We recommend that you choose your mentorship based on what interests you. Remember, you will be studying the topic you select in-depth and completing an individual project. Select a mentorship that excites you! We encourage you to rank as many mentorships as you have interest in but be sure that any mentorship that you rank on your application is something you would be willing to explore in-depth. Showing interest by ranking more than one mentorship opportunity will not decrease your chances of being placed in your top-ranked mentorship. However, ranking more than one mentorship experience may increase your overall chances for placement in the program after the review process.

Being placed on a waiting list means a student is eligible for the program, but there is not a space available in the particular mentorship experience the student is interested in. A waiting list is retained for all full mentorship opportunities. Students who we are unable to offer a place in a particular mentorship due to space will be placed on a waiting list.

Those applying to mentorships before the first-round priority admissions deadline (see program timeline for this deadline for the session/experience you are applying) who are not offered a place in the mentorship will be placed on a waiting list for the mentorship, if eligible. A student’s placement on a waiting list will be based on their application. Eligible students who apply after the first-round priority admissions deadline will be placed on the waiting list based on the date/time of application receipt.

Programs for Talented Youth will contact you if a spot opens off the waiting list.

If you are placed in a lower ranked mentorship, you will remain on the waiting list for higher ranked mentorships. Your enrollment will be moved to a higher ranked mentorship if a spot becomes available. Be sure to rank only mentorships for which you are willing to take.

Please note that test scores in the 90th percentile and above for age group in one or more sections on an advanced achievement assessment (ACT, SAT, PSAT) OR, if advanced achievement assessment scores are not available, any other nationally normed standardized assessment (such as state testing, MAP/NWEA testing, ITBS, or ERB) suggests that Mentor Immersion would be a good fit academically for a student. If scores fall below the 90th percentile, PTY recommends students submit a portfolio application. Please visit the “How to Apply” section of the program website for more information on portfolio components.

The Mentor Immersion experience differs from an online class in the following ways: (1) Class sizes are significantly smaller to allow for more interaction, individualized instruction, and access to the mentor and teaching assistant. (2) The goal of an online course is typically content acquisition with the evaluation and articulation of ideas, whereas the mentorship also focuses on creating new content in the field by developing an in-depth culminating research project or product, similar to that of a practicing professional. (3) Online courses are more objective-based and instructor driven; Mentor Immersion is instructor-led but allows for more student-driven activities through individualized instruction, research, and instructor input.

No. Admission to PTY’s Mentorship Immersion or Rising Expert program is not an indicator of admission to Vanderbilt University. The goal of Mentorship Immersion and Rising Expert is to provide an opportunity to learn more about a particular field and complete independent research or a project with support from a content expert.

Yes, all students must reapply and pay the application fee for future programs. PTY may request updated test scores, transcripts and/or recommendations as a part of your new application.

Each mentorship program has a program timeline, including tuition due dates, listed on the PTY website. The tuition due date is also included in the admissions notification email. After the tuition due date, no refunds will be provided if a student must cancel participation. The application fee is nonrefundable for all applicants regardless of admission or placement in a mentorship.

Yes. All mentorship meetings will utilize Zoom. There are no in-person requirements for these programs.

Approximately 10 students are paired with a mentor and an additional teaching assistant.

No. Programs for Talented Youth does not give grades or award credit for any of our programs, including Mentorship Immersion and Rising Experts. We want you to stretch your intellectual capacity without fear of failure. In Mentorship Immersion and Rising Experts your mentor will evaluate your progress, and you will receive an end of session rubric as well as a certificate of completion from your mentor after the program. Additionally, you will receive formative feedback from your mentor throughout the program. The end of the program evaluation will detail your progress on a variety of factors and aims to give you a broad picture of your academic growth throughout the experience as well as feedback on your final product/project.

The culminating project for each mentorship is determined after collaborating with your mentor. It will likely not include independent research that can be later submitted for publications, as publication is not the purpose of the mentorship experience. Once the mentorship begins, each mentor will define the parameters around the culminating experience. Mentors will be asking their mentees to participate in a culminating product that relates to the field of the mentorship focus. For example, a creative writing mentorship might include a final project of an anthology while a mentorship in nanoscience might include a paper or research related to the field. After placement, it is up to the mentor and mentee to discuss a project that is appropriate for the experience, includes the mentor’s expertise that can be used to support the project, and is exciting to the mentee. The program is designed so that you are working together with your mentor to develop the project that you are excited about once the criteria has been shared by the mentor.

