Students qualify for SET by scoring at least 700 on either the Math or Verbal (Critical Reading or Evidence-Based Reading and Writing) SAT before age 13. Students who take the SAT after their 13th birthday may qualify for SET by scoring an additional 10 points above 700 for each month after their 13th birthday. Thus, a student who takes the SAT three months and two weeks after his or her 13th birthday would qualify for SET with a score of at least 730 on either the SAT-Math or SAT-Verbal.
Students under 13 cannot register online for the SAT. They must register using the SAT Paper Registration form. College Board requires that all students be at least 10 years old at the time of SAT registration.
The SAT paper registration form can be obtained as follows:
Yes. See the first Q&A.
Yes. SET eligibility is based solely on age and SAT score, not grade in school.
No. Students may qualify for SET by taking the SAT through CTY, through another Talent Search (such as CTD or TIP), or on their own. Students who test outside CTY should send a copy of their official SAT score report to SET.
Yes, we welcome international students and American students living abroad. If you send us a copy of your official SAT score report, we will be happy to invite you to join.
Yes. SET does not accept other tests (ACT, PLUS, PSAT, SAT Subject tests, SCAT, Stanford Achievement Test, Stanford-Binet, Spatial Test Battery) in place of the SAT. Students who achieve high scores on such tests and meet age requirements are encouraged to take the SAT for eligibility.
No. Students do not register with SET before taking the SAT; they are invited to join SET after they take the SAT if they have qualified.
No. We need an official score report, which includes your full name, mailing address, and date of birth (see an example - jpg image).
Your Online Score Report (These examples are .jpg images and open in new window: example 1, example 2) is not an official score report.
If you do not have a copy of your official score report, you can request that CollegeBoard send an official score report to CTY. Select "Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth" and/or reporting code "5334".
To become a member of SET, a student must complete and return the SET registration forms. Once we receive a student's completed registration materials, the student becomes a member of SET, with all the privileges that entails... which leads to the next question.
No. To join SET, you must complete and return the SET registration materials you receive with your e-invitation to join SET. You will receive an e-invitation to join SET once CTY receives your SAT scores.
SET members receive the SET Precollege Newsletter, as well as individual educational counseling from the SET staff, if they desire. SET also helps organize local gatherings, where SET families can meet one another. Learn more about SET's services.
No. SET's services are free to qualified students who join SET. We do, however, welcome donations from individuals who value our services.
Students and parents often wonder what sort of commitment is expected of SET members. Initially, students must complete a set of registration materials in order to join SET. Thereafter, they will receive annual update forms every spring, to help us keep up with their interests, activities, and contact information. We sometimes send SET members additional surveys (on specific topics, such as involvement in math extracurricular activities, for example). In all cases, students choose how much to disclose.
Our primary goal is to assist exceptionally able students and to provide them with counseling and information about programs and opportunities that may be of interest to them. We do that primarily through our publications, which SET members receive for free. Most of our efforts are focused on getting information to SET members, not from them. We understand that people vary greatly in how much they like to share about themselves, and we do not want students who qualify for SET to miss out on information that may be helpful to them simply because they don't feel comfortable sharing certain personal information. While SET's primary mission is to assist exceptionally able students, it is also an ongoing research study of how best to accomplish that goal, and we try to strike a balance between those objectives.
Yes. If you qualified for SET through CTY, we should have a record of your SAT score. If we do, we will send you an e-invitation after you contact us. If you did not qualify through CTY, you will need to send us a copy of your SAT score report before we can send you an e-invitation.
CTY hosts an annual Grand Awards Ceremony at Johns Hopkins University to honor top participants from around the world in a given Talent Search year, which runs from July 1 – June 30 and coincides with the academic year for students in the U.S. At this ceremony, students receive a medal honoring their outstanding academic achievements.
Students who (a) qualify for SET within a given Talent Search year, (b) are in grade 8 or under at that time, and (c) have registered for that year's CTY Talent Search are invited to attend. This includes SET qualifiers in grades 6 and below.
CTY also holds annual International Awards ceremonies in Hong Kong and Shanghai for students residing in Asia.
YES. Only registered CTY Talent Search participants are eligible for and invited to CTY's Awards Ceremonies. If you wish to attend a CTY Awards Ceremony, you must register for CTY's current Talent Search.
If you took the SAT independent of CTY, you can still register for CTY Talent Search — even after you have taken the SAT. You will not have to retake the SAT.
Whether you will be invited to an Awards Ceremony depends on when you took the SAT.
If you took the SAT during the current academic year, you can still register for CTY's current Talent Search up until June 30th, and your SAT score will be counted as part of the current CTY Talent Search.
If you took the SAT before the current academic year, you cannot register that score in CTY's current Talent Search and so cannot be honored for that score at a CTY Awards Ceremony.
Watch video of Medal Day.