Global Young Leaders Conference

<p>I just got an email from GYLC (Global Young Leaders Conference), basically saying that I got nominated for the summer leadership program. I have never heard of GYLC, does anybody know more about it??? How good is this program?? - it seems to be quite expensive (2000-3000 $).</p>

<p>I'm in China, received a viewbook as well. said"either go to the U.S. or Europe to attend"
kinda confused. i guess they got the mailing address from collegeboard. i'm not going anyways.</p>

<p>Just a little bit of advice on summer programs/camps...For the most part, colleges with good names (brown, stanford, jhu...et al) use these names to draw students into their programs. Although these programs may not be 'scams' but how much are you really going to get out of it for the price you are paying. Most of these programs, its like pay-to-go. Some organizations like NSLC (from what i hv heard) are like this as well; they make themselves look/sound extremely impressive but in reality they might not be as prestigious. So my advice is browse around and be careful of these 'scams.' If you can, apply to TASP, state gov schools, or other competitve programs [which are all based on merit] These programs are very difficult to get in but are free. They only take a very small number of students and they seem to be much more interested in educating you rather than getting the money...hope i helped</p>

<p>the program is legit, it is run by the Congressional Youth Leadership Conference Group. They also do the NYLC programs in various subjects -- Law, Medicine, etc. </p>

<p>The program is not prestigious -- so if you think it will help you get into a fancy college, it won't. But they also don't accept every kid -- you need to basically be a decent student (at least a b average or close to it) just because they want kids that aren't trouble makers or will screw around while on the program.</p>

<p>It isn't really a "conference" since they have multiple dates -- but it can be interesting and you can learn alot, depending on your current level of knowledge on the subject. It is expensive.</p>

<p>I recommend these types of programs to kids who are looking for more information on the subject, who don't have access to activities/classes/info on the subject at their current school, who are in 9th or 10th grade and who have the time and money for the program. </p>

<p>If you fall into one of those categories, you will find the program informative and worth your efforts. It can look good on a resume that you use to apply to other programs because it shows interest and initiative.</p>

<p>Link to the program:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.cylc.org/gylc/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.cylc.org/gylc/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>thanks guys=). I'm really interested in business/economics. What are some selective or prestigious programs in that category??
btw, FloraFlower, I'm in Beijing right now=)</p>

<p>hey HZ1989 i'm assuming you're chinese? I'm Chinese-Filipino. lol. My dad's chinese but we live here in the Philippines. Anyways, i'm really interested in this GYLC thing. particularly the Europe program. but it is SO expensive.</p>

<p>I'm applying for a scholarship just because it can't hurt to try. are you going?</p>

<p>i got nonimated for the GYLC thing as well. is it worth it? i just got accepted to summer@brown and im not sure which to pick.</p>

<p>yeah I'm also applying for a half scholarship..
And definitely I want to go to the Europe program.. seems more interesting..</p>

<p>cybercheesecake! GO TO THE BROWN ONE! i think it's more prestigious! dang, if you go to GYLC can i take your spot? heehee kidding!</p>

<p>anyways, ive done a lil bit o researchin on this GYLC thing, and apparently it's not as prestigious as it sounds, but they say it's still a pretty great experience. (unfortunately for me, i've been too hooked already. haha!)</p>

<p>go to brown!</p>

<p>@Vavalooey</p>

<p>oh hey, im going to GYLC instead haha, brown is just too late in june (which means ill miss a month of school lol)(im in the philippines by the way, which mewans our schoo scheds. are diff. our summer vaca. is april-may)</p>

<p>plus i want to be an ambassador someday :D (yes, im a big dreamer lol)</p>

<p>Gylc is a “legit” group. For the price you pay, you get to go to D.C. or China. I chose to go to the China conference bc I thought it would be one of the only times I would ever get to see China, especially during a time when its undergoing a process of rapid modernization and all. Despite my final recommendation- there were some good sides to the program. For one, the company takes care of the logistics of travelling, including arranging flights, making reservations for hotels, buying park tickets, etc. Also, getting able to meet many kids, both from abroad and from the U.S., was great.</p>

<p>Aside from these things, overall I would not recommend going with/paying for/joining gylc. First of all, as many, many people have already said, the whole thing is way too expensive. For about half the price, some patience and a ***** ton of elbow grease, one could go on the same trip plus some (we only went to the big tourist areas, never anywhere off the beaten path) with friends or family and easily have just as much fun. Second, the “academics” of the conference were joke-worthy. One day, after a full day of sightseeing, we had to meet up in our country groups for two hours to discuss “goal setting” (remember- you’re paying 5k+ for this). All of the things we were “taught”- especially from the paid speakers- were things one can easily learn from books or the internet. And the part about learning of intl. governments working together was a letdown. Within our “LGM”s, we never once discussed intl. relations or current chinese politics/economics. In fact, the only thing related to poly sci/intl. relations/Chinese government was when we visited the Chinese Foreign Ministry. There, we were lectured at on Chinese imperial history (literally about how great China was when paper and gunpowder were invented) and then the representative who spoke to us dodged every single hot topic question we asked her.</p>

<p>If you’d like to go for the cultural experience or to meet new people, I recommend something else, perhaps hosting an exchange student. If you’re interested in going for the academics or anything along those lines, you are likely to be disappointed. If you’re already signed up and its too late to cancel, then just go to meet the people and party as much as you can till you get sick, like I did. (The counselors, or “FA”s, don’t really care much about…anything in terms of after hour activities. Unless you go to the Hong Kong add-on, which is a different story. But seriously in Xian my friends just walked out the front door of the hotel and went clubbing for the night.) Oh, and the “pre-conference assignment” doesn’t mean anything. Trust me, I didn’t do it.</p>