Our mentorship programs provide academic mentorship. Your mentor is a content expert in a specific discipline. As such, this mentorship is designed to provide you with an experience in a potential field of interest. Your mentors and teaching assistants have been asked to provide content area instruction, share with you what it takes to be successful in their particular field, pathways for engaging in the field, and help you design a quality product or project of interest in a way a professional or college student may approach the topic. Your mentor and teaching assistant may talk about their personal career path and career journey or discuss the level of academic preparation required in their field. Mentors and teaching assistants are not equipped to offer college or career counseling, college application essay advice, high school tutoring, life coaching, or personal counseling. They are more than willing to help you with your final product, discuss the content delivered in the course, or answer any questions you might have about how they personally have engaged in the field, the current status of their field, or what they perceive as the necessary components to be successful in their given area.

It is up to each individual mentor to decide whether they are available and willing to write a letter of recommendation. This is beyond the scope of the mentorship experience. If you are interested in seeking a recommendation letter, please talk directly to your mentor about this and give them as much advanced notice as possible. We also ask that you respect your mentor’s individual decision if they must decline. Mentors are extremely busy researchers, faculty members, or graduate students—If they must decline, it is not personal. Additionally, they are unlikely to have the time to guide you in other required research activities outside of the scope of your mentorship. They are committed to Mentor Immersion or Rising Experts, and their extra time is dedicated to your current experience. Any additional support for other high school required projects or research interests during or after your mentorship are left to each individual mentor’s discretion and would not be associated with or under the regulations and agreements of PTY.

In most instances, this is not acceptable. Generally speaking, using the same project for two different courses is a violation of an academic honor code. Original work is expected. Additionally, the criteria for your high school course and the mentorship are likely to be different in scope and on different timelines. There are times when expanding upon a topic of interest previously started is appropriate. We suggest that you consult with your mentor and high school instructor, should you want to continue to add to a project or topic that you have been researching in one course and use it in another. This will be decided on a case-by-case basis.

If accepted and enrolled, you are expected to attend the live weekly meetings as indicated in the mentorship descriptions. You are not always required to attend the additional office hours each week. The office hours allotted each week allow you to have more time with your academic mentor and teaching assistant if you need it. At this time, they may answer any questions you have about the material. As you continue to work on your project, your mentor may require that you meet individually or in small groups outside of the allotted and regularly scheduled class time to discuss your progress. This will likely occur in the later weeks of the program when you have a better idea of your project direction. The time and day of the weekly office hours will be determined during the first course meeting and will be based on cohort availability. The mentor will survey the cohort and identify a time potentially everyone is available. The time could change based on unanimous vote.

No, mentorship meetings are not recorded.

Students are expected to attend every mentorship session; however, PTY understands that students may need to be absent at some point throughout the experience. If a student must be absent, we ask them to let the mentor and teaching assistant know by emailing them in advance of the session when possible. It is expected that absences will be rare and are requested for appropriate reasons (e.g., illness, school commitment, family emergency).

It is a student’s responsibility to make up content or work that has been missed. Ongoing absences (2 or more during the duration of the mentorship) may negatively affect a student’s experience and could result in removal from the program or an opportunity to continue the program without a completion certificate. In addition, missing consecutive sessions requires PTY administration approval by emailing pty.peabody@vanderbilt.edu and copying the mentor and teaching assistant. Please note, mentors and teaching assistants are asked to share attendance with PTY administration. After each absence, a PTY administrator may contact the student and parents to discuss program participation.

If a student plans on missing more than two meetings due to known commitments, we encourage the student to consider applying to a future PTY mentorship cohort.

Students will see their mentor and mentee groups when they meet via Zoom each week. The length of these meeting times varies based on which program you are enrolled in. Visit the specific program page for the live session commitment each week. Additional office hours may also be required during certain weeks. In addition to the zoom session each week, students should be prepared to complete asynchronous work outside of the classroom to prepare for class, work with other mentees, attend additional mini sessions, or to work independently on their project. Visit the program page for more information about how much time outside of the Zoom sessions can be expected. It is important to note that every student is different and depending on their project and course content, more or less work may be required during certain weeks or times throughout the session. We also fully expect that there will be less out-of-class work early in the program (likely an hour or two per class meeting) before independent project work begins. There will likely be more out-of-class work once the project is in full force during the second half of the mentorship. Again, this work will vary by class and content domain. Although this program will require a significant time commitment, we are also aware that many of the students participating are also taking advanced courses within their traditional high school curriculum as well as participating in other extracurriculars. The program is designed to be immersive, but we do not intend it to be overwhelming. There are no grades in the program. Your final project will vary based on the mentorship you sign up for, but all projects will mimic the work done in the field. Plan ahead and communicate with your mentor about key times (such as AP exam week, if the program meets during the school year), when you might be extra busy so that you can develop a plan ahead of time to ensure you are keeping up with all of your important commitments.