[koppy]

just been advised to send son for ctyi assesment..
have a few questions for him (he will be 13 during it)

would only be able to afford to commute.would he struggle to fit in with groups who are staying the duration.?

is 13 too young. would we be better waiting for a yr. would only be 13 a few weeks.

how tough/easy is it

[rory.reilly]

Lots of people go to CTYI at that age, it's a great oppurtunity and if money is a problem they offer scholarships to children who either perform exceptionally well or cannot afford ctyi.

Besides i'm 13 and am applying to it so it's not like he's the only one there or anything.

As regards Talent Search (the application test) and tough/easyness they judge it by whoever gets at or above the 95th percentile in the PSAT (an exam used to apply for scholarships for college in the US) but it is judged by age so he won't have an unfair disadvantage or anything.

The 95th percentile is 1/20 so that means there will be 1-2 in every class IF every class in Ireland was at the same level (which it is not, due to socio-ecomic backgrounds etc, etc) so it isn't exclusive where everyone who goes there is bound to get a Phd in Theoretical Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, Experimental Physics and Medicine, become a professor, solve string theory, cure cancer and get 6 Nobel Prizes. Anyway a large amount of gifted kids actually underachieve or are at average level due to overstimulation or boredom in class.

He will probably get in if recommended by a teacher.

[nager]

Our 11 year old has been going for the past two years to DCU.

For th first time they now have classes/courses in UCC Cork, Athlone IT, Dun Laoghaire, NUIG (Galway) Letterkenny (LYIT), Limerick (LIT), Sligo (SIT), Tralee (ITT) Wexford (Carlow IT Campus) so you might not have as big a commute as you think.

For our young lad - it changed his life. The courses are progressed at a 'great rate' - according to him ie. they are not revising & redoing things like school. He loves it and makes great friends each time he goes. It challenges him and he loves this.

If your child has the chance to go - I would highly recommend it.

[thejetset]

Originally Posted by nager

Our 11 year old has been going for the past two years to DCU.

For th first time they now have classes/courses in UCC Cork, Athlone IT, Dun Laoghaire, NUIG (Galway) Letterkenny (LYIT), Limerick (LIT), Sligo (SIT), Tralee (ITT) Wexford (Carlow IT Campus) so you might not have as big a commute as you think.

For our young lad - it changed his life. The courses are progressed at a 'great rate' - according to him ie. they are not revising & redoing things like school. He loves it and makes great friends each time he goes. It challenges him and he loves this.

If your child has the chance to go - I would highly recommend it.

The OP is probably talking about the 12 to 17 summer programme which only runs in DCU. The 6 to 12 programmes run in different locations and have done for many years.

Besides CTYI there is also the CAT programme which takes people who have scored between the 85th and 95th percentile in the test, this runs parallel to the CTYI programme during the summer and lasts only 2 weeks instead of 3 and is typically very similar to CTYI. There's a lot of interaction between CAT students and CTYI students during those 2 weeks.

I'd agree with the previous post though, if they get a chance then go. That said, don't force them if they definitely don't want to go (though try figure if it's just apprehensiveness).

Also, commuters will generally get on fine, especially if they're staying with someone living close by so time isn't too much of an issue. It'd be advisable for him to hang around a bit during social times but this can sometimes be awkward (bus/collection/travel times etc).

Best of luck anyway.

[markytowny94]

Shtory.

I commuted at that age, and for a few years after that. He should definitely go for it, sounds like he'll enjoy it