Lindsey Gwaltney spent much of elementary and middle school searching for new academic challenges, because her classroom assignments came so easily.
But within days of entering a specialized program for elite female students, she and her new classmates had the unfamiliar experience of wondering if they could keep up.
鈥淎 lot of us were thinking, 鈥楾hat girl鈥檚 a genius,鈥� 鈥� recalled Ms. Gwaltney, who鈥檚 now 18. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 make it here. I just get good grades.鈥�
Overcoming those anxieties is part of the academic and emotional journey for students at the , or PEG, at Mary Baldwin College, a women鈥檚 institution of 826 undergraduates in western Virginia. The program is one of several around the country that cater to students with superior talents and achievement who are seeking a different, and more academically challenging environment than they would likely encounter even at a specialized academy or magnet program.
Rhea Vance-Cheng, a graduate of the Program for the Exceptionally Gifted, or PEG, at Mary Baldwin College, talks about her college experience.
Programs for profoundly gifted students take many different forms and are not easily defined.
In general, their goal is to serve students who have academic talents and, perhaps more important, a maturity and intellectual curiosity that far exceed those typical of their age group. Programs like PEG allow students to work alongside peers with similar gifts and, supporters say, nurture their talents in ways that generally aren鈥檛 available in traditional American schools.
鈥淚f students are not challenged academically, they won鈥檛 reach their full potential,鈥� said Stephanie K. Ferguson, PEG鈥檚 director. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a point at which you stop trying and move on to something else.鈥�
In their dorm rooms and over the breakfast table at Mary Baldwin, PEG students skip from topics like 鈥淧lato to Shakespeare to nanotechnology, and it鈥檚 OK,鈥� she added. 鈥淥ther people will know what you鈥檙e talking about.鈥�
Searching for More
Students typically enter PEG at age 13 or 14, complete a traditional college course of study, and graduate with other Mary Baldwin undergraduates four years later. They live in their own dorm, a beige building next to the school鈥檚 library, which also houses the PEG administrative offices. The girls follow a fairly strict schedule, which eases a bit as they get older.
That environment appealed to Ms. Gwaltney. She attended public schools through middle school in her hometown of Baton Rouge, La. After 9th grade, she and her parents began looking at other options.
鈥淚 was getting A鈥檚 in advanced classes, but I didn鈥檛 feel that motivated or inspired,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t was just kind of a lackluster experience.鈥�
Around that time, the teenager had taken the ACT through Duke University鈥檚 Talent Identification Program, which offers activities and services to gifted students. Officials at Mary Baldwin College recruit students through the Duke program and similar ones.
Ms. Gwaltney and her parents heard from elite boarding schools, but they were sold on Mary Baldwin after visiting the campus, set on a hillside above downtown Staunton, population 24,000, and enveloped by the Shenandoah Mountains.
The program was launched in 1985 by Mary Baldwin officials, including former college President Virginia Lester, who was impressed by some young students鈥� ability to handle college-level material. The college set up a task force to study establishing a full program for gifted girls; a few years later, 11 enrolled in the first class.
Applicants are expected to have strong academic records and SAT or ACT scores comparable with those of a first-year college student. The average SAT score is 1790 on a 2400-point scale. Students and parents are also expected to undergo an extensive interview on campus. Some girls who apply spend a night in the PEG dorm.
One such guest was Rhea Vance-Cheng. 鈥淚 felt like they were exactly like me,鈥� recalled Ms. Vance-Cheng, now 18, of the PEG students she met. 鈥淔or once, I was surrounded by my peers.鈥�
No Set Model
There is no single model of programs for the exceptionally gifted. One state-financed program, the , in Reno, Nev., serves students from age 9 through high school. Students must achieve strong scores on college-admissions or iq tests, such as the Wechsler Intelligence Test, among other requirements, to be admitted.
Founded in 2006, Davidson allows students, who graduate with high school diplomas, to tailor their academic programs to talents and interests. Nine students have graduated so far, moving on to such colleges as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of California, Los Angeles, and the University of Nevada, Reno. Many parents move to the Reno area to comply with the in-state residency requirements, said Colleen M. Harsin, the program鈥檚 director.
Another program, , in Great Barrington, Mass., accepts students midway through high school. Most do not receive a high school diploma, but rather move directly to earning a college degree, said M. Leslie Davidson, the school鈥檚 dean of admission and student affairs.
While Simon鈥檚 Rock students are unquestionably bright, they tend to crave a more 鈥渧ibrant intellectual environment鈥� than even a demanding high school can offer.
