Center for Talent Development, Northwestern University

My 11-​year-​old son has attended the Apogee summer program and the SEP (Saturday Enrichment Program) on Saturdays. He absolutely loved both! The course work is fun, but extremely challenging. He also had the opportunity to meet a lot of great kids from different backgrounds. The staff is great and they go all out for the students. My 8-​year-​old son just qualified for the program and I can’t wait for him to get started! I highly recommend the CTD to any parent with gifted children.

The summer programs at CTD have been excellent for my two kids. In particular, the Debate course in Spectrum was outstanding, as was the Economics of Everything course in Equinox. Both kids requested to return after being there the prior year — choosing CTD over sports, theater, art, traditional camps; that says a lot about the kids. If yours are like that, they are likely to enjoy CTD and learn a lot. As another reviewer says, it is nice for some kids to be around «their people» for a few weeks a summer.
The program isn’t perfect. In particular, program management always seems a bit disorganized, and some classes are better than others, but overall, I would highly recommend it.

Wow. Incredibly harsh reviews so far. I love the CTD. The teachers are phenomenal and the curriculum is fun and challenging for students who need to be challenged. My son has participated in two summer courses and one online course since we moved to the Boston area — he loves it and has had exposure to unique learnings that he might not otherwise. I love how the CTD makes learning challenging concepts fun! My only comment is I hope the CTD invests in more online/​virtual learning so we can continue to participate!

If I could put zero stars… like stay the f away from this place it is a waste of money… I would! The people could care less, their business practices are shady, they tout themselves as some kind of official knighting service for the forward progression of your «gifted» child… and yet:
The equipment used in class often doesn’t work.
There is no follow-​thru or plan for syllabus.
It is an EXTREEMLY HIGH PRICED BABYSITTING SERVICE.
The teachers and administrators are slow or non-​existent when it comes to answering questions or emails.
They cancel class with no refund and no chance for make up.
I could go on. but PLEASE READ THIS Unilocal… DO NOT SPEND YOUR MONEY on
Saturday Enrichment Program, CENTER FOR TALENT DEVELOPMENT.

My son has attended Northwestern’s CTD Equinox program for the past three years. He likes to refer to his summers at CTD as «being with my people.» Gifted kids can sometimes have difficulties fitting in well with their mainstream school peers; CTD affords him a time when he can really communicate with other kids who just plain «get him.» Yes, the education is top drawer and the activities are a lot of fun, but it is the overall experience of time spent with children of like minds that has been invaluable. He is already looking forward to this, his last summer before college. We are so grateful to Northwestern Center for Talent Development for giving him this opportunity.

I lost my faith in them after our experience with them this summer.
My daughters have attended Northwestern’s Center for Talent Development for three years. They attend school in summer, live in the dorms, meet great kids, and learn a lot. But… there’s a catch.
This place is run by the most antiquated, bureacratic sloths! Forget getting a human on the phone when you call.
Here is what happened this summer. One of my daughters got a $ 1,000 scholarship for her $ 2,500 tuition. They sent me a letter stating that I would owe $ 1,500 over a period of five months. Her mom had already sent a check for $ 250 with the application, $ 50 of which was a non-​refundable application fee. I overlooked that when I got the scholarship letter. So, right off the bat we didn’t get credit for the $ 200 that was to go toward tuition. Our balance going forward after the scholarship award should have been $ 1,300, not $ 1,500.
I sent in $ 600, which was the first two of the five payments due. Then my daughter started the program and promptly got strep and mono after three days. They sent her home and kicked her out of the program; she was too contagious.
I got a phone call from an adminstrator there stating that NU would refund the $ 600 I had paid, and I thanked them. Then I got a letter stating that the refund would be only $ 400. I called and asked why. The same administrator told me they had lost money on my daughter; they don’t usually give refunds, and I should be happy with $ 400. She said I would receive the check within two — four weeks. That was late June.
Then I realized they cashed the initial $ 250 check. A phone call ensued, and they politely told us to go scratch, despite protests that they were essentially reneging on the $ 1,000 scholarship. They didn’t care.
I just got the refund check today!
Not worth their sharkiness no matter how worthwhile the education was. We’ll find somewhere else next summer.