“Having it All” at Sleep's Expense: The Forced Choice of Participants in Advanced Placement Courses and International Baccalaureate Programs

Abstract

The gifted can suffer from too many demands on their time and attention. This qualitative study tested the theory that advanced placement (AP) and international baccalaureate (IB) participants may feel forced to choose between academic success and social acceptance. The results, however, did not support the theory. Not only did gifted students not consider the necessity of choice between academic success and productive navigation in the social environment, they believed that they could, and should, maintain both high levels of academic success and healthy social lives. They reported that they could only have it all, both social and academic success, at the expense of sleep.