Has your child ever done DUKE TIP summer studies program?

[tabmtbc]

If so, what can you tell me about it? How was the experience for them?

My 7th grader (chronologically) got the letter this week inviting her to apply for DUKE TIP Summer Studies. The application process opens Monday.

 

1) DD has never been away from home for 3 weeks before. The longest she's been away is a week at any given time and we knew exactly who she was with, where she'd be, what she'd be doing, etc. How is the security, in your experience?

 

2) If she doesn't apply for summer studies, does that negatively impact the rest of her participation in DUKE TIP? She's been invited to do a mission trip at the same time and has to choose between the two.

 

3) Then there's the cost. I know there's financial aid available to apply for but WOW, the summer studies program is $$$. Unless she gets the tuition paid in full, there's no way she'll be going.

 

I really would like her to go if it's the right opportunity for her and if the financial aid works out. So if you've done DUKE TIP or DUKE TIP summer studies before, share with me your experience AND tell me anything I might need to know but don't know to ask. Applications start being accepted Monday.

[Starr]

We've done some of the classes at home. I don't think you have to go in the summer to take advantage of other programming. I would read over the web site carefully and then give them a call.

[Hoggirl]

Which level does she qualify for? There are two levels - I believe they are called Academy and Center with "Center" being the higher of the two. It all depends on your ACT or SAT scores.

 

Ds attended Trinity University last summer and loved it. This year he will be at Duke. There are programs for 7/8 and for 8/9/10 so grade 8 is a year where they have a choice.

 

I felt comfortable with everything, but I am a bit looser than many of the homeschoolers I know. The students are never without supervision. My ds really enjoyed the experience and made many friends. They still stay in contact. I believe the supervision to be quite adequate. I have to admit, I am a bit more worried about his experience with older students for this summer. He took a course in web applications, something I certainly could not do at home. It was also good for him to learn how to do his own laundry!

 

Sorry - I feel like this is really disjointed. My in-laws have been here all weekend, and I am pooped. I will try to remember to check back tomorrow and write more.

 

I don't think it will negatively impact you if you don't go this year, BUT, if you do want to go you need to apply right away. The courses fill up quickly.

 

We were full pay so I don't know how the financial aid works.

 

BTW, ds had been away for the last four summers for two weeks at a time at a Christian summer camp, so he did have experience being away from home. It's scary sending them "out there," but I am truly glad we did it. He is very excited about going back this summer.

 

HTH at least a little.

[Guest Liz70]

Hi. I don't homeschool but I found this site in searching for Duke TIP Summer Studies info :)

My daughter is in 8th grade and will be attending davidson Summer Session 1 this June. She took the SAT in 7th grade and qualified for the Summer Studies but could not attend last summer. However, I'd read that once a child qualifies, he or she may attend each and any summer until they age/grade-out.

I have researched it a good bit and feel confident that my daughter will be in excellent hands and surrounded by like-minded children.

I am somewhat nervous, as she has never been away from home for more than 5 nights.

I do get the sense that they are kept very busy and that they form close bonds with one another. This is my greatest hope.

Would love to hear more from parents who have first-hand experience!

Thanks and good luck to the OP.

[tabmtbc]

Which level does she qualify for? There are two levels - I believe they are called Academy and Center with "Center" being the higher of the two. It all depends on your ACT or SAT scores.

 

Ds attended Trinity University last summer and loved it. This year he will be at Duke. There are programs for 7/8 and for 8/9/10 so grade 8 is a year where they have a choice.

 

I felt comfortable with everything, but I am a bit looser than many of the homeschoolers I know. The students are never without supervision. My ds really enjoyed the experience and made many friends. They still stay in contact. I believe the supervision to be quite adequate. I have to admit, I am a bit more worried about his experience with older students for this summer. He took a course in web applications, something I certainly could not do at home. It was also good for him to learn how to do his own laundry!

 

Sorry - I feel like this is really disjointed. My in-laws have been here all weekend, and I am pooped. I will try to remember to check back tomorrow and write more.

 

I don't think it will negatively impact you if you don't go this year, BUT, if you do want to go you need to apply right away. The courses fill up quickly.

