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How to Apply

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Application Q&A

If you have questions about what the Young Scholars Program is or how we can support your student, please consider attending an Application Q&A session on Monday, January 12, 2026.

Register Here

Upcoming Application Due Dates Are: 

  • February 6, 2026 – LAST DATE TO APPLY IF YOU WANT TO QUALIFY TO APPLY TO FOR 2026 SUMMER PROGRAMS 
  • April 3, 2026 – LAST DATE TO APPLY IF YOU WANT TO QUALIFY TO REGISTER FOR SUMMIT 2026
  • July 31, 2026 
  • October 9, 2026 
  • November 20, 2026 

All application decisions will be sent 2 weeks after the application cycle due date. 

Ex. If your application is submitted by the February 6 due date, you will receive a decision on February 20. If you submit your application after the February 6 due date but before the April 3 due date, you will receive your decision 2 weeks after April 3. 

Please review the following application components to prepare for the 2026 application. 

Application Components

Family Demographic Information

This section collects basic information about the applicant and their family.

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 Eligibility and Testing Requirements.

Supplemental Portfolio Requirements

If you are submitting testing that is more than 4 years old or that are PSAT, PreACT, SAT, ACT, or Davidson-specific ITBS scores, a portfolio of three (3) work samples is required. While supplemental information will not override scores that fall significantly below the Eligibility and Testing Requirements, this section can be used to enhance the review committee’s understanding of the applicant’s abilities. 

If you are not submitting testing that is more than 4 years old or that is a PSAT, PreACT, SAT, ACT, or Davidson-specific ITBS, submitting a portfolio is optional. 

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.  

However, even once the Recommender Form is submitted, your application will not be considered complete until all applicable Parent Agreement forms are signed.

How To Complete the Application Process

Step 1: Prepare application materials.

  • Testing report of test listed on Eligibility and Testing page
  • Portfolio information (optional unless testing is more than 4 years old or submitting PSAT, PreACT, SAT, ACT, or Davidson-specific ITBS scores.)
  • Name and email for a recommender who will complete the Recommender Form

Step 2: 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.

Important Note: While working on your application, if you encounter issues (ex. something doesn’t save properly or you have trouble moving to the next page of your application), DO NOT create duplicate applications. This will not fix the issue you are encountering. It will likely create new issues. Instead, please email YSApplications@DavidsonGifted.org for assistance. In your email, please describe the issue you are experiencing and include your applicant child’s full first and last name. A member of our application team will respond to your email as soon as possible. Due to the high number of applicants, please allow up to 10 business days for a response. Thank you, and we look forward to reviewing your child’s application.

The 2025 Young Scholars Application is open! Access the application >

Step 3: Application is reviewed by the Davidson Institute.

The Young Scholars program application is available January-November, and submitted applications are reviewed based on the schedule posted at the top of this page. Important Note: Applications are not considered complete until all custodial parents have signed and submitted a Parent Agreement Form, a valid testing report has been submitted, and the Recommender Form has been submitted. 

Step 4: Receive application decision.

You will be notified of your application decision within 2 weeks of the end of your application’s submission period. That is, if your application is submitted by the February 6 due date, you will receive a decision on February 20. If you submit your application after the February 6 due date but before the April 3 due date, you will receive your decision 2 weeks after April 3. 

Please do not contact staff to check on an applicant’s status during the review period as this delays the process for all applicants. 

Thanks for Applying!

See our Frequently Asked Questions for additional application information or please contact ysapplications@davidsongifted.org for assistance.