CTY Talent Search Online Application

Frequently Asked Questions

This list contains the most frequently asked questions about the CTY's Talent Search Online Registration.

Confirmation of Qualification

• My child took a test that is not in the list, what should I do?
• Do I need to send in a copy of the Parent Nomination Form?

• I cannot enter my child's school information, what should I do?
• After entering all my child’s personal data and clicking the “Continue” button, I keep coming back to the same page, what should I do?

• When I review my child’s information, I realize I have made a mistake, what should I do?

• When I click on the "Click here to pay by credit card" button, I get no response or a "socket" error message?
• What is CSC and why does CTY require it?
• I had an error when I initially entering my credit card information. When I went fixed the error and resubmitted, I got a message saying “An identical transaction was submitted nn seconds ago." I do not want to be charged twice, what should I do?
• My credit card company tells me that there are multiple charges from CTY, does this mean my credit card has been charged several times?
• I am not sure if my application went though. How can I be sure you have my child’s application?
• When I submit my payment on the Paypal page, I get Error: An error occurred while retrieving the information. Please try again later. I try over and over and still receive this error.

 
If you do not find answers to your questions or continue to have problems, please contact the CTY Information Office for general registration questions or Technical Support for technical problems.
 

Confirmation of Qualification

 
My child took a test that is not in the list, what should do?

Simply select "Other Aptitude Test" and type in the name of the test in the blank box that appears. You do not need to enter any information about the percentiles.

 
Do I need to send in a copy of the Parent Nomination Form?

You do not need to mail the Parent Nomination Form to CTY. Simply read it before completing the online application.

 
Personal Data

 
I cannot enter my child's school information, what should I do?

On Step 4 under the section "School Details", you should find the following text:

What school does our child currently attend? Click HERE to identify your child's school. Please note that the School Search appears in a pop-up window. You may need to temporarily turn off any pop-up blocking software so that you may identify your school.
Selected School *:

Click on the word HERE. This link will open the school search window and follow these steps.

1. Enter your search criteria and click on "Retrieve Matches" button.
2. Find your child's school in the results list.
3. Click on your child's school then click on the "Select School" button.
4. The selected school information will be populated on the Step 4 page.

 
After entering all my child’s personal data and clicking the “Continue” button, I keep coming back to the same page, what should I do?

There is mostly likely an error or incomplete information on the page. Look under the “Personal Data” title on the page and see if there is anything written in RED. This indicates what you need to complete or correct before proceeding. You cannot continue until the page is completed correctly.

 
Review

 
When I review my child’s information, I realize I have made a mistake, what should I do?

Click the “BACK” button at the bottom of the page (do not use your browser's back button) and correct the information before proceeding to the payment page. You MUST fix the errors before paying, otherwise the incorrect information will be sent to CTY.

 
Payments

 
When I click on the "Click here to pay by credit card" button, I get no response or a "socket" error message?

On rare occasions you may experience an intermittent problem connecting to our secure payment processor at Verisign. In some cases, it reports a "socket failure" with an error code of 13. Verisign is aware of the problem and is working to correct it. CTY apologizes for the inconvenience and asks that you close and reopen your browser and try resubmitting your application.

 
What is a CSC and why does CTY require it on the payment page?

For our customers' protection, CTY has implemented on-line payment with the features that guard against fraudulent transactions. This system employs both Address Verification Services (AVS) to insure the entered billing address matches the credit card and Card Security Validation (CSV) to insure the customer is in physical possession of the card.

The card security code (CSC) is a number printed on the card. The number is not embossed on the card and hence not printed on receipts etc. making it much harder for anyone other than the cardholder to know what the code is. This will help prevent 'cardholder not present' fraud. A card security code is now printed on the vast majority of credit/debit cards. The format and position of the security code varies across card schemes. Some cards have a three-digit number printed at the end of the cards' signature strip. Some card issuers refer to this number as the 'Security Code', others as the 'personal security code' and others as 'Card Verification Value'. In addition, it may also go by the name of 'CVV2' for Visa Cards, 'Card Verification Code' (CVV) for Mastercard.

 

 
I had an error when I initially entered my credit card information. When I fixed the error and submitted the correct information, I received a message saying “An identical transaction was submitted nn seconds ago.” I do not want to be charged twice, what should I do?

Errors in AVS or CSV (described above) may cause "pending" charges to occur on your credit card account. However, those "pending" charges do not transfer funds to CTY and they will be removed from your credit card within 7 to10 days. Your application can only be processed through the CTY Talent Search, if it is accompanied by an "approved" charge. Therefore, you must make the correction to the credit card information and resubmit for your application to be processed.

 
My credit card company tells me that there are multiple charges from CTY, does this mean my credit card has been charged several times?

There are two ways that multiple charges can be reported by your credit card company.

1. There were AVS or CSV errors when the credit card information was initially entered (see above). If so, any "pending" charges associated with the errors will be automatically removed within 7 to 10 days.
2. Applications were successfully entered multiple times. There are cases where our customers inadvertently submit multiple applications for the same child. If so, please contact CTY at ctyinfo@jhu.edu so that the duplicate application(s) may be canceled and appropriate credit(s) issued.

 
I am not sure if my application went though. How can I be sure you have my child’s application?

If your application went to CTY successfully, you should have

1. seen a Verisign page that said “Your transaction was approved”
2. received an e-mail from Verisign with “Order Confirmation” on the subject line
3. received an e-mail from CTY with “CTY Talent Search Application” on the subject line

 
When I submit my payment on the Paypal page, I get " Error: An error occurred while retrieving the information. Please try again later. " I try over and over and still receive this error.

Other customers with this problem have reported that they were using the Internet Explorer browser and have had success switching to the Mozilla/Firefox browser. If you are unable to use Mozilla/Firefox or you are still receiving this error after doing so, you will need to submit a paper application instead of applying online.