Summer Institute for the Gifted
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The Summer Instititute for the Gifted (or SIG, as it is more commonly called) is a co-ed summer program specializing in gifted education for children and teens. The program, which began in 1984, offers three-week overnight programs at Amherst College, Bryn Mawr College, Drew University, Emory University, UC Berkeley, UCLA, University of Michigan, and Vassar College for children who have completed fourth through eleventh grade (approximately ages 9-18). There is also now a residential SIG session at Princeton University each summer for students who have completed grades 7-11. SIG also has day programs at Fairfield University, Manhattanville College, Moorestown Friends School, and Bryn Mawr College for students who have completed kindergarten through sixth grade (approximately ages 5-11). While it is not difficult to be accepted into, SIG is an expensive program; the 2006 overnight sessions cost between $3,675 and $4,175, while the day programs cost $1,750. The main offices of SIG were recently moved from Parsippany, New Jersey, where they had been since SIG began, to Stamford, Connecticut. SIG is viewed as a competitor to the Center for Talented Youth, another summer program for gifted students. These programs are very similar in nature, and even share some of the same customs, such as often, but not always playing "American Pie" as the final song at every dance. Other SIG favorites include "Time Warp" from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, "That's What Friends Are For", "These Are The Days," and similar upbeat fare.
