College Bound: Advice for Academically Talented Students From Recent Graduates

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-110
Author(s):  
Melanie S. Meyer ◽  
Jeff Cranmore

For students who decide to enroll in college after high school graduation, there are numerous factors to consider when searching for potential matches and choosing from the available options. Ten recent high school graduates who participated in self-selected, ability-grouped, advanced academic courses in high school were interviewed at the end of senior year. These students shared valuable lessons they learned about the college decision-making process to offer guidance to students beginning the college search, and the adults, in and out of school, who help them make those choices. Participants offered advice about preparing to apply to college, the application process, and related social and emotional considerations. Nine key themes were identified in which participants encouraged early exploration of career-related interests, a focus on person-environment fit, and managing expectations. Implications for students, parents, and school personnel are also discussed.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongbin Wu ◽  
Leisi Pei ◽  
Shan Li ◽  
Cheng Jiang

Abstract Background: Academically talented high school students (ATHSSs), an exceptional cohort, are not well studied for their career expectations, especially for those with medical career expectation (MCE). Nowadays, the public perception of the medical profession is changing in China. The purpose of this study was to answer questions about ‘is medicine attractive for ATHSSs and ‘what factors affect medical career expectations (MCE) for ATHSSs’ in China. Methods: A total of 16,479 representative ATHSSs in senior three completed a questionnaire and four different academic tests. Frequency statistics showed the proportion of ATHSSs with MCE. Unpaired t-tests were performed to find out the differences in demographics, family background, and academic performance between students with and without MCE. The logit models analysis were applied to explore the potential factors that affected the MCE of this exceptional group of students. Results: ATHSSs with MCE accounted for 20.6% (ranking 7/18) of the respondents. They were more likely to be female, came from relatively poorer families, lived in a rural area, and performed significantly worse in all academic tests except for mathematics, compared with those without MCE. In addition, the results revealed that gender (β=-0.436, p<0.01), region of hometown (β=-103, p<0.1), mother’s years of schooling (β=-0.019, p<0.05), and father’s occupational status (β=-0.005, p<0.01) contributed significantly to the MCE of academically talented students. Better performance in mathematics affected the MCE of ATHSSs taking the liberal arts and science tests differently. Conclusions: We found the medical career is becoming unattractive to academically talented students and the medical career may be loosing their aura in China. Students who have medical career expectations are likely to be females and to have a weak family background. We discuss implications for medical education.


2009 ◽  
Vol 111 (9) ◽  
pp. 2101-2126
Author(s):  
Xin Ma

Background/Context There has been little research on the relationship between mathematics and science coursework in secondary school. Purpose of Study The present analysis explored the patterns of science course-taking in relation to the patterns of mathematics course-taking among high school graduates. Research Design Using data from the 2000 High School Transcript Study (N = 20,368), secondary analysis was performed in the form of multilevel models with students nested within schools to document a strong relationship between mathematics and science course-work patterns. Findings/Results Results highlighted that (1) taking more courses in advanced mathematics was related to taking more courses in advanced science (this relationship remained strong even after adjustment for student-level and school-level variables); (2) the more courses that students took in advanced mathematics, the more likely it was that student and school characteristics would join in to select students into taking more courses in advanced science; (3) many high school graduates complied with graduation requirements by taking limited non-advanced mathematics and science coursework during high school; and (4) mathematics coursework was necessary but insufficient to promote advanced science coursework. Conclusions/Recommendations State governments are encouraged to prescribe not only the number but also the content of mathematics and science courses required for high school graduation. School personnel such as career counselors are encouraged to help promote better coursework of students in mathematics and science.


2021 ◽  
pp. 016235322110447
Author(s):  
Hope E. Wilson

Residential Science High Schools (RSHS) for academically talented students that focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) provide opportunities for high school students to accelerate their education. This study examines the results of a retrospective survey from one RSHS, including alumni for more than 20 years after graduation. The results indicate that the alumni have high levels of educational attainment and careers in STEM fields. In addition, the alumni perceive their experiences at the RSHS to have been positive, and that the RSHS prepared them for their educational pursuits, careers, social experiences, and future leadership positions. Finally, although the alumni did report a drop in academic self-concept while they were in the program, this drop did not appear to have an effect on their long-term goals or educational attainment. The implications for this study are to support the use of radical acceleration in the form of residential schools for an educational intervention for academically talented high school students.


Author(s):  
Wanda G. Chandler

Despite federal and state mandates regarding the use of the Response to Intervention (RTI) service delivery model and its widespread adoption in school districts across the nation, many issues still surround the model and its implementation, particularly at the secondary level. This chapter focuses on some of the more prevalent issues, including the importance of determining whether the RTI model as a whole is effective within middle and high school educational environments, how much time students should spend within each tier, how the roles of certain school personnel have changed with the implementation of the RTI model, the importance of providing transition services for all struggling students within RTI, how involved parents should be in the RTI process, how assessments are conducted within the model, and how gifted and talented students fit into the model.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongbin Wu ◽  
Leisi Pei ◽  
Shan Li ◽  
Cheng Jiang

Abstract Background: Academically talented high school students (ATHSSs), an exceptional cohort, are not well studied for their career expectations, especially for those with medical career expectation (MCE). Nowadays, the public perception of the medical profession is changing in China. The purpose of this study was to answer questions about ‘is medicine attractive for ATHSSs and ‘what factors affect medical career expectations (MCE) for ATHSSs’ in China. Methods: A total of 16,479 representative ATHSSs in senior three completed a questionnaire and four different academic tests. Frequency statistics showed the proportion of ATHSSs with MCE. Unpaired t-tests were performed to find out the differences in demographics, family background, and academic performance between students with and without MCE. The logit models analysis were applied to explore the potential factors that affected the MCE of this exceptional group of students. Results: ATHSSs with MCE accounted for 20.6% (ranking 7/18) of the respondents. They were more likely to be female, came from relatively poorer families, lived in a rural area, and performed significantly worse in all academic tests except for mathematics, compared with those without MCE. In addition, the results revealed that gender (β=-0.436, p<0.01), region of hometown (β=-103, p<0.1), mother’s years of schooling (β=-0.019, p<0.05), and father’s occupational status (β=-0.005, p<0.01) contributed significantly to the MCE of academically talented students. Better performance in mathematics affected the MCE of ATHSSs taking the liberal arts and science tests differently. Conclusions: We found the medical career is becoming unattractive to academically talented students and the medical career may be loosing their aura in China. Students who have medical career expectations are likely to be females and to have a weak family background. We discuss implications for medical education.


1996 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 403-409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracy L. Cross ◽  
Robert S. Cook ◽  
David N. Dixon

In 1994, three adolescents associated with a state-supported, residential high school for academically talented students committed suicide. A psychological autopsy of each of the three suicides was, completed. This article provides a brief overview of psychological autopsy as a research method, information about the unique characteristics of each suicide, factors among the three cases that were consistent with research on adolescent suicides generally, commonalities across the three cases believed to be related to the subjects' giftedness, and themes which emerged across the cases. Suggestions are offered about how to prevent the suicides of academically talented adolescents.


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