From analyzing the physics of space exploration to conversing in Spanish, the gifted students of Iowa State’s Cy-Tag and Explorations! programs are getting a head start on their higher education.

Cy-Tag is a three-week program in which students pick a specific course for their interests and abilities.

The days are planned tightly, allowing the students six hours of class, three hours of independent activities and one hour of required study time. Activities include everything from ultimate Frisbee to chess tournaments, and even a game called “Helmet.”

“Explorations!’ main focus is to spark interest, although there is a lot of learning during that week,” said Keith Davis, director of Cy-Tag and Explorations!

Explorations! is only one week long and not as in depth as Cy-Tag, but fun and informative nonetheless, he said.

The classes allow students from grades seven to 11 to get high school and possible advanced placement credit from a variety of courses.

“The students who attend this program are scoring in the mid-20s on the ACT and in the 900 level on the SAT,” Davis said. “The scores are at the level of college-bound juniors or seniors in high school.”

Students who score very high on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills may take the ACT and SAT early through the Iowa Talent Search program.

Cy-Tag and Explorations! have criteria in which the students must receive minimum scores on these college-entry tests. Many Cy-Tag classes require a score of 21 on the ACT or 930 on the SAT for registration.

The classes have a capacity of 20 students in order to give individualized attention.

“Although all of the courses are in demand, the computer programming with Java class could easily be offered twice,” Davis said.

Other popular courses offered this summer with Cy-Tag were genetics, chemistry, world literature and mathematics. Explorations! hosted classes over digital photography, forensic science, astronomy and journalism.

The junior high and high school students in the program live in Friley Hall and directors try to keep the students somewhat segregated from their college-aged neighbors.

“I have students from 13 to 17 years old, yet they all are learning Spanish smoothly together even with the age difference,” said Cecilia Escalante, ISU Spanish professor.

“We participate in learning the language and the culture. One game the students like is a ‘Simon Says’ type — of course, it’s all in Spanish,” she said.

Escalante also said this program immerses the students in the language with six hours of class on weekdays and three on Saturdays.

Also, native English is rarely ever heard in her classroom.

In 1987, Cy-Tag’s first year at ISU, 60 students came to participate, and the number has since grown to 300.

Three-fourths of the Cy-Tag students are Iowa natives, and some also come from foreign countries.

Cy-Tag and Explorations! employs about 75 staff members, including 22 professors.

“This program is well coordinated by bringing together the parents, residence assistants, professors, directors and the community to help these gifted students,” Escalante said.

“Of the students who have attended Cy-Tag in the past, a ratio of two-to-one will choose to attend ISU over the University of Iowa,” Davis said. “That is impressive since the University of Iowa has the medical and law schools on campus.

“Seventy-five percent of the students went to colleges more prestigious then ISU, and half of that 75 percent attended top schools like MIT, Yale, or Harvard,” he said.

ISU partially funds Cy-Tag, although most of the funding comes from the students’ fees which range from $470 for one week to $2,250 for six weeks.

“We work very closely with the university and the faculty since we use the classroom, dormitories and professors,” Davis said. “Also, we have guest lectures from other various professors which are free of charge to the program.”

The program teaches the students more than academics, Davis said.

“One thing this program does for the students is it makes them realize it is okay to be smart,” he said.

“When these students get together they break down stereotypes. Unfortunately, people sometimes see these kids as ‘geeks’ because of their intelligence. This is not true — just like any other group of students some will be more gifted with social graces than others,” he said.