Duke Gifted and Talented 4th/5th grade

[okeydokey]

If you're looking for another relatively inexpensive ego stroke you could forward your child's test results to Mensa. All they need do to qualify is score in the top 2% of any recognized and properly supervised intelligence test, basically the same as TIP. My son never joined but my wife was in it for years until she decided it wasn't worth the money any more.

http://www.mensa.org/country/united-states

How insulting. I think the OP is looking for enrichment for her child, not an ego boost.

 

[kidshop]

So my DD 11 brings home an invite from Duke gifted/talented program. She says very few students in her class got one.

Wondering if anyone has some info and is it worth the $35 application fee?

I always blew this off, and the ones where they publish is his picture in some book for academic achievement...whatever that is. It doesn't have any value for me.

 

[Purseval]

How insulting. I think the OP is looking for enrichment for her child, not an ego boost.

If you read some of the earlier posts in this thread you would know what I think of that. As for the OP she probably made her mind up one way or another long ago. This thread is months old.

 

[taylor3297]

If you read some of the earlier posts in this thread you would know what I think of that. As for the OP she probably made her mind up one way or another long ago. This thread is months old.

We all have our own opinions on the issue, but the ego comment was rather rude. As to whether the person made up her mind long ago still doesn't call for the comment.

 

[okeydokey]

My daughter is taking the ACT this Saturday as a 7th grader for practice as part of the Duke Tip program. Believe me, she's not doing it for her ego, but to get some real life practice for the test she will have to take for college admissions in a few years.

 

[ajh88]

I don't know about the TIP program - it didn't exist when I was in 7th grade (or maybe my school just didn't participate). I know that I *did* go to nerd camp every summer at my local public university. It was 2 weeks of immersion type classes in various subject areas. We got to live in the dorms and everything. I did it for 5 years from ages 10 to 15 and it was fabulous. I wasn't invited - I just read about it and begged my parents to let me go. If the TIP programs aren't convenient, you might just start looking around for summer experiences at local universities.

Now, I have to go completely OT on Duke for a moment. And let me preface by saying I'm not trying to toot my own horn - these things happened 17 years ago, so they mean nothing now. Anyway, I went to podunk high school in the Midwest - graduating class of 54. I scored a 32 on the ACT, participated in nearly every extra-curricular activity my school offered (both of the academic and athletic variety), was ranked #1 in my class with a 4.0 (out of 4.0) GPA, and had stellar recommendations. I applied to Duke - I didn't even get the courtesy of an interview - just out right rejection. I was OK with that (after the initial disappointment) until I read an article in Sports Illustrated about a college recruit for Duke's women's team. In the article, it talked about how she struggled to maintain her "C" average and had to have special tutors to meet minimum requirements for acceptance to the University. I understand that she was offering them something I couldn't (hey, I played sports but I didn't say I was good!) - but I lost just about all of the respect I previously had for Duke after that.

Anyway, water under the bridge. Best wishes to the OP and her DD!

 

[Leajess99]

My daughter is taking the ACT this Saturday as a 7th grader for practice as part of the Duke Tip program. Believe me, she's not doing it for her ego, but to get some real life practice for the test she will have to take for college admissions in a few years.

My daughter did the ACT in December when her brother (a senior) also took his. She has also taken the Explore test twice and now we better know what to work on more with her. That is the main reason we do this as well.

I know there are some parents who use the Duke TIP as ego boosts (trust me I have heard all about these 5th and 6th graders and their "resumes" from their parents.

 

[okeydokey]

My daughter did the ACT in December when her brother (a senior) also took his. She has also taken the Explore test twice and now we better know what to work on more with her. That is the main reason we do this as well.

I know there are some parents who use the Duke TIP as ego boosts (trust me I have heard all about these 5th and 6th graders and their "resumes" from their parents.

How did she feel about it? My DD is getting concerned because of the length of the test, but I keep telling her it won't feel like 4 hours. It's been so long since I took the SAT, but I don't remember it being so terrible long.

 

[lisabarr]

OP poster.... Wasn't looking for an ego boost.

I did decide to pay the $35 and ehhh... wasn't that impressed. She will be doing some enrichment over the summer.

 

[taylor3297]

How did she feel about it? My DD is getting concerned because of the length of the test, but I keep telling her it won't feel like 4 hours. It's been so long since I took the SAT, but I don't remember it being so terrible long.

I do believe it is longer now due to the writing component that was added a few years ago.

 

[Leajess99]

How did she feel about it? My DD is getting concerned because of the length of the test, but I keep telling her it won't feel like 4 hours. It's been so long since I took the SAT, but I don't remember it being so terrible long.

She was a little worried and I did learn that next year she will take it at the highschool rather than at the community college. She knew she struggled in some areas and liked the explore test better but over all she did well. They do take a break and can take a snack with them so it really isn't completely 4 hours. My dd was actually done earlier than what they said they would be done.

 

[Lees3rwe]

Something to keep in mind. Most public schools do not or can not provide many enrichment opportunities for gifted children. Duke TIP is just one of a few programs that recognizes those students and offers these enrichment opportunities. John Hopkins & Stanford are two others. As a mom of 2 Tipsters, I am thrilled that I have this resource. TIP's Summer Academy was life changing for my older daughter. Well worth the money for us.

Absolutely! And with next year's projected budget cuts of up to 30% on gifted programming in the public schools, I am doing everything I can for my child to get some enrichment.

My son was identified in 4th grade. He just took the Explore test 3 weeks ago and next weekend he will go to Duke for a Scholar's Weekend class.
He is very excited and so are we.

I say go for it if you can spare the $35.00.