 

We were full pay so I don't know how the financial aid works.

 

BTW, ds had been away for the last four summers for two weeks at a time at a Christian summer camp, so he did have experience being away from home. It's scary sending them "out there," but I am truly glad we did it. He is very excited about going back this summer.

 

HTH at least a little.

Actually it helps a lot. When we sat down together, we figured out that she wanted to go to term 2 at Appalachian State (she qualified for ACADEMY) and Appalachian State is where my niece and her significant other (whom I expect to be her fiance anytime now) are in grad school, so she will know someone in town.

 

We have applied for the program and applied for financial aid. DH and I own a thrift store and business...well it hasn't been so great.

 

Now comes the hard part. The crossing one's fingers, waiting, and praying. I really want this for her, now that I've had time to think about it.

[Hoggirl]

Hi. I don't homeschool but I found this site in searching for Duke TIP Summer Studies info :)

My daughter is in 8th grade and will be attending davidson Summer Session 1 this June. She took the SAT in 7th grade and qualified for the Summer Studies but could not attend last summer. However, I'd read that once a child qualifies, he or she may attend each and any summer until they age/grade-out.

I have researched it a good bit and feel confident that my daughter will be in excellent hands and surrounded by like-minded children.

I am somewhat nervous, as she has never been away from home for more than 5 nights.

I do get the sense that they are kept very busy and that they form close bonds with one another. This is my greatest hope.

Would love to hear more from parents who have first-hand experience!

Thanks and good luck to the OP.

 

I don't know that there are a LOT of people on here who have had children attend these. When I asked a year ago before my ds went, I only received one reply. They are kept busy and my ds did form close bonds with the kids there.

 

I will say that your daughter may be one of the older children there. There are programs for 7th and 8th grade (at Trinity, where my ds went and Davidson) and then there are programs for 8th, 9th, and 10th grades held at Duke. According to ds there were not many 8th graders in his program. Most who return (like my ds) choose to move up to the 8th, 9th, 10th grade programs. Not a bad thing, mind you. But I just wanted to let you know it will likely not be half and half between 7th and 8th grades.

[tabmtbc]

We got the letter today. She's been put on a wait list because every one of the classes she wanted was full. But even though my application was overnighted for financial aid (I never could get through on the fax lines not ever) and I completed her other application online, even if she gets off the wait list, I don't know how we would send her--unless 3400 dollars falls from the sky. The letter we got stated that all the financial aid has already been given out this year. It was a generic letter, so maybe that's their way of saying we didn't qualify? I don't know but I do know that we are so stretched right now it isn't funny.

 

I'm bummed for her. I tried three diff fax lines and never could get through on any of them.

Edited April 2, 2011 by tabmtbc

[Hoggirl]

We got the letter today. She's been put on a wait list because every one of the classes she wanted was full. But even though my application was overnighted for financial aid (I never could get through on the fax lines not ever) and I completed her other application online, even if she gets off the wait list, I don't know how we would send her--unless 3400 dollars falls from the sky. The letter we got stated that all the financial aid has already been given out this year. It was a generic letter, so maybe that's their way of saying we didn't qualify? I don't know but I do know that we are so stretched right now it isn't funny.

 

I'm bummed for her. I tried three diff fax lines and never could get through on any of them.

 

That is disappointing. I would suggest that you call them to ask ahead of time about financial aid for next year. Might put you ahead of curve, kwim? I do know that the classes fill up quickly. For the last two years, we have applied on-line on THE first available registration day. I do know it is a money-maker for the colleges that sponsor these, but I also know for a fact that some kids DO get financial aid. I called and asked about something else and found them very helpful.

 

Hope next year works out for you.

[tabmtbc]

That is disappointing. I would suggest that you call them to ask ahead of time about financial aid for next year. Might put you ahead of curve, kwim? I do know that the classes fill up quickly. For the last two years, we have applied on-line on THE first available registration day. I do know it is a money-maker for the colleges that sponsor these, but I also know for a fact that some kids DO get financial aid. I called and asked about something else and found them very helpful.

 

Hope next year works out for you.

