I can speak to our experience with Duke TIP. For the younger members in the CRISIS program I was not particularly impressed with the quality of the staff, nor the organization of the program. Both of our children participated at 2 different sites, over 2 different years. For older TIP members, the summer institutes are supposed to be wonderful, engaging and well staffed. Our kids chose not participate in those programs, but I know plenty of others who did and had fabulous experiences. Another program to consider is the Vanderbilt Programs for Talented Youth (like TIP and CTY, it is a test-in program for “gifted” students). Our family loved the programs for the younger as well as the high school age kids. Extremely well run, and in my opinion, the staff has been top notch (teaching, administrative, and residential). The dorms / facilities are excellent, and our children truly enjoyed their immersive experience.