Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion 7th Grade SAT Testing/CTY or Duke TIP

Hello!

I'm wondering if many of you have experience with the Johns Hopkins and/or Duke Talent Searches. These are the searches where primarily 7th graders take either the SAT or the ACT (above-level testing), and approximately 1/2 of those (probably already very bright group) kids qualify for their programs.

My understanding is that the programs are largely summer camps, with intensive academic subjects. For many children, these camps are supposed to provide a rare & wonderful opportunity for academically-oriented children to bond with other kids who share a lot of their interests, and I've only read very positive things about the camps themselves.

My own son is in 7th grade, and so I signed him up, and he did take the SAT a week and a half ago. I am sure, from the one practice test he took, that he will qualify. However, I realized months ago that he has no interest in attending the camps. Since I had already registered him for the SAT, we decided to send him to take the SATS anyway.

But I am wondering, are there any true benefits that people have experienced from the talent searches, if you weren't interested in following through with the camp? I know that if they score over 700 on any section, they qualify for SET (Study of Exceptional Talent), but even reading through that, it seems like the only tangible benefit is a periodic newsletter. Just curious if there are any truly valuable things that we might look forward to, from participating.

Thanks so much!!

PS One mistake I made--so a little tip for those of you with 6th graders and younger--I signed him up to take it at the closest location, which is our town high school. There were a couple of kids there that knew my son from their younger siblings, so naturally they went home and said they saw him there, and we got curious questions about it (nothing offensive, just curious about why he was taking it). Not a big deal, but if I could do it over, I would have driven him 10 minutes further to a different district, to avoid that.