I don't know that it is a matter of expecting more from children that stay at home rather than early university. My son started college classes through dual enrollment at 12 and matriculated as a freshman at his current university at 15. Though he had "passed the bar" to get into college at 12, I did not consider him a college student and kept his enrolllment as DE. At 15, having completed most of the undergraduate requirements - in all subjects, not just math - I considered him "college ready". I expected high standards across the board. He just satisfied my requirements at college rather than home. Most of the people I know whose children have gone the early entrance route have done the same. My son did specialize earlier than most I suppose. At 15 he knew he wanted to major in math. But, at that point he was "academically" about 22 in my mind as he had completed undergrad level and had been exposed to many other subjects and fields of interest and still had a great passion for math. He had a very thorough knowledge of math and the field of math in which he wanted to pursue a doctorate. In your case, you're not talking about early entrance so it's really not an issue yet. I guess my concern would be if my child might decide, as he gets farther along in his passion, that he needs to attend a school other than the local university. In that case I would want to make sure I kept his options open and his course of study one that would make him competitive for other schools.

It's the same here for the very selective universities. The perfect grades/scores/competitions/Extracurriculars are what get you in the door (or at least in consideration). They do not get you any money. Financial need based aid is the only kind of institutional aid offered. And it is very limited for international students. I think MIT had an acceptance rate of about 3 percent for international applicants last year, compared to about 9 percent for domestic. Now there are plenty of universities that will offer academic merit aid, you just usually have to step down a couple of steps on the selectivity ladder.

Thanks for the welcome! (As for the full rides to MIT and Harvard, the IMO gold would very likely garner an admission, but neither of those schools offer merit scholarships. They only offer need-based aid. I don't know about Cambridge.)

Are you talking about entering university as a freshman or as a dual enrollment student? (Forgive my lack of knowledge of NZ educational systems/terms if these are called something else). I'm a big fan of both dual enrollment and early college entrance for advanced kids. If you believe your son has already exceeded high school graduation requirements then I see no reason to delay him simply to let time pass. Can he get into the university in which he's interested with his current achievements/scores? My son is also on track for a PhD in pure math so I know where you're coming from! I don't know your son's background or what courses he has taken, but I would caution you to look closely at the offerings of the university in which he's interested. Make sure there are enough courses left for him to take! My son ended up only able to consider doctoral granting institutions because he was entering with almost all of the undergrad math classes finished (through DE). He's been taking graduate classes since his first semester. You might also want to take a look at what the math graduate program looks like in the university to see if there will be profs and courses in the specialities in which he's most interested.

Many universities have general placement tests and/or placements on an individual basis decided by the department head/dean. She would not receive college credit for a MOOC but she also would most likely not have to repeat the course. This can actually be very beneficial because it allows the student to start at a much higher level which can open up course options or allow for enrolling in graduate classes as an undergrad.

I'm new to this board so I am probably missing some background on OP's son that others have, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. Speaking as the parent of a math major that has been taking graduate classes for two years, the level of math that you describe your son as doing now is not the math that he will be presented with in the future as a math major/grad student. I am not saying that he would not be able to do advanced math, just that the math he is enjoying now is not what a mathematician will be doing. I don't believe he is far along enough to know for sure that he will enjoy life and be successful as a mathematician. I would not want to limit him too early. By all means, encourage and support his talents in math. Give him every available avenue to progress. Just not at the expense of everything else.

This would be different for each kid. There are some 18 year old college students that need a lot of handholding! I think reminders for an absent-minded but otherwise capable child that they should go see the prof if there is a problem would be fine. Accompanying the child to go see the prof would not. Knowing the deadlines of research papers or essays and checking in that these things were being done might be okay. If I had to bribe, threaten or cajole the student to get these things done that would be a sign to me that the child was not mature enough for that environment. To prepare my older child for the college environment we toured the school the weekend before classes started. We showed him where we would drop off and pick up, how to get to each of his classes, how to get to the student union and library, and where his profs' offices were. In his second semester he had to take a college shuttle to an outlying location so we showed him the stops and went over the bus schedule. I see nothing wrong with providing some guidance, but I would not have escorted him to and from classes. If he could not have navigated the campus I would not have let him enroll. (this is concerning my children only, not judging others who made different choices) My oldest was 12 when he started takng classes but was very mature. Though shy, he was capable of speaking for himself. He was comfortable and knew how to act around adults. Some kids may be able to handle the academics but won't be ale to handle the adult environment and responsibilities. It's very much an individual decision.

Yes, maturity is a big necessity when taking college courses. The child has to handle all facets of the class, including going to office hours and speaking to the prof if necessary. It's very hands-off as a parent. There are no parent-teacher conferences in college! You as a parent don't even have access to your child's grades, etc unless given third party access by the child. (even if they are 12!)

This biggest drawback to dual enrollment in my opinion is the effect it can have on the college GPA. If you're not positive your child can do well in a college course than I would hold off on enrollment. Those grades from college classes taken when the student is, say 15, will follow them when it comes time for medical school, law school and grad school applications down the road.

All of the schools we researched when my older child was applying required a homeschooling umbrella transcript created by me along with official transcripts from whatever course providers were used (high school, virtual, college, etc.). So yes, I will create a homeschool transcript for this child also. As mentioned by the poster above though, this one will look exactly like the CC transcript (unless he decides to take some outside course or something).

Yes, when my older child applied to colleges (as an entering freshman, not dual enrolled) I prepared a comprehensive transcript that listed the courses from the one year of high school and all of the university courses. I also had the university send official transcripts. On the transcript I created I listed everything by subject rather than year. It was less confusing since high school for him did not take four years.

We had similar situations to the above posters. My older child had finished one year of highschool (he was grade accelerated and 11 yrs old) and the level was still much too low. He started the next year taking all of his courses at the university. They allowed four per semester so he carried a full course load. That program was setup for 11th/12th graders, but with his scores, and a letter of recommendation from the director of his high school, he was admitted. As mentioned above, he was well beyond highschool level courses by that time which made it easier for the admin to bend the rules. Our younger child never went to highschool. He started at the CC after 8th grade. His SAT scores were all he needed. The CC allows three classes per semester, including the summer, so he carries a full load there as well. (we had moved so the university dual enrollment program in which the first child was enrolled was not an option for this one)

Dual enrollment at our community college starts at 9th grade, no minimum age limit and is free (other than books). My 14 yr started this year at the CC and takes all of his classes there. My 16 year old is a junior in college now but started taking college classes through dual enrollment at a four year university at age 12. That university also had no age limit. (Both required qualifying SAT/ACT scores for admisson). We have found that dual enrollment is/was an excellent way for our advanced students to keep at an appropriate level.