鈥淓ven in honors courses, they find too much teaching to the test,鈥� Ms. Davidson said. 鈥淎 lot of them are surrounded by peers who are concerned with academic achievement, but don鈥檛 really love learning.鈥�
Students who attend programs like PEG are not necessarily academically superior to those at the most elite math and science 鈥渁cademies,鈥� magnet schools, and private schools, said Rena F. Subotnik, the director of the at the American Psychological Association, in Washington. Parents of gifted children typically choose models like PEG from the 鈥渂road palette鈥� of options because those particular academic and social settings seem like the best fit, Ms. Subotnik said. At the same time, she added, their decisions are often dictated by what鈥檚 available in a family鈥檚 geographic area.
Opposition to programs serving extremely gifted students, which dates at least as far back as the 1960s, traditionally stems from concerns that those models encourage tracking by ability, particularly for younger students.
Today, Ms. Subotnik noted, policymakers and researchers debate the core mission of those programs: Is it to cultivate the nation鈥檚 top academic talent or simply to challenge superior students who are otherwise bored in class?
鈥淲e don鈥檛 know what programs work best,鈥� she said, 鈥渂ecause we don鈥檛 know what 鈥榖est鈥� is.鈥�
Many PEG parents are torn between wanting their daughters to be fulfilled in school and worrying about sending them to a college campus at a young age, said Ms. Ferguson, the program鈥檚 director. Officials at Mary Baldwin College try to address their reservations by having those parents meet mothers and fathers of currently enrolled students, who can talk about PEG鈥檚 benefits.
Cost is another hurdle for some families. Tuition and fees are $31,755 a year at PEG, though students receive significant financial aid.
Even so, many parents are willing to make major sacrifices to have their daughters attend. Susie Vance, Rhea Vance-Cheng鈥檚 mother, along with her son, moved from the family鈥檚 native Hawaii four years ago to Charlottesville, Va., to be closer to her daughter.
Rhea had attended a series of private schools in Hawaii. By middle school, she was writing with a sophistication well above her grade level. It was clear she needed new challenges, and Ms. Vance believed PEG could nurture her daughter鈥檚 talents.
鈥淚t was very hard. I lived on one of the most beautiful places on the planet,鈥� Ms. Vance said. 鈥淎ll three of us cried when we left.鈥�
Yet PEG 鈥渨as really the best chance for her,鈥� the mother explained. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 want my 14-year-old to move and live 7,000 miles away.鈥�
Fitting In, Breaking Out
Many PEG enrollees, however, find that the program is not for them. Ms. Gwaltney鈥檚 and Ms. Vance-Cheng鈥檚 class entered with 26 students; only nine graduated this spring. Some PEG students drop out for academic, behavioral, or financial reasons; many are not used to having to study and struggle to adjust to college-level demands. But most of those who left this year鈥檚 graduating class simply transferred to other academically demanding programs closer to their families, PEG officials say.
Students here live in the program鈥檚 residence hall, built six years ago for $6.7 million and supervised by live-in staff members 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The young women take a few entry-level courses designed especially for them鈥攐ne literature course is nicknamed 鈥淧eglish鈥濃�攂ut their course load is largely indistinguishable from other undergraduates.鈥�
Gradually, 鈥測ou think of yourself less as a 鈥楶EG鈥� and begin associating more with people in your major,鈥� Ms. Vance-Cheng said, who graduated from Mary Baldwin last month.
To the extent that gifted students are stereotyped as fixated on math and science, many PEG enrollees defy that image. Ms. Gwaltney considered majoring in political science, but after taking a class from a visiting artist, chose studio art. Last month, a set of her oil paintings on canvas hung in a gallery on campus. This fall she will pursue a second bachelor鈥檚 degree in interior design from Louisiana State University.
Ms. Vance-Cheng, likewise, considered several majors during her PEG career before settling on theater. For her senior project, she wrote a three-act play called 鈥淲ishful Thinking,鈥� which was awarded a 鈥渄istinction鈥� by the faculty.
This fall, the recent college graduate will begin a master鈥檚 degree program in conflict resolution at Georgetown University in Washington. She hopes to incorporate creative arts into the problem-solving process. Ms. Vance-Cheng, who recalled having arrived on campus as a shy, homesick teenager, says she has found the creative process of drama appealing. 鈥淚t comes down to skills that aren鈥檛 studiable,鈥� she said.
Her immersion in theater, in fact, was not unlike the overall PEG experience, the formerly reclusive student explained.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e given the opportunity to grow, to become assertive,鈥� Ms. Vance-Cheng said. 鈥淚t gave me the opportunity to break out.鈥�
