Mom2Two Posted January 24, 2008 Share Posted January 24, 2008 I received a letter in the mail that dd qualified to participate in the 4th/5th grade talent search. She attends ps and I guess her IQ test qualified her (she in g/t there). Do any of you have experience with this? What do you think of the program? I don't know anything about it. Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAR120C Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 I received a letter in the mail that dd qualified to participate in the 4th/5th grade talent search. She attends ps and I guess her IQ test qualified her. Do any of you have experience with this? What do you think of the program? I don't know anything about it. Thank you! I don't know a ton about it, but they let you take the Explore (out of level -- it's an 8th grade test) after you've been in the program a year, and I think there's a newsletter and maybe some independent study materials you can buy from them. As of 7th or 8th grade there are a bunch of weekend and summer courses that look really neat! I hope someone else has more experience to share.... :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaryM Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 joining these Talent Searches gives you access to their summer courses and other program which look great. Someone on this board has done these or at least other like Duke maybe John Hopkins. They are a bit expensive. It also lets you have dc take SAT/ACT at a younger age although you "can" make that happen on your own too. Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAR120C Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 joining these Talent Searches gives you access to their summer courses and other program which look great. Someone on this board has done these or at least other like Duke maybe John Hopkins. They are a bit expensive. It also lets you have dc take SAT/ACT at a younger age although you "can" make that happen on your own too. I think all of Duke's summer programs are for 7th and up though.... We're close to Duke here, and I still go through Northwestern for DS because it's easier and because there aren't any particular Duke programs that he's missing out on yet. I'm sure we'll switch at some point -- and definitely before 7th! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharon in SC Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 We signed dd up ($25, I think) and that afforded her the opportunity to take the ACT Explore (8th grade test). It was very much worth that opportunity (experience, etc). We've never done any of the other summer camp opportunities or the like, however. I'll do it again with second dd should she qualify, fwiw. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ailaena Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 This was our 3rd year of talent search and I am so glad we have done it. Usually, kids qualify based on their IOWA or state test scores being above 98%ile. The out of level tests give them a higher ceiling and it is a great way to really get an idea about where your child stands in each subject area. Plus, they get exposure to higher level tests. We go through Rocky Mountain Talent Search, but I know that Duke has a great interpretive guide on their website somewhere that helps teachers decide how to keep these kids motivated. Like everyone else said, you can qualify to summer, weekend and distance programs all sorts of different places with like-minded children. We have yet to actually do this, but the option is there, at least! Also, there is a recognition ceremony at the end of the year for kids who score well. The downside is that we now occasionally receive mailings (one-time only) from schools or other summer programs. Its not exactly a downside for us because we find those fun, but it may be for some. You can definitely sign up your child on your own for out of level tests, you do NOT have to go through talent search to qualify for any of these programs. In addition, if qualified, you can sign up for classes everywhere, not just through Duke. HTH! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra in NC Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 My son attended a summer program at Duke TIP and enjoyed it. It was incredibly expensive, but we felt it was worth it for the residential experience as well as for the academic challenge. Being homeschooled, my 15 yo acts like a little adult. It was a bit of a culture shock, being in the midst of high school students who, granted were bright, but more immature than the homeschoolers we associate with. My son's teacher remarked that he was, "Very polite and more mature than his peers." He was not the brightest one there and at times he struggled with the coursework, but he learned a lot about himself and others. The previous year, my son had spent 1 week at a residential summer program that had no prerequisites. It was not a talent search program. It turned out to be more of a babysitting service. Based on our experience, the talent search program was superior. It was worth the money. That being said, we won't do it again because it's so expensive. Once is enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anne/Ankara Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 We've done the program through Johns Hopkins, which I understand is very similar. It is excellent for us, particulary for my 8th grade son, who took a residential science summer program last year and loved it. With that behind him, he was accepted into a local small private university and is now taking an Environmental Science course there. Next summer he hopes to do the Biology summer program, and then the Neuroscience summer program at JHU. Each of these will build on his learning of these topics, and allow him to pursue other science areas in a more meaningful way, than our simple home-taught science has been. In other words, the lab experience and the up-to-date science instruction has been very worthwhile. And there are weekend workshops too-- such as uncoming one at JHU in Nanoscience Engineering, which is very interesting to him. Lots of good opportunities! I understand they are pretty good with financial aid, but we haven't requested that... Lastly, my daughter in sixth grade really enjoys the summer day program she has done (two years of that, with the third summer coming up in July 2008). Then she can move on to the residential level, after 7th grade. The kids look forward to taking a program together one year! