Gifted Students’ Characteristics, Persistence, and Difficulties in College

This study is about persistence and perceived difficulties of gifted students in college explored through sociodemographic and academic characteristics. Two hundred and nine nongifted and 45 gifted participated in the study. A persistence scale along with sociodemographic variables were used to compare both groups. The groups shared many sociodemographic characteristics, but significant differences were found for gifted students on precollege academic variables. The sociodemographic variable that affected student enrollment equally was financial aid. No differences were found between groups regarding persistence as a whole, except on academic development in college and relationships with faculty. Analyses of the open-ended question revealed that for gifted students the main difficulties were time management, weak study habits, and lack of content knowledge due to poor high school academic preparation. Initiatives for enhancing gifted students’ prior academic preparation and supporting their needs are discussed.