Each of the 3 basic units--elementary, secondary, college--of the American educational system was originally intended to be terminal. The knowledge explosion and growing demands of technological society, however, have made graduate and higher professional education necessary for increasing numbers of citizens. As a result, the nation is deprived of the services of these students for 2 more years and greater financial, social, and psychological burdens are created for the students and their parents. A program that would enable gifted youth to achieve their professional and vocational goals 2 years earlier is the 1-8-1-8 Plan being initiated by St. Louis University and 6 area high schools in September 1968. It allows students to save 1 year of the first 8 years and 1 year of the second 8 while moving through the program with the same peer group. Students will be able to take regular college level courses in high school and receive as many as 25 college credits for them which are held in escrow by the University. They will thus be able to complete a BA within 3 years and proceed to graduate school, if they wish. Approximately 120 7th grade students will be chosen from public and private elementary schools for entrance into the participating high schools in September 1969. All of the students will be selected from the top quartile of the Scholastic Testing Service High School Placement Tests. This model can be adopted in any urban area where there is at least 1 strong university and 1 or more school systems willing to cooperate on an individual or system-wide basis. (JS)