<p>Well I wasn’t going to take the time to search one out but it only took a few days for another story of a young kid who was pushed into the SAT getting upset about the scores: Here’s a 14? year old young lady quite upset: “To put things simply, she doesn’t think she is good enough…She took an impromptu SAT practice test (with no essay) and got a 610 in reading and a 420 in math. She believes this is proof that she won’t be able to get into a school”. Although this was just a practice, not for a talent search, note that her scores are higher than the average talent search scores, although I believe she has just completed 8th grade. <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1658607-broken-child-can-t-decide-on-anything.html#latest”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/1658607-broken-child-can-t-decide-on-anything.html#latest</a></p>
<p>We always thought that the only preparation required for the tests was provided by your education up to that point and doing the sample test that came with the application to familiarize yourself with the test itself… We had never heard of the Duke TIP until the school mentioned it because S qualified for it by scoring in the top 5% of all grade level tests up to that point. We did read the literature provided with it and figured it was a good idea to see where he stood in relationship to his peers nationwide (at least Southeast wise) in an above level test. Anything else before the test would defeat its true meaning. </p>
<p>Our middle school (grades 6-8) offered the option of taking the ACT to students in the Honors program and we had our daughter do that at the end of each year. She scored well enough (higher than OP) to elicit a bunch of mail from the Northwestern and Duke TIP programs.</p>
<p>In my view those programs sound good but we took a pass. They are very expensive and we used the money to instead enrich our kids on our own by exposing them to brilliant people in many fields. We travelled widely to see family and researched the sites for history. We took them to hear Warren Buffett speak, hear Coach K speak and hear multiple Ironman World Champions speak. They hung around my triathlon pals and saw how hard some age-group athletes were working to earn a spot to Kona and that success at the highest level demands commitment but that the payoff and satisfaction of the chase is sweet for those who commit. What I think they got out of that is the insight that you need to be passionate about what you are doing. They also saw how hard these people work and how they love it so much it is not a job to them.</p>
<p>Because we did this on our own, we never felt the need to tell anyone about test scores. I don’t think that’s healthy until the end of high school when things like National Merit press releases take care of it for people who do well on tests. By that time the kids have grown into their skins a bit and have the maturity to handle it.</p>
<p>As they got older, we let them try many different things and made sure they kept involved athletically as much as academically. In my opinion, sports is an amazing character-builder and they learn a lot about teamwork there that they can’t learn in school. They also learn how to work hard, play their best and lose with grace, which is something super-precocious kids really need to absorb in order to become resilient. </p>
<p>So congrats on your high scores and appreciate what you learned at Duke TIP, which I’m sure was amazing, but next year save your money and plan a trip to Washington DC or your state capital to meet your congressman, go to a shareholders meeting, start a business, take an online class. Volunteer for service in your community. You have six or so years to let your child develop slowly at their own speed. </p>
<p>DUKE TIP offers no preference in admissions, so in addition to being expensive it is not even a good ROI compared to things like I discussed above.</p>
<p>Your child will be in position to go to some amazing colleges, and win some amazing scholarships, when she gets older if you nuture her potential carefully. You need to both protect and challenge the high potential kid. Nobody can do that better than a parent who knows their own child’s interests best. Don’t outsource it to some program that hints you will get a leg up by going to their camp. As you help them discover what they like it will naturally lead into doing ECs and service in high school they can excel at because they love them. </p>
<p>Good luck!!</p>