Duke TIP Program - Conroe,TX

My children (both now adults) both took the SAT through this program in the 7th grade (I didn't realize they now offered it as early as 4th grade!).

My son actually attended, and I think he benefited greatly from it.

My daughter qualified but chose not to; however, simply qualifying got her on the mailing lists of various programs for gifted and talented children and she did end up being able to study at Cambridge University in England for a few weeks one summer as a result, an experience that I think was wonderful for her and shows in her confidence in traveling to this day.

I don't see any downsides to it, and think it's a good opportunity.

Yes, my son took this in 6th grade. I think the benefit was how the ACT test was laid out and how long it took. Right now he is just a freshman, but in a couple of years when he takes the ACT for college he wont be totally supprised.

I did this when I was in the 7th grade (I am 35 now). I scored well on the SAT (in comparison to my peers at the time) and actually scored worse when I took it again in high school (test anxiety - when you are in 7th grade there is no pressure to get into college). My parents never had enough money for the expensive summer programs, but they did instill in me a great work ethic - with hard work you can achieve your goals. Even without high SAT or LSAT scores I graduated with honors from college and law school and got a great job as soon as I graduated. Now I am a successful attorney, and while I still want to be a stay-at-home-mom when I grow up ;), right now I am proud to be able to support my family in this crazy economy. I guess my point is to teach your kids a good work ethnic and it will not matter what their scores are.

I would say yes involve your child in the program even thought the camps are pricey, but it's good to know your child is smart and maybe in the top 10 of class, my son now a 8th grade was in it last year and took the SAT test came out with a better school then High school kids it prepares them also our school had a sponsor and 2 trips to the college were awarded and 15 computers were raffled out to the students in the program it was neat. Now and 8th grader he is in the Hisp. Scholarship program which started with the 30 most smartest kids in his class and down to 15 and he is one of the 15- because this was his 2nd time to take the SAT test and scored higher now when he get's to high and takes the test he will have a higher school for his colleges; Duke will pay will for the fee of taking the test
Go for it - nothing to loose but alot to gain!!!

My boys were invited to Duke TIP in 7th grade. One took the SAT and was pretty excited about doing that with all the high school kids. He actually scored well for a 7th grader. He just took the SAT as a junior and scored very, very high---but I attribute that to the kind of student/ test taker he is, not b/c of the TIP test.

My youngest took the SAT 2 yrs. later for TIP. He was very nervous and very intimated by walking around this huge school with older kids and he had a very rough, stern test proctor in the room. He scored terribly and now is very afraid of having to take the SAT in high school. His confidence was shaken and he remembers that experience. It was not nearly as positive an experience the second time.

Take your child's personality into account before testing. I do not think there is an advantage to being exposed to a large std. test at a real young age. The biggest plus is that whether it goes well or not, you don't have to pay.

We have gotten very little benefit from Duke TIP, but we gets tons and tons of mail!! Lots and lots of expensive camps and summer learning. And our kids names have been circulated around to many other programs, probably as a result of TIP selling their lists. We have not done any of the classes offered.

My kids are making good grades, are in a varsity sport, a Foreign Language Club, and do community service. A family member, who is a college admissions director, said things like that weigh far more toward college than the honorary memberships and expensive summer camps. Don't know if that helps or not.

We signed up our son, too. Haven't done anything with it, though. You have to pay for each lesson they want to participate in and it wasn't in our budget last year. If you do it, look at the discounted classes they offer from time to time. It looks like they are ones they are going to cycle out of the offerings soon. The news letters are nice, though. Very informative. The nice thing is that my son thought it was very cool to be part of something related to Duke University and showed a lot of pride in that. He thinks he will try to go there some day.

Our daughter did not really participate, but we did sign her up and she received inf from the program for years we would read the info.

We have a very good friend who has a son who attended a Duke program one summer. He enjoyed it. He is now a second year medical student with Baylor.

Hi S.,

My daughter, an 7th grader is in the Duke TIP Program. She is scheduled through the program to take the ACT Test early, next weekend. It seems like a great program intellectually linking smart kids together with educational programs, but it is not free. The summer programs are expensive $1,8000 -$2,0000 for summer camps at places like Texas A&M University and Duke University. Though it is expensive, I am keeping my daughter in it. Only exceptional students are selected. Congrats.
N. P

My children were accepted into this program. I paid money with the 1st kid and really got nothing in return so 2nd time around I passed. It is an honor to be seletive but I did not find anything there.

Hi, I am also from Conroe and I attended the TIP program that started with 7th graders. It was the most wonderful experience of my life. I do not know how the 4th and 5th grade programs work, as they were not offered when I attended in 1996. But from the four summer sessions I attended at Duke, I made lasting friendships and cherished memories, but beyond that I felt I evolved in way I feel wouldn't have been possible without TIP. To the credit of the classes and instructors, I still remember and use so much that I learned. The level of instruction is both challenging and rewarding, but the true value of TIP is the access children have to others similar to themselves. I gained confidence in my intelligence, which was difficult coming from Conroe, and I felt that there was hope for me to find others like me later in life. Moreover, TIP fosters a spirit of freedom, creativity and individuality. Many of my former TIPsters (as we lovingly call eachother) have gone on to do amazing things. I find that my facebook contacts of TIPsters have in large numbers attended competitive universities and colleges and continued their education beyond a undergraduate degree. An old roomie of mine from TIP graduated at the top of her class at Yale, attended Havard medical school and is now matched in her residency program at Mass. General, one of the best teaching hospitals in the world. No matter what, I think that anyone and everyone who has an opportunity to attend the TIP programs should go. I can safely say that I have never had such a rewarding learning experience as TIP.

My child is in the 7th grade and is participating in it now. While the program was available to her in 4th and 5th grade, I was not aware of the benefit and privilege of this program. Duke University tracks children from their Kinder Stanford scores through high school. My daughter recently took the PSAT as a 7th grader through this program. It was a great experience. It's a great opporutinity. I highly recommend you check it out.

I have friends who went to some of their programs in middle school and enjoyed them. I never went to any myself, too expensive.