First off, NOTHING TO DO WITH PREP SCHOOL, I just had nowhere else to put this. Now, I am a seventh grader, the top student in my 40 student grade, and taking Algebra 1 Honors and Biology 1. I am planning on applying for this scholarship, but I am not rightly sure of my chances, so do you all think that I can be one of the 30 students in the country to recieve this award?
Being the top student in my 40 student grade, and taking Algebra 1 Honors and Biology 1 isnāt enough by itself. You will need a lot more academic achievements for the scholarship.
You need more to win (maybe you have more - you donāt need to share everything here). Also you need good SAT scores. It is a very competitive program. But the application process is good practice for HS/college applications.
Just a couple ancillary points, there was a student from CTY that got an 800 on her math SAT at 12 and didnāt get the scholarship.
And I know another child who received the award and got turned down at both Exeter and Andover.
Absolutely zero if you donāt do it. But as stated above, the standards for the CDB might be considered capricious. Donāt count on winning the scholarship no matter how great everyone tells you you are. A perfect SAT at 11 or 12 is not a lock. Much depends on your essays and your recommendations. If you make it to the interview round, then your presentation is key.
If you have the stats to be considered, the best advice is to do the best you can with the application and make sure you do your own work. Donāt rely on parents, older siblings, or paid staff to polish your essays. If you get an interview, you want to be able to talk the talk you walked in writing on the application. This is a scholarship for smarty-pants, well-educated seventh graders, not smarmy college students or exclusive private tutors, so make sure that seventh grader is the one who completes the application.
@GnarWhailās advice is sound. You will be competing against a very competitive pool of applicants so I would keep your expectations realistic. Be yourself and put forth your best effort. The review process is holistic so itās not just about who has the best standardized test scores, although you do need to perform above a certain level.
If you go forward, a qualifying score for CDB also will be in range to qualify for Duke TIP, Johns Hopkins CTY, and other programs for middle and high-school gifted students. These programs also offer financial aid that allow low-income students to participate.
1 Like
Try it. Do your best. Have no expectations. Good luck!
Nothing ventured; nothing gained. I never (never) expected D to get one back in 2004, and itās even harder to figure out what they are looking for than what top tier colleges want. From what I can tell from our four years, each class was a rather eclectic mix of artists, performers, creators, thinkers, writers ā¦ you name it. You do need to stand out in some way. Smart is not enough. Itās very much a smart plus ? search.
@laenen, our both kids got higher than 1500 in SAT while in junior high, but no idea that these kind of award exists.May be third one will apply for it.
We are charting through US schooling system as both parents were educated abroad. This is all new to us
1 Like
@infinityprep1234 ā Good luck. Just one suggestion, it is my understanding per CTY that the CDB like Ivy+ get a lot of applicants that score very well on the SAT like Gnarwhail pointed out that it takes the secret sauce (or just plain luck) to get selected.
Let me just point out that CDB selects about 25 students per year nationwide. All the ones I have indirectly known are very exceptional. Algebra 1 and Biology 1 at 7th are probably not exceptional enough. Hopefully you have other qualities that can make you stands out.
I agree with @SculptorDad that Algebra 1 is not that advanced. In Boston, there are many kids starting Algebra in the 5th grade at the Russian School of Math. If I had to guess, you would need to be at the Pre-Cal/Calc level.
There are kids going to Boston University Academy starting Diff. Eq at B.U. as a sophomore in HS.
That said, it is not all about pure academics. There are always compelling stories and maybe you are one of them. For example, kids starting up small businesses or volunteer organizations, competing national in robotics, wrote a cool program that is selling a lot, etc.
How are you fairing on AMC competitions? SAT?
This is the kind of student who is named a CDB Scholar
https://www.agbell.org/Document.aspx?id=1791
I agree with all of the advice posted so far. My son is a CDB scholar and I got to go to the annual CDB seminar for four years and met many of the other scholars. These young men and woman are all of the caliber of the girl talked about in the post by CaliMex but also so different from one another. Such a range of talent and intelligence ā it is like being in another dimension when seeing these young minds in action. You have to be super special in one or more ways to get this scholarship, as others have mentioned. Many kids get awesome grades, so you have to be one of the outstanding representations of your peers. If you are lucky enough to get chosen you will have a network of peers that you can really relate to (sometimes highly gifted kids feel very different from their same age peers). I canāt list all the good things about this program and how it has actually changed my sonās life in a short postā¦ just take my word for it. Go for it and Good luck!
@lanen - what you pointed out is fair enough. We understand SAT is just a small point, one has to have many more achievements in different fields and tell a much more comprehensive picture.
Hereās a look at another CDB scholar:
Dennis, Class of 2012
Stuart Hall for Boys
Lick-Wilmerding High School
Southern California Institute of Architecture
"While Charlie Bucket only had one, Iāve already had three Golden Tickets in my life.
