If so, wtf is it all about other than having your kid take the SAT/ACT early?

and after it was all said and done, was it worth doing?

I remember taking it as a kid. It was kind of nice to have a practice exam to know what the test was like. I believe you potentially can earn scholarships so there's no harm in taking it. I think some of the top kids get to go to some camp at Duke

I took it in 8th grade I guess and remember it being hard as h3ll as I didn't do any preparation or anything and it was the first time I got a test and thought WTF at questions on it.

I got mail from colleges for a bit after but that was about it.

Not sure how much it changed, but way back when I did it, if you scored high enough and had a good overall resume/application, you had the opportunity to start college at Duke your Jr year of high school, so basically your Jr and Sr years of high school were also your Fr and So years of college. I know I declined because I didn't want to miss out on sports and other high school extracurricular activities that came with your last two years of high school. Plus, I had my heart and mind set on going to A&M, not Duke.

I did it as well in 8th grade. Definitely a cool feeling to start receiving college letters before your older sibling.

Like stated above, I didn't take it too seriously and just showed up for the test and winged it. It was a good experience and certainly something to be proud of, but it isn't like I put a junior high accomplishment on my resume.

After that everyone thought I was the smart kid in school. It took a couple years to prove them all wrong!

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After that everyone thought I was the smart kid in school. It took a couple years to prove them all wrong!

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I didn't tell anyone cause I figured they'd call me a dork. I had a reputation to uphold.

there's a pretty lengthy thread about it on Aggies Only

http://texags.com/forums/27/topics/2780924

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I didn't tell anyone cause I figured they'd call me a dork. I had a reputation to uphold.

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I was already known as the dork.

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Not sure how much it changed, but way back when I did it, if you scored high enough and had a good overall resume/application, you had the opportunity to start college at Duke your Jr year of high school, so basically your Jr and Sr years of high school were also your Fr and So years of college. I know I declined because I didn't want to miss out on sports and other high school extracurricular activities that came with your last two years of high school. Plus, I had my heart and mind set on going to A&M, not Duke.

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same

My son took the ACT last year in 7th grade. He was a bit leery but we convinced him to take it anyway just to see what he can do and to get a flavor of what he will experience in 11th grade. On test day he was nervous, intimidated and thought he bombed it but he somehow did well enough to qualify for State recognition in several subjects. He walked away from the experience with a feeling of accomplishment and his mom and I were quite proud. Now that he is in 8th grade, he is taking his grades more seriously and is working harder. It might be a coincidence but I think the Duke TIP experience has given him the motivation to buckle down and put in the extra effort.

Duke might run the program, but other schools use it to let you start college early / finish high school concurrently. I was invited to do that at UNT, and one of my roommates did that before he transferred to college station. He was a huge dork.

I took it, got the invite but money wasn't there for the camp.

Scored better in 7th grade than my step sister did as a senior in the top 10% of her small town school. She was actually denied automatic admit as her score was too low.

My son and some of his classmates took the SAT in 7th grade. It was a good experience. We get lots of emailed offers for camps and online programs from DUKE Tip but have a family friend who have an older child that went through it and said "don't bother". Their older child is really smart and motivated, but they said the cost of the program's was not worth what she got out of the programs, and they do not live on a tight budget. Money was not the issue.

Another friend from my hometown had her kid take the SAT in 7th grade and score really high and come to Rudder for some awards presentation where the top scorers got medals. That kid ended up going to Baylor, so it doesn't mean they will get a full ride to MIT or anything if they do well.

I do like that the students get the experience of taking the test. We didn't have our son go nuts preparing. The parents of his friends were having them do practice tests and daily study sessions using Khan Academy.

I went many many years ago in the summers before 10th and 11th grades and loved the experience. We moved to a small town in Alabama when I was a freshman and we had no real advanced classes until AP started our junior year, so I was incredibly bored and frustrated at school. For me, going to Duke meant I was around other kids who were driven and smart, but still incredibly normal and fun. It was honestly so valuable for me to get out of my backwater town and be challenged again. I made great friendships, and it was really fun to live in a college dorm for 3 weeks and have a taste of independence. I came into 11th grade with really strong essay-writing ability too based on what I learned at Duke, which was a huge help in AP English and history. Back then you could get college credit for a 6 week session - I just did the high school credit class.

I was incredibly nervous that it would be "nerd camp" - it really wasn't. I mean...we were nerds don't get me wrong, but we had fun.

It was between Duke and a&m for me - my heart wanted to go to a&m and ultimately won out. THAT and the Duke price tag. TIP is a program I try to support every year because it was really valuable to me.

My son took the ACT last spring. It was good practice and he really liked the fact that he scored equal to or better than 90% of college-bound seniors on the reading portion.

He was recognized by the school district, and was invited to a ceremony at Duke - we went to the regional, not the "big one."

A couple of things we think he's got from it so far...

