Is the Duke Talent search akin to a Nigerian banking scam?

Creed came home with a letter yesterday alerting us that he is eligible' to participate in the Duke Talent Identification Program.

Apparently this program has been around for 27 years now, and I guess back in 1980, my parents must have thrown the note away, or maybe Duke couldn't find me. We did move around a lot.

Anyway at Creed's school, the kids who scored in the top 5 percentile on some of those standardized tests got this letter from Duke University.

For the low, low price of about $130, Creed can sit alongside high schoolers and take not just the S.A.T. but also the A.C.T.

Why would I want him to take these tests when he is 12 and in 7th grade, you ask? Perhaps because I have $130 or thereabouts to throw in the garbage can.

According to Duke, which by the way is a fine school that accidentally, I'm sure, rejected my application for college, this program would help me compare my child's performance to others across the country.

Hmmm. I thought that's what the standardized tests did.

If this might help Duke give him a scholarship, that would be good. Then I could have all the Prepaid Tuition money back and we could use it to get braces for Lily, since I'm sure she will want perfect teeth like the rest of the kids in Plantation.

But I'm just not sure what the benefit of this program would be. My husband actually remembers the Duke talent search and claims he came home with a similar note in his backback several and many decades ago.

Or maybe I could use it to help me defend Creed at school. This particular line from Duke's website might be useful:

Exceptionally bright students often go unrecognized because they hide their talents, underachieve, or exhibit behavioral problems.

One of the frightening tidbits I gleaned from Duke's website in reviewing this is the advice that you should start planning your child's college when he is in middle school. Please raise your hand if you have done this.

Personally I feel I should at least wait to see if he makes it into a professional sports league or if our house is going to be destroyed by a hurricane, prompting us to move to Nashville.

POSTED IN: Pre-Teen (45)

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Comments

How dare you imply that Duke University is full of corrupt charlatans! You've got me so upset I'm going to use my American Express card to buy a new Chevy.

Posted by: Coach K | October 9, 2007 11:36 AM

Posted by: Coach K | October 9, 2007 11:39 AM

Come now, Mr. "Duke@Sucks.com,' (your email address, for those who are watching from home), I'm not besmirching the reputations of those leading the university where my favorite uncle was educated. After all, this same favorite uncle used his Duke degree to pay for my UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA degree!

Posted by: Brittany Wallman | October 9, 2007 12:42 PM

Brittany,
Both of my kids participated in the Duke Talent Search and this is what we got from it:

1) Lots of letters and offers for our children to attend very expensive summer camps and boarding schools.

2) Offers for them to apply for scholarships to said boarding schools. (But not, unfortunately, any offers for scholarships to alleviate the exhorbitant summer camp fees.)

3) A book filled with no-doubt wonderful summer programs for which my daughters will qualify when in high school, but that we cannot afford.

4) Bragging rights for both kids, who scored well enough on the SAT in 7th grade to be accepted into UF, except for that pesky rule about them needing to go to high school first.

I had hoped that the Talent Search would help them learn more about how to plan for college, or provide them with special programs that did not cost an arm and a leg, or at the very least, gain them some recognition from their teachers that maybe they don't need all the nonstop FCAT drills, but so far, none of that has happened.

Still, I recommend sending Creed to take the SAT. For one thing, he'll learn first-hand what's on it and get a chance to take it when it doesn't count at all. It's an interesting lesson. And it's also fun for you if your kid ends up scoring better in 7th grade than most high school students do in 11th.

Vicki

Posted by: Vicki Brennan | October 9, 2007 3:12 PM

Some people are just more helpful than others. That was a great post, Vicki. Thank you. I guess since this program's been around for 27 years, many parents must gravitate toward it. At our base we are, after all, shoppers. Right? (How many ebay actions did YOU "win" this week?) And this program is all about buying experiences for our kids, I guess. Buying success. Delicious! Duke, you guys are brilliant!

Posted by: Brittany Wallman | October 9, 2007 5:18 PM

Thanks for posting this. My initial response to the Duke TIP is pretty skeptical, too. It looks like a marketing scheme for Duke and a reason for parents and kids to stress about the SAT a couple of years earlier than they need to. But maybe Vicki will win me over; $130 notwithstanding, a dry run at the SAT won't hurt as long as we don't take it too seriously.

Posted by: Cobarde anónimo | October 21, 2008 10:06 PM