Besides poster #18, I don’t know of anyone who says they didn’t get tickets. My issue is the bloviated promises (which you seem inclined to believe) that make it not worth the value. When the for-profit org provides pseudo fake “press releases” for the students themselves to send to their local news outlets touting the program’s exclusivity (and the need for most kids to fund raise in order to afford the “honor”) – then it smells to high heaven.
As a matter of fact, participants generally have a good time. But as a boost to college applications? An for-profit venture aimed at anyone with a pulse and a 3.5 GPA or better and the $1200 to $1500 of fees – simply isn’t exclusive whatsoever. And colleges know it. Did you see the part where it promises to get you a recommendation letter from your kid’s advisor/chaperone? It’s a 20 year old college student who writes one for everyone in his/her assigned group. How valuable do you think THAT is going to be for your kid’s college application?
Receiving an invite is akin to getting invited to NSHSS or getting another app for a new Discover credit card.