 

[GoofyGolferGirl]

I think that anybody given the opportunity to take the ACT in the middle school should take it, esp if it only costs $35.00. Use it a a guage for what your child needs improvement on. At our school the students picked were all the teachers children and employees children. A local Dr. called to find out why her child was not picked for DUKE TIPS program and guess what it was an oversight her child was on it!! haha
My friends son (school employee) got the English Award on the Senior Awards Night, I went to congrat him on his award and his mom told me he only got a 13 on his ACT in English and laughed. How sad for all the kids who excelled in English and took advanced English!

 

[Leajess99]

I think that anybody given the opportunity to take the ACT in the middle school should take it, esp if it only costs $35.00. Use it a a guage for what your child needs improvement on. At our school the students picked were all the teachers children and employees children. A local Dr. called to find out why her child was not picked for DUKE TIPS program and guess what it was an oversight her child was on it!! haha
My friends son (school employee) got the English Award on the Senior Awards Night, I went to congrat him on his award and his mom told me he only got a 13 on his ACT in English and laughed. How sad for all the kids who excelled in English and took advanced English!

Not sure what part of Ky you are in but that is just plain wrong. Sounds like someone was fudging somewhere along the lines. My son scored high on the English part of ACT and probably would have been quite upset about that kid getting the English award. So many kids work hard and get overlooked while in some schools (my kids' former elementary school) all the teachers' kids do no wrong and are in every program there is available.

The old elementary school would not allow parents to request a teacher for the following school year yet allowed the teachers within the school to request teachers. It was quite skewed when all the teachers' kids ended up in the same kindergarten class my DD ended up in. It was awful in that class. I love our new elementary school even though it is out of district and I have to drive my child everyday. ALL kids matter there.

 

[Mississippian]

I am posting this almost a year after this thread was started, but I wanted to make a couple of comments about the Duke TIP program. This thread came up on a Google search.

My son took the Explore test as a sixth grader. This test is normally given to eighth graders. In February he will take the ACT. He did quite well on the Explore test, but we found he had a problem with his reading score. This is something he can work on, and we were able to discover the problem because he took the test.

Students who do well on the ACT do get some educational opportunities that are worthwhile. Some are expensive, others are not. My son is already in algebra, and I think it's great that he will be able to take some practice tests and see what he needs to learn in math. The upcoming test gives him an incentive.

I think criticism of this program is way off base. Also, as has been posted, a child does not need to be "selected" by the school, although generally only kids in the gifted program are asked to participate. If your child has test scores in the 95th or higher percentile in any subtest on quite a number of different tests your child will qualify. So if your child has composite scores in the 90th or even 85th percentile range he is likely to have one subtest somewhere that is in the 95th percentile, and that one subtest qualifies. (The California Achievement Test, for example, has 10 subtests. The Iowa Test of Basic Skills has nine). So it is a very inclusive program.

 

[NY Disney fan]

You should try asking how many people in that program end up actually going to Duke or a similar school. They invited my kid years ago and we blew it off as nothing more than a moneymaking scheme that feeds off of the egos of parents who get to believe they have the next Stephen Hawking messing up the playroom. My son is now in his senior year at Georgia Tech, he scored a 1570 on his SATs to get admitted as a freshman and he just scored a 170 on his LSATs, all without any help from the Duke Gifted Program. If your child is truly smart you don't need to pay anybody to tell you that.

I agree with this. I know someone (a university honors student) who scored a perfect score on the LSAT and Yale Law school sent HIM the application.

 

[mjkacmom]

I declined for both dd15 and ds13. Dd is getting private tutoring before her PSAT's, and they tested her to figure out what she needed to work on. We had planned on taking this route.

 

[HamTown]

She has no intention of going to Duke as she wants to go somewhere with a Marine Biology program.

Duke has a marine biology concentration and students can live at their Marine Lab for an entire semester. She may be interested in exploring it. It's a great facility.

I did TIP and took the SAT in 7th grade. I went to the Chapel and received my awards. I didn't do any of the residential courses because my parents were reluctant to let me go (I was very young for my grade). There were few resources available for gifted kids at the jr/hs level.

I was lucky enough to attend the NC Governor's school after my sophomore year. Unfortunately, this is another program that has suffered from budget cuts. It was a fabulous experience to help me realize that being driven academically is a good thing and not something to be ashamed of. It was especially great for kids from smaller schools. TIP could be used in the same way.

To the PP who was upset that Duke let in a "lesser" student-athlete, my 7th grade SAT score would have qualified me to attend a lot of NCAA schools on an athletic scholarship, but not at Duke. They required 200 points more at the time. I'm pretty sure they still do.

 

[pooh4evr]

My oldest DD joined the program last yr as a 4th grader she qualified/was nominated based on her test scores and IQ - (at least that is what the letter from the school said) we thought it was worth while- and agree it is a money making scheme - however we have ordered some of the programs (math and com arts) and she and Dh (way above my pay grade) have been working on them - the math has been really great as it is subject matter she would not be getting yet in school even as part of the gifted program. She is also working hard on the com arts progra so she can get the next level which is a mythology packet. I know she wont go to DUke(litle to pricey for us) but what is wrong with motivating her to do her best, and then maybe she can get scholarships for schools here. We are looking into her taking the EXPLORE test this yr if we can just to start perparing her for testing nothing wtong with that in my book!

 

[Debbie7452]

My DD did it and I felt like it was a waste of money. We didn't end up doing the testing. However, she started taking the PSAT in 9th grade and took it every year until 11th grade when it counts for National Merit. She is now a National Merit semi-finalist which opens lots of doors for scholarships. I think if we had started testing sooner she would have gotten burnt out too soon.