<p>He sounds like a fine student who will ask around to find the best professors and interesting or tougher courses at the safety. That’s a way to find challenge and meet similarly motivated students as cohorts. </p>
<p>Maybe redirect your research now to the backgrounds and specialty areas of the professors themselves, listed deep in the current course catalogue online. That’s where the hidden gems are. A stand-out kid can really bond with professors who will recognize him as an upper student. I wouldn’t worry about his being “too far ahead of the other kids” because he’ll have many choices of courses and professors now, instead of just the assigned high school schedule. </p>
<p>Some professors schedule 8:00 a.m. courses or sections, simply to bring on the most motivated students. See “ratemyprofessor.com” if it still exists (did last year). Also, your S can use facebook and his own antennae once on campus to ask around and choose challenging courses and profs. If someone says X is a “good prof” find out why they mean “good” .. interesting lectures and classes, or slack grading..and make choices accordingly. </p>
<p>EC’s also play a major role in finding intelligent friends, and there’s no guarantee that studying together is the best way, anyway. He can gather to study in tandem with others even if they are studying different courses.</p>
<p>EDIT: I also am reading that the quality professors are penetrating down the tiers. There are many quality scholars trained, yet not enough teaching spots for them in top tiers, so they go where they can work. That’s what I mean by “hidden gems” among the professors at a safety school.</p>
<p>If others can elaborate on this^^I’d really appreciate it. I think once a student gets onto campus, it’s the actual professors that make it great within the classroom. My S chooses his profs very carefully, asking around a lot before he registers. He’s very satisfied and inspired to learn in their classes, talks to us about what he’s learning on holidays, and more.</p>