Young Scholars - Application Process

Davidson Young Scholars - Application Process

To be eligible for the Davidson Young Scholars program, applicants must:

• Be 5 to 16 years old when the application is submitted, and
• Be a U.S. citizen or Permanent Resident of the United States, and
• Having documentation of current testing that meets our Testing Requirements.

The Davidson Young Scholars program does not discriminate based on race, gender, religion, ethnicity, or disability.

The Davidson Young Scholars program application is available online through our digital application system. Applications are reviewed year-round on a rolling basis. Once applications are complete, they are sent to review. Applicants can expect to hear back regarding a decision for their application within 6-weeks of their notification of completion. Please review the following application components that are required before an application is considered complete. 

APPLICATION COMPONENTS

The application includes the following components:

• Family Demographic Information
• Parent Questionnaire: This section includes a series of questions to better understand how giftedness manifests in the applicant.
• School Information: In this section, the application asks for the applicant’s current school, grade level, and education history.
• Testing Requirements: An official and complete testing report must be uploaded as a PDF to the application. For more information, please see our Testing Requirements.
• Supplemental Information: Unless you are submitting testing that is over two years old, this section of the application is optional. If you are submitting testing that is more than two years old, a portfolio is required. While supplemental information will not override scores that fall significantly below the Testing Requirements, this section can be used to enhance the review committees understanding of the applicant’s abilities. For more information, please visit our Supplemental Information.
• Parent Agreement Form(s): Digital signatures are required on Parent Agreement Form(s) from all persons sharing legal custody of the applicant. Applicants must provide contact information for all persons who share legal custody, regardless of any "physical custody" arrangements. Once the online application has been submitted, each person listed as having legal custody will be sent an email automatically that includes a link to a Parent Agreement Form. Each person with legal custody must fill out and submit a Parent Agreement Form before an application is considered complete.
• Recommender Form: Applicants must provide the name and email address of an individual who can nominate the applicant for the Young Scholars Program.
  • The recommender cannot be related to the applicant. Family members cannot complete the Recommender Form.
  • The recommender cannot be the individual who administered the testing used in the application.
  • The recommender should be someone who can speak to the applicant’s academic and extreme intellectual abilities.

Possible recommenders include teachers, instructors, extracurricular activity leaders, librarians, mentors, coaches, or tutors.

Once an application has been submitted, an email will be sent to the recommender with a link to a Recommender Form. The recommender must fill out and submit a Recommender Form before an application is considered complete

When the Recommender Form has been submitted, a notification of receipt will be emailed to both the Recommender and the parent/guardians included on the application.

HOW TO COMPLETE THE APPLICATION PROCESS

After reviewing the application components, please refer to the following steps to complete the application process.

Step 1: Create an account in the application system.

Create an account and access the Young Scholars Application >

If you already applied for a Davidson Institute program using the Davidson Application System, you may use the same login information to apply for the Davidson Young Scholars program.  

Step 2: Prepare application materials.

• Testing report of test listed on Testing Requirements
• Supplemental information (optional unless testing is between two to four years old)
• Name and email for a recommender who will complete the Recommender Form

Step 3: Fill out and submit application.

All components must be completed before you can submit the application. This includes completion of the Parent Agreement Form(s) and the Recommender Form. Custodial parents and recommenders will receive emails with links to complete their respective forms. The application will not be considered complete until all these forms have been received by the Davidson Institute. 

Step 4: Application is reviewed by the Davidson Institute.

Applications are available year round and considered on a rolling basis. Once the application is complete, the application will go to review. Important Note: Applications are not considered complete until all custodial parents have signed and submitted a Parent Agreement Form, and the Recommender Form has been submitted. 

Step 5: Receive application decision.

You will be notified if your application has been accept within six weeks of when your application is considered complete. Please do not contact staff to check on an applicant’s status during the review month as this delays the process for all applicants.

 

FAQs

Q. I started my application prior to May 1,2020, my application login no longer works. What do I need to do?
We updated our application system. Applications in the old system that were not complete by April 30, 2020 are required to complete an application in our new system. This means a new login and application will need to be created for the applicant. 

Q. What is the fee to apply to the Young Scholars program?

There is no fee to apply to, or participate in, the Young Scholars program.

Q. How will I know when the application I submitted is complete and will be sent to review?

The parent selected as primary contact on the Parent/Guardian page of the application will receive automatic emails from the application system throughout the application process, including an email once the entire application and forms are confirmed to be complete. At this point, the application will go to review .

Q. Can I submit more than one Recommender Form?

Unfortunately, our application system only allows for ONE Recommender Form to be submit per application. However, you can include a letter(s) of recommendation as part of the applicant’s portfolio as discussed on the Supplemental Information page.

Q. Will I be receiving any email notifications after I apply through the Application System?

Yes, you will be receiving email notifications and prompts from our email server. If you do not receive these emails after applying, your mail server may be identifying some of our email as spam. If these emails are in your spam folder, enable your anti-spam and parental control software to accept email from @davidsongifted.org by adding it to your list of safe senders.

Q. When should I receive an email letting me know if my child has been accepted?

Decision notifications will be sent via email to the primary contact listed in the application within six weeks of a confirmed completion. All applicants will receive an email stating whether the applicant is accepted, not eligible, or if more information is needed. Please do not contact staff to check on an applicant’s status during the review month as this delays the process for all applicants. If you have not received a decision notification within six weeks of when you received the confirmation of completion email, please first check your junk/spam folder. If you do not see an email, please contact ysapplications@davidsongifted.org.

Q: What am I agreeing to if accepted to the Young Scholars program?

Please know that by participating in the Young Scholars program, families will be consenting to comply with Davidson Institute policies and procedures, and statutes, regulations and case law of the State of Nevada where the Davidson Institute for Talent Development is organized as a not-for-profit corporation and maintains its principal offices. The policies and procedures of the Davidson Institute are subject to reasonable revision without notice.

Q: How will the Davidson Institute communicate with me and with any other parent/guardian who has legal custody of the applicant?

Applicants for the Young Scholar program must provide contact information for any person who shares legal custody of the applicant. Once accepted, the Davidson Institute will copy any person who shares legal custody of a Young Scholar on all correspondence, emails and other written communication from the Davidson Institute. Further, Nevada state law (Nevada Revised Statute 125.520) requires that access to records and other information pertaining to a minor child must not be denied to a parent for the reason that such parent is not the child’s custodial parent.

If any parent/guardian with legal custody of the Young Scholar does not wish to receive correspondence, emails or other written communication from the Davidson Institute, that parent/guardian must provide the Davidson Institute with a signed letter (not an email) requesting to be excluded from copies of communications.

If a change in legal custody of a Young Scholar occurs after their enrollment paperwork has been received by the Davidson Institute, we will require legal documentation, satisfactory to us, proving that any applicable rights, for example, rights to access records or rights to make decisions on behalf of the child, have been extinguished before we will alter our communication or other interactions with parent(s)/guardian(s). It is up to the parent(s)/guardian(s) to let us know and provide the appropriate documentation concerning any extinguishment of rights.

Q: Will the Davidson Institute reveal the names of participants with anyone outside the group?

We will not share the names, descriptive information, or photographs of the participants without written consent from the Young Scholar's parents. For more information, please read the Davidson Young Scholars Confidentiality Policy.

Q: What if my child is accepted as a Davidson Young Scholar and the program is not a good match?

Although the vast majority of individuals who access our services find them beneficial, these services are not a "good match" for every family. In these rare cases, the Davidson Institute retains the right to modify or terminate services. Families also may choose to withdraw from the program at any time.