But really, there is something I can be thankful for every single day. My parents have valued education above all else, not having a chance to receive a proper one themselves. My father told me that my life was in my hands and I should make the best of it. He didnāt have to say this to me very often. I learned. I wanted to learn and I wanted to succeed. Actually, I wanted to become an architect. I was a firefighter for Halloween in kindergarten, but what I really wanted to be, was an architect and that, unfortunately, wasnāt as easy to convey.
Why architecture? It begins with a āSingle Resident Occupancyā or SRO. I grew up in one of these buildings with my family after moving to the United States when I was 2. Maximum living occupancy? 1. My family? 4. Maximum occupancy - obviously breached. I slept in the closet, which was big enough to fit a twin sized mattress. The experience of spending my first 11 years in a home with a 200 square foot total was, needless to say, unsatisfying and suffocating. I just wanted to change my surroundings. I wanted the power to change my world.
Architecture was my way to reshape my world and leave something behind. Since kindergarten, I drew houses and plans because it was only on paper that I could create my own adequate spaces. Unlike many, I discovered architecture before art. I had always believed in function over form until later in life, when I learned that architecture could also be art. The possibilities that lay before meā¦ all I had to do was imagine them and draw. That was the first step in realizing my dreams. I kept drawing in my youth unsure of how to become an architect. My first Golden Ticket came in the form of SMART. To be an architect, I had to get a proper education. I had to get the BEST education. SMART offered me a placement into a private school that was the best fit for me, and supported me through their tutoring, mentoring, and after-school programs. I wanted it and I went for it.
From 6th ā 8th grade, I attended Stuart Hall for Boys. Stuart Hall gave me a top notch education and provided me individualized attention from teachers who became more like mentors to me. They taught me how math can be relevant to architecture by providing a high school level geometry class during their own time, an hour before regular school even started. After school, I attended SMART several times a week where I was surrounded by other students like me, who also wanted to succeed. They were motivated, creative and the supportive environment at SMART pushed me to be the best that I could be. To me, SMART still feels like a 2nd home, a safe and encouraging environment where I learned that a great education was not a far-reaching goal, reserved only for my well-to-do peers.
When it was time to apply to high schools, SMART came to the rescue again. SMART encouraged me to apply to a prestigious national scholarship called the Caroline D. Bradley Scholarship. This highly competitive program accepts 15 students out of literally thousands of applicants from all over the country, and offers them a full tuition scholarship to their high school of their choice. I had one particular high school in mind. Jokes about the name aside, Lick-Wimerding was a private school that offered an Architectural Design Course. I told my parents and the staff at SMART, āI have to go there!ā But the SMART Scholarship ended in 8th grade, and I knew that my parents would not be able to afford a private high school education on their own. My second Golden Ticket came in a form of two letters ā one from Lick accepting me to their school and the second from Caroline D. Bradley that I was awarded their four year scholarship. I know that this opportunity would not have been possible without the hard work and support of my parents, Stuart Hall, and the SMART community.
I speak to you now, a college bound senior. I have been accepted to CalPoly at San Luis Obispo and Pomona, the University of Southern California, Pratt Institute and Northeastern University. My third Golden Ticket was my acceptance to the school I will be attending next year ā The Southern California Institute of Architecture. The five-year Bachelor of Architecture degree that I can pursue, thanks to a massive merit scholarship, will allow me to become a licensed architect, and send me on my way to reshape not only my world, but the world around me.
SMART provided a foundation for me that has been invaluable. I hope to give back to SMART for all theyāve done for me ā perhaps I can design their new building to accommodate SMARTās own dream to serve more students and give other kids, like me, an opportunity to grab their own Golden Tickets.
Thank you SMART for allowing me to see that my dream was, and is, really possible."
Where can you find all of these stories?
The InterWebs
Found another profile:
AMERICAN PRIZE 2nd PLACE:
ETHAN YAN
Mountain View CA
ETHAN YAN
Ethan is a 9th grader at Menlo School, California. He has received awards from American ProtĆ©gĆ© International Competitions, New York Lyric Opera Theatre National Vocal Competition, Junior Bach Festival, and the Bay Area NATS Singing Festival. He has performed at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall and at the Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Centerāon the violin, singing, and singing while self-accompanying on the piano. As a boy soprano soloist, he has performed with Monterey Symphony, Marin Symphony, Santa Cruz County Symphony, and Los Angeles Opera; and as a chorister, with San Francisco Opera and San Francisco Symphony. He is a 2015 Caroline Bradley Scholar, state-level math competitor, member of the Junior Mensa Honor Society, and award winner in national essay competitions. In the 2016 International History Olympiad, he was awarded five medals. Ethan also serves in a church music ministry. His wonderful voice teacher is Ms. Angelique Zuluaga.