Super Smart Teens Prepare for Early College Admission

SEATTLE, April 14, 2009— -- For 13-year-old Raymond Zhang, his school day begins before dawn with a donut on a plate for breakfast and a crisp copy of the New York Times in the car with dad. He likes to be informed.

"We're going to Mary Gates Hall," he said upon arriving at his sprawling campus. "My class is in there."

But at this school, there won't be an afternoon game of dodge ball, and he's certainly not headed to a basic science class. "I'm going to be taking Honors Arts and Sciences 253-B. The subject is Northwest Coastal Stories."

Raymond is a freshman at the University of Washington. "Right now I'd have to say my favorite class would be math 307-B, Introduction to Differential Equation. I find that I like math and science quite a bit."

Between classes, Zhang unwinds by writing complex computer programs. His early transition to college was initiated mostly by a growing restlessness he felt while attending school with kids his own age. "Well, academically, I felt extremely bored," he said. "I felt like that no matter what I did, I couldn't interest myself in the class."

He may seem like a little guy on a big campus, but it doesn't take long to realize that for Raymond, appearances don't mean a thing. He wheels his backpack along on this campus of 30,000 with the confidence that comes with a 4.0 grade point average, and to the tune of classical music.

His brilliance isn't limited to a computer keyboard. He also plays the piano. He was performing black-tie recitals while his kindergarten classmates were playing hot wheels.

"From my experience... I always [wondered] what I should do," said Raymond's mother, Mary. She has had her hands full keeping up with him from a very young age. "When he [was] very young he [was] so curious... always ask[ing] why, why, why. As a mother constantly I try to provide the right answer ... I buy the books and read together, and soon enough, he feels I'm reading too slow and he want to read it himself."