<p>This program probably found me through either the SAT or PSAT (so much for CollegeBoardâs non-profit Student Search Service). I got the letter in the mail sometime this week, and while Iâm no stranger to college mail, this one caught my attention by how heavy it was. I usually throw this stuff in the trash but I opened it out of curiosity.</p>
<p>The first thing I saw was a shiny certificate with a shiny official-looking seal, a caduceus wreathed in laurels. Interesting. Was I getting an award? Apparently yes, for the cost of 2K, I could take a jet to Washington DC and receive a similar shiny certificate, with a shiny label saying âFuture Medical Leaderâ. </p>
<p>Not trusting anything so shiny, I put aside the certificate and picked up a boring piece of paper titled âInformation for Students & Their Parentsâ. Letâs go through this thing line by line.</p>
<p>Selection: I doubt my teachers selected me, it was probably SSS. </p>
<p>College Credit: âScholars ⊠will be eligible to receive 1 transferable college credit at additional cost upon satisfactory completion of the program and additional course work.â âŠNo.</p>
<p>Proof of GPA: This is just kind of insulting. Iâve maintained a 4.0 throughout middle school and freshman year, and currently have a 4.25. In addition, since this program found me through SSS, they technically donât even know what my GPA is. For all they know, I have a >2000 SAT but a 2.0 GPA. This is a pretty serious flaw.</p>
<p>Med School Tuition: Ohh, sounds too good to be true. Unfortunately thatâs exactly what I think is going to happen. It says nothing about what kind of academic challenge. Upon reading the Terms and Conditions it says more about how itâs a âmerit-based academic challengeâ, which is basically saying the same thing. Itâs too vague and from what I can see, sounds easily riggable. They could just have a test with extremely specific questions, then have some lucky lucky parents pay them off in order to give their child the answers. Until more details are known, this scholarship just sounds too fishy.</p>
<p>Travel, Housing, Meals: 1K for three days, and it doesnât even cover expenses?</p>
<p>Concierge Package: Translation: âGive us one more thousand, and weâll cover most of the above, except for airplane tickets.â</p>
<p>Gaining Admission: This is the first year of the program, and there is no valid evidence that supports their claim. Doesnât hold water.</p>
<p>Letters of Participation: Considering the above, I doubt this will be useful.</p>
<p>Press Release: âget maximum recognition for your achievementsâ⊠okay, this pretty much does it. It all adds up. 3.5 minimum GPA, absurdly high prices, and press releases. This is no non-profit organization, itâs a scam. They probably targeted those in the 3.5-4.0 GPA range, probably from middle to high income families, willing to shell out the money for the marginally small chance that their child can ride on this program into med school. Iâve seen claims online that only 2000-3000 students were invited, which seems pretty small considering they let people with 3.5 GPA in, which leads me to believe that they excluded people that either wouldnât afford it, or just donât have the time for it. Aka, people who donât need it.</p>
<p>Financial Assistance: I probably wouldnât get any if I tried.</p>
<p>About: âaccepts no public money ⊠self-funded through proceeds from events and conferences.â Nowhere in there does it say theyâre certified non-profit - which leads to the conclusion that they are for-profit.</p>
<p>Questions?: Wonât be having any.</p>
<p>In conclusion, I wonât be going to this program. It doesnât mean Iâm any less motivated to become a doctor, I just donât believe itâs worth my 2K to go to a program that I will probably gain very little benefit from. The drawbacks just outweigh the pros. Thatâs not to say the pros arenât amazing - Iâd love to meet Angela Zhang and Jake Andraka - but Iâd rather meet them at the national level of a science competition or in the same university, rather than at an for-profit event they were probably paid to speak for.</p>
<p>In addition, I wonât be attending this event out of principle. Since it is for-profit, this event relies on the participation of students to keep afloat. I refuse to give my money to an organization that would slap on the title âfuture medical leaderâ to anyone who put down âPremedâ as their preferred major with a 3.5 GPA. It is not only insulting to those with higher GPAs, itâs also misleading and provides false comfort to those who buy into the future medical leader thing. By attending this conference, I would be saying, âIâm okay with being scammed. Take my money and send me more college mail.â If you are a parent or child who has received this invitation, I strongly urge that you donât attend (unless you seriously think you have a stab at that 200K scholarship). If everyone threw these scams in the trash, weâd have more, better, legitimate non-profit organizations sending us mail.</p>
<p>That isnât to say that going to the program will make you or your child less legitimate of a student, it just means youâll be free of two thousand dollars and you get a nice, shiny certificate. For all I know it could be a great experience and those speakers could really change your life. But for now, I think Iâll probably wait at least a year more to see how this program does. My view is on the less-than-optimistic side, but congrats to those invited, and letâs just see where this goes.</p>