Hi, Bee. IIRC SharonM is a gifted teacher with what sounds like some HG kids as well as MG. I tend to agree with her that your son may not have the best chance ever of getting in based on his scores, but that's what portfolios are for, and Davidson does seem to me to cast a broader net than the official criteria might indicate. I would put in some extra effort on your portfolio to come up with at least one "humdinger" item, keeping in mind that the items don't have to be examples of schoolwork. I would apply if you think that the program will help your son, even if you feel that chances are slim, since it doesn't take much effort to get the application together relative to the value of the program.
I've put together a
webpage summarizing some DYS portfolio info, including links to past discussions on portfolios. Here is a list of some portfolios that have worked in the past, keeping in mind that the scores of any particular admittee may be very different in one way or another from your son's and I don't have that info:
* Samples of schoolwork, 1-2 examples of creative writing, and reading lists from homeschool classes
* Videos of explaining books or math concepts, building something complex, etc.
* For a younger child, copies of worksheets from school
* A video of a five-year-old talking about severe weather, including many minutes on tornadoes, classification of tornadoes, and famous tornadoes
* For a five-year-old, a video showing mental math, creative writing projects, worked Sudoku puzzles, and a picture of a Lego project, for a five-year-old
* For a six-year-old, workbook material, video (very short), and some reading info
* Writing, both factual and science-related as well as stories, by a six-year-old
* For an eight-year-old, copies of math tests (accelerated by two grades), a typed report written in first grade including vocabulary such as "viviparous", a video talking about the Battle of Germantown in depth, and pictures of things built with blocks, including a cantilevered bridge
* For an eight-year-old, math work samples, math doodles, and a video presentation on stress levels and stress-causing enzymes
* 3-4 pages of math homework (advanced algebra performed by a 6th grader), plus several pages of tests from a homeschooling chemistry class
* For a ten-year-old, a solar system Jeopardy game done in Microsoft PowerPoint, with a two-page doodle containing information on the solar system
