<p>I was wondering if the Global Youn Leaders Conference was just another money scam? Is it like that program at American University?</p>
<p>I just got back from the Global Young Leaders Conference in Washington D.C. and New York City. (July 17-28). I personally think it was worth every cent of the price. I really enjoyed the curriculum and got to meet SO many people from different parts of the world. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who has the chance to go.</p>
<p>I was a member GYLC (US program) too. I enjoyed it.</p>
<p>its a complete scam, it looks horrible on your college app.. my friend went to it and he said it was a complete waste</p>
<p>I went to it last summer. I guess if you already have access to an international environment (I go to intl school), it wasn't as great as some people were raving. It was good, don't get me wrong. But I kind of thought it wasn't worth all that money.</p>
<p>it's only a money scam if you're expecting a lot from it. if you expect it to boost your college applications, then yeah it's a scam cuz it's gonna do as much as who's-who can do. if you're looking for fun, meeting new people, and maybe to learn soemthing, then it might be worth the money. i've heard (from multiple friends who have gone) that there's a lot of hooking up at these types of events though.</p>
<p>I am from a Taiwanese international school and just got a letter from GYLC as well. I’m cautiously interested, if only because it sounds interesting. </p>
<p>However, it DOES seem to cost a lot. Can someone tell me the highlights of a GYLC experience? What kind of things do you actually learn from the experience? What do they seem to focus on doing?</p>
<p>I got email from GYLC saying that I’ve been selected (I don’t think I’ve ever applied). Either I have very bad memory or they send out emails to everyone?!? Did anyone get email from them too?</p>
<p>Yes. No program should cost $3k for a week.</p>
<p>100% scam - even if some people say it’s worth it.</p>
<p>yes i got it too, how can i find money to attend it?? and How GYLC choose the students??</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- youre 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 LGMs, 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 youd like to go for the cultural experience or to meet new people, I recommend something else, perhaps hosting an exchange student. If youre interested in going for the academics or anything along those lines, you are likely to be disappointed (see tobiz.ints recommendations for much better ideas). If youre 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 FAs, dont 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 doesnt mean anything. Trust me, I didnt do it.</p>
<p>sounds like an expensive sightseeing tour operator under the disguise of academia… LOL</p>
I received a letter from GYLC that says I’m selected to attend this summer. I never applied though, that’s what I found extremely odd.
yea same here dude u ot any idea how it happens?
how do they choose people
is thee any criteria?
or it is just a random pick?
is the chosen prsn really spcl?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/education/edlife/leadership-t.html
The NY Times isn’t a fan.
I don’t know what’s going on with GYLC, but I’m going to wait. I’ve applied to another summer program and I’m hoping to get accepted into it. So I’ll prioritise that summer program over GYLC.
Even I got one. what are you guys planning to do?
These are the kind of things that students should do if they want to out of interest knowing that colleges will not be impressed with them. So impressing colleges shouldn’t be the reason for doing it. But if you want the experience by all means do it if you can afford it and thing it will be worthwhile for you. A guide way to make these kinds of decisions and also to make decisions about things like volunteering is to pretend you would tell nobody about it. Would you do it if you planned to keep it a secret? If not, then don’t do it. That is especially true about volunteering but also about these summer experiences.
Incidentally, my cat also got invited to leadership conferences too. I signed him up for something because I did not want to use my real name (fearing junk emails) and he started to get all kinds of invitations and congratulatory notices from various enterprises that make their money by marketing to kids. He did not get invited to the really competitive and free programs that are actually based on achievement, by the way. But he was given the opportunity to tour a foreign country as part of a traveling tennis “competitive” team-quite expensive summer program. They probably would not have been willing to clean his litter box so he could not go.