Straighterline as well.

 

Ohio has a program that allows high school students to take college classes. Check whether your state has a similar program.

 

Lady executive, I sent you a private msg.

 

Education for a gifted young person should be rigorous, stimulating and transformative, not the quickest or easiest route to rack up credits. I think a good goal for her daughter would be to take a course, see how she likes it, and maybe work on doing up to a year through distance education. Simultaneously she can work on getting into a selective brick and mortar institution where she can thrive. Perhaps she may begin that journey earlier than her peers. Other opportunities for growth in an academic environment can include relevant extracurricular activities and service that may be applicable to her interests.

Another matter consider. Depending on where she may take course work, keep in mind some courses may be writing intensive. Does she have the necessary writing ability to be successful in such a course? If not, that might be considered when selecting a course. She may want a course that is not. You would not want her to take a course that requires extensive essay writing if she has not yet mastered that skill, as it would only lead to disappointment. You could perhaps help her prepare for that, if need be. Such skills would be taught in introductory English composition courses. Those could be demanding courses if she is not yet ready, so I would not necessarily recommend them right away.

 

I spend a lot of time inside this topic with my Homeschooling for College Credit work. Though the majority of our parents who homeschool for college credit are addressing 10-12th grades, we always have parents of young teens in the mix. Even one of my moderators for our Florida group has an 8 year old with a ton of college credit.

I would say there are 2 paths that are distinctive and take your daughter in entirely different directions, as such, choose her college credit choices wisely.

(1) the quick/cheap/easy adult credit. This is not to discount this type of credit- it serves a huge purpose, and I have 2 degrees from this category, but this category , CLEP to a large extent, will only give her utility at about 1/2 the colleges in the country, and ACE credit will only give her utility at about 250 colleges. In other words, if she accumulates a lot of credit this way, it will end up directing her path for her- something that at her age, I would say is a bad idea because she'll nearly certainly end up at an online college with a degree in Liberal Arts or Business. Again, that's not a problem if you WANT a degree in Liberal Arts or Business from an online college. But, based on your post about your doctorate and the paths of your other two children, I am going to assume you want option 2.

(2) is when colleges make special exception for special students. This could be your daughter's category- and your best bet is to look at your local 4 year university, not the community college. You may ultimately be directed and forced to choose the community college, but frankly, the CC isn't always able to bend the rules and isn't always motivated to do so. I sincerely expect that if your local CC already has a dual enrollment program in place, the won't make an exception for her- they'll tell you to wait until she qualifies under their regular program standards (which is probably 11th grade - in Florida it's 6th grade). So, the university- special exceptions are going to come from private universities, so you'll want to start there. Private universities are HIGHLY motivated to bring in bright and young students who will enhance their programs. If she has taken the PSAT, a high score will help your case. Additionally, if she can get into a program like Duke TIPS, that will also help her case. If you know someone who is on faculty or admin, also very helpful. These kinds of exceptions will not be on their website, you'll have to make an apt and go in with her to speak to admissions and make your case. (a point in your favor is to argue that she is not yet eligible for Advanced Placement AP courses- which is true, and if her high school does not offer IB, another point in your favor) This path is for students who may have very high academic aspirations and are aiming high. If they flat out refuse to allow her in one class, counter with having her audit the class. If they refuse, that, counter with allowing her to take a summer school section. If you hit a wall at that point, you may want to look at having her take her college credit during summer residency options- all the big names offer these (Harvard, Johns Hopkins, etc). They are usually competitive admissions and expensive, but will help her college applications later when she applies to college for her degree.

Finally, if you let me know your state, I can give you better advice.

 

I vaguely remember at one point the minimum age to take CLEP exams was 18. Is this still the case?

If there is no age requirement for CLEPs, why would we have our kids start taking them while in Highschool?

Unless things have changed very dramatically over the past 10 years, the Material covered in the CLEP exams isn’t much more advanced than in HS subjects. Maybe I’m completely wrong here.

 

****Why “wouldn’t” we have our kids start taking them in high school? Edit

 

I am not sure if the policy is change, but there is no minimum age requirement. However, test taker who is 13 and under requires parental consent.
"
I have a child under the age of 13. How do I register them for a CLEP Exam?
The U.S. Federal Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) requires website operators to obtain parent/guardian consent before collecting personal information from children under 13 years of age.

If your child is under the age of 13, please download and complete this form, and return by fax to to 610-628-3726 or by U.S. mail to CLEP, PO Box 6600, Princeton, NJ 08541-6600. We are happy to create the account on your child’s behalf.

"
https://clep.collegeboard.org/help-for-students

I think mainly because of lacking of information on parents do not know the program. When I was in high school, the only thing school mentioned was SAT, ACT, AP, and IB. They did no saything about about CLEP. I did not know anything about CLEP until I joined this forum in 2004 while serving activity duty in the Marine Corps.

 

I know tons of kids taking CLEP exams, many under age 13. Waiver is one and done- once it's on file, it covers you until you're older than 13.

 

You may also want to consider looking at this residential college.
https://simons-rock.edu/