Duke Talent Identification Program
59% of USJ Seventh Grade students qualify for Duke TIP
The University School of Jackson proudly announces the seventh grade students qualifying for the 2011-2012 Duke Talent Identification Program. Students scoring at the 95th percentile in at least one of the following standardized test categories from the CTP IV (ERB) taken in the fall of their sixth-grade year qualify for the talent search: Reading Comprehension, Verbal Reasoning, Writing Concepts or Skills, Writing Mechanics, Math, Quantitative Reasoning, and/ or students scoring a 125 or higher on the Otis Lennon School Ability Test.
These students include: Catherine Adkins, Patrick Aherrera, Page Askins, Harrison Baker, Nicholas Ballard, J.P. Boyd, Ali Butler, Sarah Carraher, Bentlee Clarkson, Ella Coy, Avery Cupples, Taylor Duckworth, Blair Dyer, Bijon Etghayi, Paylor Eubank, Maggie Exum, Zach Fisher, Abbey Fleming, Spencer Hancock, Caroline Haynes, Chandler Haynes, Lillie Homberg, Anna Horn, Andrew Houston, Anna Jones, Keyon Kazempour, Riley Koerner, Sydney Kwasigroh, Lauren Nicola, Efia Nuako, Evan Patterson, Alexander Peftoulidis, Katherine Petrinjak, Brittain Rainey, Larissa Rose, Josie Seals, Landon Sellers, Madison Stafford, Trey Smith, Peyton Taylor, Taylor Tenpenny, Jack Tygart, Michael Villarreal, Katie Watlington, Nicholas Weiner, Eric Whisenant, Morgan Williams, and Alannah Yellen.
We congratulate our 2011-2012 qualifiers on this outstanding achievement!
Duke Talent Program creates opportunities at colleges
As a USJ seventh grader in the 2005-2006 school year, Evan Baker was one of 43 students in his class invited to participate in the Duke Talent Identification Program. His high score on the SAT that year earned him state recognition in the Duke program and opened the door to opportunities.
That summer, he was invited to attend college programs for high-scoring Duke Talent participants. He spent three weeks at Davidson College studying about lab sciences. For the next three summers, he spent three weeks at Duke University. And last summer, he spent six weeks at Vanderbilt's PAVE summer program.
In the 2010-2011 school year, 58 students (69 percent of the USJ 7th grade class) were invited to participate in the Duke TIP program. Each year, in order to qualify, seventh graders must have scored in the 95th percentile on the national norms of a recognized standardized achievement or aptitude test the year before. USJ students who participate usually take the SAT college entrance test in January. Some take the ACT.
"The Duke program is a wonderful opportunity for our students," said Middle School Director Courtney Burnette. "Evan is an example of a student who has taken advantage of that opportunity, and it has changed his perspective on how he thinks and how he has approached his college search."
Evan, a member of the USJ Class of 2011 who is also a National Merit Commended Student, applied to nine colleges, including Georgia Tech, Rice, University of Rochester, Vanderbilt, Duke, and Columbia in New York City. He is attending the University of Rochester.
"The summer programs exposed me to new ideas and peers with similar interests," Evan says. "As I went into the college search process, I already knew what I liked and didn't like."
