Do you have "gifted" children (post HS question) LONGGG!

I will jump in here and agree with what others have posted before me. It's not about harder work in the gifted programs but a different way of approaching things and having more then one way to do things. My daughter who was in the all day gifted program since 2nd grade in elementary, learned several different ways to do one math problem. It blew my mind! I did have worries when we first where gonna move her, but then I realized after seeing her in her regular ed class with her other classmates she was alot more mature then her classmates. When we did move her I watched her with her new classmates and I could see she was in the right place. She was surrounded by higher level creative thinkers like herself.

Now she's in middle school and she has a block of a gifted class along with and AP English/language arts, advanced placement math, and then regular ed classes. In high school there is no gifted program I beieve, it's just AP classes.

The way our gifted program director described some of the gifted childrens traits where children that more sensitive to the world outside their own bubble. They also were more harder on themselves regarding perfection. There was a whole list of things that fit my daughter to a T and then some others that fit my gifted older son to a T. It helped us recognize certain things and be able to help them deal with things.

So them being tested and labeled as gifted has helped them and us tremendously, as we had a non-gifted oldest son who didn't have the traits that the 2 younger ones where displaying and had never had to deal with.

Others have done a good jobs explaining why GT curriculum can be different. I'd suggest meeting with the GT dept head and getting his/her opinion on the pros and cons of their program. Unless you know what your HS program is like, it's difficult to make a judgement if it's a good fit for your student.

In our school it's not gifted, it AP/ honor classes. They are weighted on your GPA diffrent and yes colleges notice.
My 16 year old is is Honors Math, AP World History, Honors Spanish,Honors English & AP Chem & then some electives for the year.
She always peppers the AP/ HONORS classes each year.

Each school is different but this would be important for a parent to know.  Especially because of class rank.  For example HERE honors is not weighted here but Ap is. If a child dropped band/chorus/orchestra and art in favor of Ap classes, the rank could be higher. 

Our state flagship is selective and stingy with the merit scholarships. You need to be in the top 3% of your class and have a 33+ on ACT to just qualify for consideration. 
My son is at a top 40 college and his scholarship was for students in the top 10% 

all this info is on the schools "profile". If you can't find it on the website, you can request it from the guidance office

The one thing you don't want is rude for your students to be able to get through high school too easily. Part of high school this morning to learn. College will be far more challenging and they need to develop the tools to handle that challenge.

Secondly, most high schools don't have separate gifted classes the kids are put in honors classes and select more rigorous curriculum including AP classes. If your student is very capable and has chosen a less challenging curriculum, that may look unfavorable at a college application..

Thirdly, the idea of that gifted kids are less socially adept is just plain ridiculous. My daughter was gifted and so I was familiar with the programs that she went through. She and her friends were and remain very social. She did worry about going into a college on our storm, thinking that there would be no fun. At the last moment after talking to some friends she chose the honors dorm and was very glad that she did.

I've never heard of "gifted" high school classes. I've seen honors, ap, and concurrent or dual enrollment ones, but not labeled gifted.

Our honors classes are open to any who have the grades, there is no need to be identified.