Before I begin, I know that this event is a gimmick. Any event or conference that charges you to attend isn’t really worth a damn. That being said, I got a “full scholarship” to attend this and it’s only an hour drive from my house. It’s this weekend so I’m not going to change my mind and cop out at the last minute.
I’m just going to use this exclusively for networking – what other purpose do conferences have anyway? For those of you who have attended an event of this nature – or have friends, family, etc who have – what kind of people will you find there? My hunch is that most of the kids will be somewhat intelligent, extremely ambitious, and a little bit misled.
I’m not an expert in this field, but I personally think you’re doing it for the right reasons. I would note in an application (if you choose to include the event) that you were a full scholarship recipient, makes it sound a bit better.
Don’t get me wrong, it is a positive on resumes regardless, but at the same time if you just attend the event and pay for it, it’s not really, in my opinion, the biggest accomplishment in the world. I got invited and was still getting emails asking me to go around this time last month, yet the deadline was April 4th… they’re just trying to fill their seats and get money. It is a business, after all.
Going in for networking is the right way to do it, make sure to appeal to all of the prestigious people you’re going to meet. I’m sure you’ll find a pretty good variety of people there, some very intelligent people, some ambitious people, but also probably some people who aren’t really too passionate about it, just being forced to do it. I’ve never been to one, like I said, but I have a feeling it is a place where there are a lot of people who want to “one-up” you, so just beware that there will probably be some obnoxious students there.
I actually went, and I’d have to say it was pretty cool. I don’t really think it’s useful to go for networking but rather basically a two-day all-day science show, and I thought it was cool to see. However, the kids you’ll meet will range from top students at their schools to kids only wanting to go to community college. It’s all over the place, and for networking, it’s a bit hard since it’s only two days. I made friends but lost contact with them immediately after the first day because I never got any contact info, and the largeness of the event made it hard to find them again. So take this really as just an opportunity for free entertainment.
@Toothpick8394 Thanks for the advice. Not doing it for an application as I’m going off to college next fall. But yeah, like you said, listing a paid event on a resume won’t differentiate you in the slightest. And I’m sure there will be some snobby/pretentious kids there as well. They’ll probably just get googly-eyed and soak in everything I say when I tell them I’m attending an Ivy in the fall. lol
@T26E4 Totally! There’s really nothing to lose in attending.