Officially, CTY is a Johns Hopkins University program for the "Talented Youth" of America. (the literal meanning of CTY is Center for Talented Youth). According to Hopkins, CTY is one of two subsets of the organization known as IAAY or Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth. The other subset is CAA, which stands for Center for Academic Advancement. The basic premise is that for six weeks during the summer, a large mob of "Talented Youth" ranging from age 12 to 16 is put on a college campus and instructed to learn. As horrid as this may seem it is really quite amusing.

The Real CTY

First off, it is important to note that IAAY does not exist. It is a fictitious creation with no basis in reality. That said it is time to move on to the true definition of CTY. Yes several hundred teenager are put on to a college campus during the summer and told to learn. And yes we choose to do this. But thats not what CTY is about. Its the people who make CTY great, CTYers are by far the most interesting and amusing people I've ever met. I can't even begin to describe how wonderful they are. However some of the traditions speak for themselves. Rocky Horror, Couching, and of course Passion Fruit.

 
 
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