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary in Florida Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 Both of my children are enrolled in the Duke TIP program based upon their individual Iowa test scores (5th grade and 7th grade). We have no plans to attend any of their summer programs due to the distance so I'm not convinced we will get our money's worth out of the program. I must be honest and say I'm still wondering what the benefits of this program are for those who do not take advantage of the local offerings. Perhaps someone could share their experiences. They get newsletters but they aren't anything extraordinary. My kids don't even bother to read them anymore. Still, in fairness to the Duke program it would probably be more interesting to them if we were local and could participate more in the programs offered. I did order the King Arthur study for my son but it was not what I expected it to be. Personally, I thought it was a bit pricey for what we got. They had to send it twice due to damaging during shipping. It was ripped to bits. The replacement was not in any better condition and was bent beyond repair. I didn't even bother asking for a replacement for the replacement. I'm not sure if that was a fluke in quality control or if that is the standard for their products. I'm hesitant in ordering any more of their resources. I'm only trying to be honest here. We attended a local high school yesterday morning for her test. I was pleasantly surprised to find over 100 junior high school kids there to take the test as well. I recognized many pink ID papers from Duke. I suppose once we get her test scores back we'll decide if we want to pay the fee to continue to be a part of the Duke TIP program. At the moment I'm just not convinced it is worth the money just to take the SAT early. I just need to sit and take a block of time to weigh the options. Hope this doesn't sound too depressing. I'm sure there are other programs or resources that we could also take advantage of for our kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tess in the Burbs Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 I was in this as a kid and I did take the SAT early(still have my results too!). i did not do any other things with the program even though we were only a few hours away. I know my sister was not part of this. So it's interesting to read about it now and the costs of the summer programs and other materials they have. I suppose it's what you want your child to be exposed to at this age....some would thrive in a summer program and some would care less. I would consider your child and if it's something in the future they may want to be a part of. If not, I wouldn't worry about it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Hen Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 I received a letter in the mail that dd qualified to participate in the 4th/5th grade talent search. She attends ps and I guess her IQ test qualified her (she in g/t there). Do any of you have experience with this? What do you think of the program? I don't know anything about it. Thank you! I had my DS take the qualifying test in 5th grade through Johns Hopkins CTY program, and again in 7th & 8th grade. While he qualified to take any of their summer programs we found them to be out of our budget range. I've heard mainly great things about CTY's program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 If there are any classes offered near you, then she might enjoy participation in those. I ended up never doing any of the classes for my older son, as I always thought they were too far away and WAY too expensive. They do have a catalog with some online things or kits for classes that are available more inexpensively. I liked the look of several of those, but my son was already too old for them by the time we got the catalog.... Regena Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 I was in this as a kid and I did take the SAT early(still have my results too!). i did not do any other things with the program even though we were only a few hours away. I know my sister was not part of this. So it's interesting to read about it now and the costs of the summer programs and other materials they have. I suppose it's what you want your child to be exposed to at this age....some would thrive in a summer program and some would care less. I would consider your child and if it's something in the future they may want to be a part of. If not, I wouldn't worry about it. I took the SAT in 8th through one of the programs. I did go to one week program at Northwestern, but all I remember was meeting a boy there (sigh...), so I don't think it was life-changing, LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lux Et Veritas Academy Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 I have only been involved with John Hopkins, but didn't pursue it...I think it is too much pressure for the young minds. I think older middle school is more appropriate for those types of programs- Just my thoughts for what it is worth. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAR120C Posted January 28, 2008 Share Posted January 28, 2008 I have only been involved with John Hopkins, but didn't pursue it...I think it is too much pressure for the young minds. I think older middle school is more appropriate for those types of programs- Just my thoughts for what it is worth. ;) Maybe ours (Northwestern) is different, but what parts were "too much pressure" in the one you've dealt with? So far all we've had was testing (Explore) which wasn't any more pressure than any other testing (and we have to test every year anyway, might as well make it interesting...) and they've offered some classes which didn't really look too bad. I mean if we were anywhere near Chicago... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mabelen Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 My now 11 yo took the SCAT in her 4th grade year. For me it was worth it because it showed that not only did she have verbal but also mathematical aptitude, which is finally showing now in 6th grade. So far we have not pursued any of the programs, but we do not rule it out in the future. I have heard they have some financial aid available. Mabelen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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