Doogie Howser, M.D., Ph.D., Ed.D.: The Myths and Realities of Gifted Students in Higher Education

This paper seeks to examine gifted student development, specifically regarding academic acceleration. The author will use published literature, observations from the field, and personal communication to: (a) characterize gifted students, (b) address the myths and realities of gifted student development, (c) examine the intersections of identity for gifted students, and (d) examine the interactions between gifted students and student affair professionals. Despite the ageist attitudes of many constituencies within higher education and concerns regarding their development, gifted students are found to be well-adjusted, successful individuals with comparable experiences to those of traditional college-age students