I didn't call because the instructions in the materials we were sent were very clear ie something along the lines of, "Applications will not be accepted prior to X date at X time." Financial aid students must submit {supporting documentation} and until both applications are received with all supporting documentation, they will not be processed."

 

Or something like that.

 

In our case, we submitted the online application (the student part) by the end of the first day registration opened. Not knowing there was an essay or "personal statement" requirement, it took her most of the day to think through that. If I'd have known that there was a requirement like that, we would have had it ready to upload at the beginning of the day rather than the afternoon/end of the day.

 

DH came home from work with all the required financial aid documentation. In our case the financial aid application and the supporting documentation was something like 21 pages or thereabouts. First thing the next morning (by the time we finished it, our local Staples was closed for the day) I took the stuff down to Staples and attempted to fax them at the given number. I stood there for something like 3-5 hours, trying to fax them over and over again. Somewhere in that time span I did call them and say, "I just can't get through." They told me to keep trying and gave me some additional numbers to attempt to fax. They were very courteous about this. After hours of standing on my feet at the Staples Copy and Print Center with 2 of my 3 kids in tow (one of them a 3yo in the basket wondering when I was going to be done) I gave up and took dd13 to band practice. Later that evening, dh went back and attempted several times to no avail on EVERY number I was given. Lines busy, faxes faulting, kicked offline for a poor line connection, etc. So he decided to overnight the financial aid stuff via UPS and actually paid less for that than all the faxes we attempted. They delivered the paperwork by about an hour after the campus opened for business on the third day registration was open. If I understood the letter I got correctly, "all the courses you selected were filled at the time we received your application." And another paragraph states that all the financial aid is exhausted.

 

Given that situation, a genuine question:

If I can't get through on the fax lines; online application for financial aid is not an option; and overnight UPS isn't fast enough, then HOW do I get my application in early enough for her to have a chance?

 

When I called the TIP offices, they were very courteous about my failure to get through on the fax lines but all they could advise me was to try the other numbers and keep trying.

 

It would seem that the only thing that's faster is to submit one's application for financial aid online (similar to e-filing a tax return I would guess) but that's not an option at the moment. The instructions were very clear: Option 1: Online application for student and snail mail financial aid application; Option 2: Online application for student and fax financial aid application; Option 3: Snail mail or fax for both.

 

I understand I need to do it faster next year but HOW to do it faster--that is the question.

 

And I want to state that my frustration is not with Duke TIP at all. They have been nothing but courteous and helpful through the whole process and a pleasure to work with. I am just at a loss as to what else to do for next year. Cause if I'm understanding the documents correctly, "next year" for summer studies for 8th graders is sometime in the fall/toward the end of the calendar year.

 

She was invited to do a mission trip with our church around the same time so maybe that's what she's meant to do right now.

Edited April 3, 2011 by tabmtbc

[Hoggirl]

Registration for grades 8 - 10 is earlier (b/c they already have their test scores from the previous year). I believe we had to apply at the end of January/first of February. Class offerings come out prior to that so you can see what will be available.

 

Their system doesn't sound very efficient when it comes to applying for the financial aid. I don't really know how significant that personal statement is. I have been less than pleased with the effort ds has put into that the last two years. However, it stands to reason that the quality of essays might matter more when one is competing for FA. I wonder, too, if there is an equal amount of aid spots given for both "Academy" and for "Center." I would just call and talk to them about how the process works and see if you can get a feel for how many of those financial aid spots are available, what the criteria for selection for them is, etc. I might ask if there are equal numbers of aid spots for both levels - they may not tell you, but they might. Gosh, I could feel your suffering as you described your standing there with little children trying to get a fax to go for several hours! Good grief. I am so sorry. I hope you can get it to work for her next year.

[tabmtbc]

Registration for grades 8 - 10 is earlier (b/c they already have their test scores from the previous year). I believe we had to apply at the end of January/first of February. Class offerings come out prior to that so you can see what will be available.

