From what she's heard (from kids probably in a lower scoring range, mind you), CTY/TIP can be *very* difficult. I guess those claims have to be looked at with more scrutiny, now that I've heard from you that they aren't very hard.
From my kids' experience - speaking from the upper scoring ranges - there are very challenging classes at TIP. We looked at THINK, and the odd class pairings were not appealing. TIP offers some classes that are unique - as has been said earlier - and the students are starting on equal footing in many ways because no one has been exposed to the material before. The classes are designed to be put together in a way that offers terrific enrichment, not really acceleration (other than the math classes). So, there is no basis for students to judge each other, because these are not subjects they have seen in school. The grades are given in confidence, not shared with the class.
PM me if you have other questions.