• Experience studying for and taking a big test like the ACT or the SAT
• The opportunity to attend a ceremony like a real graduation - learns how to act
• He took a summer online programming course through the program and learned that despite what he thought, college classes aren't a breeze.
• He's applying to a pretty competitive earlycollege HS next year and this will look good on that application and his college application.

Thanks for the Info everybody.

I think I'll have my kid take the ACT since she did best on the Science and reading, but not so fantastic on the math.

There is no way she would want to go to camp in NC, she is exceptionally shy.

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Thanks for the Info everybody.

I think I'll have my kid take the ACT since she did best on the Science and reading, but not so fantastic on the math.

There is no way she would want to go to camp in NC, she is exceptionally shy.

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A&M hosts Duke TIP camps every summer. They are held all over, not just in NC

My daughter took the sat last January and qualified for state recognition. The camps are pricey. My wife went to Wake Forest so my daughter wants to take it again this year to try to jump up in qualification to go to wake for camp.

We get stuff all the time for online classes as well as week long things at Cougar high and places like that. I don't think we'll ever take advantage of it but it did help her to start to dream about what she wants to do and helps her see that she's actually got some smarts (like her mom, not her dad!).

I'd recommend it.

Anyone that did it want to compare scores?

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Thanks for the Info everybody.

I think I'll have my kid take the ACT since she did best on the Science and reading, but not so fantastic on the math.

There is no way she would want to go to camp in NC, she is exceptionally shy.

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A&M hosts Duke TIP camps every summer. They are held all over, not just in NC

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Thanks for the info, but she still wouldn't go.

I recall doing the SAT in the 7th grade...which was like 25 years ago (damn). Seemed like a really common thing to do at the time.

Scored a 780...primarily from the math section. I remember being proud as I had recently watched Boyz N the Hood and knew I would be good to go for my future football scholarship. Sadly, the athletic part didn't pan out.

I won't give the score but my daughter scored 50 points higher on the relevant sections than her old man did when he was a Sr in high school and got admitted to A&M.

I scored 930 or so in 7th grade. The only thing I knew about the SAT ahead of time was you had to spell your name right. I learned this from Blue Chips with Shaq.

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Duke might run the program, but other schools use it to let you start college early / finish high school concurrently. I was invited to do that at UNT, and one of my roommates did that before he transferred to college station. He was a huge dork.

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Yeah, I think it's expanded out a bit since some some of us older folks were in school. My nephew was invited a few years ago and they had camps/programs at all kinds of different college campuses so they could pick from travel options.

Overall, it seems like a good opportunity for the kid to get on the radar for programs and scholarship opportunities the parents and teachers probably aren't aware of.

I love that you guys remember your SAT scores from 7th Grade.

I only took it in high school and definitely remember the score.

I cleared 1000. Don't remember what.

I took it in 7th grade and thought it was a really cool experience. Gave me an idea what to expect a few years later. I remember scoring a 1020 and then looking to see what schools I could get in with that score. It was fun walking around school saying I could get into (insert school).

GoAgs92, how do you know for sure she wouldn't go? She might surprise you. I'm sure you know your daughter but this isn't really "camp" - she'd be in a college dorm and taking classes. Might be good for her to branch out and challenge herself in that way

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I took it in 7th grade and thought it was a really cool experience. Gave me an idea what to expect a few years later. I remember scoring a 1020 and then looking to see what schools I could get in with that score. It was fun walking around school saying I could get into (insert school).

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Tech sent you a full ride offer in 7th grade, didn't they!

Or would have if they could afford stamps.

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GoAgs92, how do you know for sure she wouldn't go? She might surprise you. I'm sure you know your daughter but this isn't really "camp" - she'd be in a college dorm and taking classes. Might be good for her to branch out and challenge herself in that way

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She went to camp outside San Antonio and hated it, even after we got her best friend to go too.

She refused to go this year and said she cried every single day last year.

I've always tried to avoid getting dook on my tip.

I remember getting a letter about this in the early 90s. My folks did a good job of dispelling the feeling the Duke TIP is selling families: Your snowflake is special, so spend money on this program to show them how much you care.

Is it all bad? Probably not. Your kid gets exposure to some stuff sooner rather than later.

IMHO, programs like Duke TIP prey on affluent folks who want the best for their kids. I mean, who doesn't wanna give their kids every opportunity in the world, right?

There's nothing "your snowflake is special" about this program. Kids have to qualify to get in with their SAT scores. We literally went to class 5 days a week in order to earn school credit. It's a great opportunity to get a "college lite" experience of living in a dorm, having roommates, managing your time, studying, and meeting other smart kids from all over. My 2nd year we took a 3 day trip to D.C. which was outstanding.

It was never a "spend money on this to show you care" it was "spend money on this, your kid gets school credit and a great experience"

It was expensive for sure, but people spend more to send their 7 year olds to Camp Ozark. We weren't rich and I don't remember feeling as if any of my friends were either - we were all public school kids from all over. (Though back then at least there was a huge Atlanta contingent)