College Planning for Gifted and Talented Youth
Author:
Sandra Berger
Source:
Educational Resource Information Center (U.S. Department of Education)
There are more than 3,000 colleges and universities in the United States. Choosing among them is a complex task. Recruiting procedures and a wide variety of publications such as college viewbooks offer idyllic scenes of campus life, but do little to clarify student decision making. The increasing number and variety of books on how to get accepted by the college of your choice adds to the anxiety and expectations. Unless the match between institutions and students is truly a good one, both are likely to be disappointed.
Gifted and talented (GT) students often have problems beyond those of most other students who consider college and career choices. A systematic, collaborative approach is needed whereby students learn that college planning is part of life career development; it need not be a finite event that begins and ends mysteriously or arbitrarily.
Learning about Oneself: a 6-year Process
A coherent, programmatic approach to college planning provides opportunities for students to obtain information from counselors, other adults, and peers who understand their needs and who will listen to them, interpret and clarify their experiences, and discuss their concerns about changing self-concepts. Programs should include students who are identified as gifted (generally through IQ scores) but who may not be achieving academically. Students can learn about themselves, their community, and career options in a wide variety of ways. College Planning for Gifted Students (Berger, 1989) provides detailed information.
* Seventh and Eighth Grades. Guidance activities emphasize self-awareness, time management, work/study skills, and an introduction to career awareness. Students develop a 4- to 6-year academic plan and decision-making skills. Participation in regional talent searches is encouraged, and students are provided with information on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and/or the American College Test (ACT), the screening instruments employed by talent searches. Planning for advanced courses often begins as early as the eighth grade, especially in the case of sequential courses such as mathematics, languages, and sciences. Many students will not be ready or able to begin a sequence. In such cases, summer programs, sponsored by regional talent searches or by-mail courses provided by some regional talent search programs may be a viable option.
* Ninth and Tenth Grades. Guidance activities continue to help students clarify intellectual and social/emotional experiences, establish a sense of identity and direction, and set short- and long-term goals. Students are encouraged to identify and pursue interests. By 10th grade, they become aware of how their academic subjects, values, interests, and goals relate to careers. They also begin to learn that some interests and talents develop into artistic or scientific convictions while others develop into leisure activities.