 

Their system doesn't sound very efficient when it comes to applying for the financial aid. I don't really know how significant that personal statement is. I have been less than pleased with the effort ds has put into that the last two years. However, it stands to reason that the quality of essays might matter more when one is competing for FA. I wonder, too, if there is an equal amount of aid spots given for both "Academy" and for "Center." I would just call and talk to them about how the process works and see if you can get a feel for how many of those financial aid spots are available, what the criteria for selection for them is, etc. I might ask if there are equal numbers of aid spots for both levels - they may not tell you, but they might. Gosh, I could feel your suffering as you described your standing there with little children trying to get a fax to go for several hours! Good grief. I am so sorry. I hope you can get it to work for her next year.

Thanks for the empathy. It means a lot even though there's nothing either of us can do about it. And your previous posts were very helpful in allaying my fears of her going if she HAD gotten in.

 

Given that all parts of her application were available to them the Thursday morning after registration opened on Monday and "all classes that you requested were filled at the time we received your application" I have to wonder if the number of people applying isn't a significant part of the equation here.

 

Ex. dd tried out for All State Band in our state back in January. They only seat one jr. high band in the state. She tried out on percussion and the audition process was very tight and very intricate. Each district is allowed ONE percussionist and ONE alternate percussionist to take per district and our district is made up of 3 counties with tons of band programs. Some districts only have a few band programs. Public, private, and homeschooled band members can try out. I can't even begin to name how many band programs might be in our district, let alone how many kids I saw try out there that day. DD was good enough that she made it through the entire audition (many did not, so I understand from what others who have tried out before tell me.) But yet she didn't make the cut because out of all these band programs, they are only picking 2 people per district on her instruments. That doesn't mean she isn't a good musician, but it also doesn't tell me where she was in the order of audition results. I can tell you she was at least 10th in line because when you try out for all state band you also try out for all district band and they seat 8 percussionists for our all district band. That means there are at least 9 people in our 3 county radius who are better than her, but it also doesn't tell me where she ranked. Was she dead last? Could she improve on her XYZ and get a better ranking next year? That and a ton of other questions wamdered though my mind. I can tell you that trying out for ASB and ADB made her a better musician because it wasn't something that was a given.

 

I have similar questions about Duke TIP. I would love for someone to tell me, "We had 5 bazillion kids apply, and 2.5 bazillion applied for financial aid and we only give out 1 bazillion awards. When applying for the program we look for...and when applying for financial aid we look for...and when we saw your daughter's application we thought this could be improved...OR we thought her application was fine and had no room for improvement, but we just plain ran out of spots and money because there's only so much to go around."

 

Let's just say that they told me her essay needed improvement, for the sake of argument. OK I could look at that feedback and say, "Aha, something to work on in school time." Just like all state audition results for band and chorus and criteria/results are to a certain extent kept confidential for a lot of different reasons, I could understand if they didn't want to tell me that though.

 

But just like band auditions and the whole process made her a better musician even though she wasn't picked, applying for Duke TIP, in my mind, is a lot similar to applying for college admissions. At least when she's applying for college it won't be her first time to go through something like this and the process won't surprise her, KWIM? So there is value in the outcome no matter what, ultimately, it turns out to be.

 

I probably will call TIP at some point and ask them some of the questions you raised. If I get answers, great. If I don't get answers, I don't suppose I'm any worse off and I won't be upset.

 

The only criteria that the website and the materials lister for FA was "students who demonstrate need" or some such wording, with the listed income cutoffs for each family size.

 

Thanks for dialoging through this with me. I appreciate it really.

[Guest Liz70]

I don't know that there are a LOT of people on here who have had children attend these. When I asked a year ago before my ds went, I only received one reply. They are kept busy and my ds did form close bonds with the kids there.

 

I will say that your daughter may be one of the older children there. There are programs for 7th and 8th grade (at Trinity, where my ds went and Davidson) and then there are programs for 8th, 9th, and 10th grades held at Duke. According to ds there were not many 8th graders in his program. Most who return (like my ds) choose to move up to the 8th, 9th, 10th grade programs. Not a bad thing, mind you. But I just wanted to let you know it will likely not be half and half between 7th and 8th grades.

 

Thank you. I hope there will be some 8th graders in the mix:) We did know that 8th graders have the option to go with the older children to the Duke campus but, both my daughter and my husband, were more comfortable with her being with the younger set for this first experience away from home for so long. Thanks, though! I'll prepare her that it may be a lot of rising 8th graders.