The Brainy Bunch IMG: via The Today Show
Seven kids went to college by the age of 12. All seven of those kids have the same parents.
Kip and Mona Lisa Harding recently shared their story on the Today Show (and hawked their book, “The Brainy Bunch”) to show the world that it’s possible – and quite easy – to send seven of your kids to college before they finish puberty.
Their journey began when they decided their eldest, Hannah, would fare better from home schooling than public education. They pulled her out of the third grade and hoped for the best. And the best did come, in the form of college classes soon after.
Hannah’s junior college courses turned into college full-time, and she received her bachelor’s degree from Auburn University at 17. Today, at age 26, she holds two master’s degrees and is preparing for her doctorate.
Many parents worry that home schooling and college at such a young age is detrimental to kids’ social and educational development, but Kip Harding believes his kids have benefited from their accelerated approach.
“One teacher has 30 students on average,” he says. “We can do better than that. Kids get left behind in a classroom. This is where homeschooling really takes off because these kids are getting extra attention.”
That extra attention paid off for the Hardings. It’s been ten years and six of Hannah’s siblings have followed suit (it’s safe to assume the youngest three will do so when they are older):
Roseannah (24) became the youngest person to join the American Institute of Architects at age 18.
Serennah (23) became a doctor at 22 and is interning at Walter Reed Hospital for internal medicine.
Heath (18), the self-proclaimed “family slacker,” earned his master’s degree in computer science at 17.
Keith (15) recently graduated with a degree in music and plans on becoming a classical composer.
Seth (13) is a college sophomore with dreams of becoming an archaeologist.
Katrinnah (11) is a freshman at Faulkner University, majoring legal studies.
Not bad for one family. You can certainly say they’ve taken overachieving to a new level. What do you think about kids attending college at such a young age?
