Imagine being a College Sophomore at the Age of 11

I don't think it's fair to the child. Yes he might be smart enough but I have to wonder about one the maturity level but also how he can interact with the others who are so much older then him. There is far more going on in college then just school work and the interactions that goes on can last with you through a life time. For him it has to be difficult at best. Now I can understand letting him finish high school since he is obviously smart enough for that. Perhaps though instead of sending him off to college they could have him do special projects that would allow him to expand his knowledge but not put him into settings that would deprive him of his childhood.

These prodigies live in a very different world. I'm all in favor of giving a child every opportunity to maximize his potential, but the family has to remember that an 11-year-old still has the psychological and mentail maturity of an 11-year-old. The parents have a huge responsibility to balance intellectual maturity and psychological maturity. When a 11-year-old attends college, no doubt he will stick out in the college crowd. Depending on how he's received by his fellow classmates, this child will have to be mature enough to handle the notoriety. Parents and school administrator would really have to monitor how this child is adjusting to his college life, and take appropriate actions to protect him from any potentially damaging experiences that this child is not yet mature enough to handle. It's not easy being a prodigy. They have their own self-esteem problems. His parents and mentors really have to be there for him to make sure he grows up as normally as he can with his exceptional abilities.

I think its great that he's so smart, however I think they're doing the child a disadvantage. He's missing out on normal 11 year old things and is going to school with adults. We all know the kinds of things that goes on with colleges and he's just to young for those things. Since they let him finish school so early I think it'd be better to let him enjoy a few years out of school and let him do different kinds of learning instead of putting him in the college world. And think how uncomfortable it probably is to the older students, an 11 year old who is just as smart, probably smarter than them.

My eldest daughter took the adult computer class at the universary I was attending when she was 11. I would go into the snack bar and some of the kids would say " Aren't you the mom of that really cute, smart kid in the computer class?". So one day I went early to pick her up wondering how the whole darn campus knew about her, only to find her helping the professor with the other students who were having problems. He told me that he could show her something once and after that she just helped the others figure it out. She became well known on the campus and I don't think that experience hurt her at all. I don't know about going full time though. Most people look at how intelligent a child is but forget they are still only a child emotionally. I don't think I could have let my daughter go full time even though she could have.

he probably gets all the ladies. But yeah, that would be so scary walking into a college classroom at that age

man that little guy sure has a good mind but i still don't beleive it and if it's true tell him to take a break

cant imagine how the parties will be!

This is not the first time a child went to college. I remember a long time ago hearing a similar story about another child. I dont remember his name but they did a series about him called Doogie Howser. My mom and I watched it every week. I would definately let my kid learn what ever they wanted to. Education is extremily important.

Gosh, that would be hard for me as a parent to let my child go to college at that age. Kids must be kids and not with adult types all time as he would be in college. He needs the time to grow emotionally and nomatter how adult he probably acts for his age, he is not an adult.

No i cannot imagine it at all. I feel that kids grow up way too fast now a days as it is. And to put a young child in the company of a college aged students would tear alot of their childhood away from them. No matter what their scholastic measure kids need to play and be in the company of other kids their age. I would not want my child even to skip one grade let alone jump right to college...it just doesn't seem right in my eyes.

This human is very smart and he can't enjoy his child hood that ho i think of it . But whit that kind of brain you can do a very good jobs for susoety .

I think it's great that he is so intelligent. It would be a waste of a great mind to let him sit idly by and just play with children his own age. It seems to me with all I have read about him that his parents do make sure he plays with other children for the social aspects of it. Also he seems very happy, I am sure there are many safeguards in place for his well being.

Wow. I suppose that if his mental abilities are so far above the others in his regular grade that he would be very unhappy staying there, but I also can not picture how easily he would be fitting in at a college at only eleven years old. I know of a local guy who is a bit of a genuis who has his own theatre company and such who went to college quite early as well, but he described it as being good for him because he always looked a bit older and no one really even gave him a second glance when he started college at the age that he did. Anyway, wow... this is a truly interesting story! ^_^

No, not right at all. Give him some other and more socially appropriate form of stimulation. He may be intelligent, but he is being treated like a thinking machine since his parents have no regard for his social development. All they seem to care about is him learning information at college - woo hoo!! What ever happened to actually being an 11-year-old??

well, if i am his mother, i will be very proud to have such a genious son like him... but, on the other side, i think sending him to college in such an early age will create some sort of emotional distress for him because i personally think he is not emotionally and mentally prepared yet to deal with the other children who are much older than him... in the long run, it will create a bad side effect for him...

well i must say that child must be brilliant if he is hving that capability to attend college and do as other guys do at the age of 11 i dont think so theer is any prob of him going to college

Poor kid, he'll be missing alot about his childhood. Unless he's planning to do that after he's done with college. I don't think I'll let my kid go through that, I think it'll be a bit too much for a kid to handle.

Oh wow! I just can't believe this. SAT? I didn't have 1400s in my SAT score. He is bright, why not challenge yourself, eh? If I were that kid, I'd enjoy my genius life. This would be a good blog discussion in my website.

If he is that smart,let him go to college.if he was in regular school he would be to bored.I do think that he would miss out his childhood friends by going to college. it would be so hard sitting in class with the older college students,and not having anyone his age.Some kids are growing up so fast now.

i dont think its fair for the child. the parents should think about the child's maturity level. if they really want to do something about their child, i think they should put him in a program that fits his intellectual level.