<p>I have gotten the impression that this type of summer program is not highly regarded by many who have posted on this site. Would any of you say that it is not worth putting on the college app or whould it be a positive in that the student pursued an educational interest during his or her time off from school?</p>
<p>why not? it shows leadership abilities...a quality looked for in applicants by admissions officers. colleges also like to see that students are spending their free time in a productive way so i would put it on along with everything else i dont see how it could hurt.</p>
<p>This is from the College Confidential site at <a href="http://www.collegeconfidential.com/dean/archives/000157.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.collegeconfidential.com/dean/archives/000157.htm</a></p>
<p>"Question: My son, an aspiring doctor, is a sophomore in high school and has been invited to attend the National Student Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., this summer. Will that stand out when he applies to college? He is hoping to attend an Ivy League institution.</p>
<p>Students who have attended the National Student Leadership Conference generally seem to speak highly of their experience, but whether this would truly be a plus on your sons college applications depends to a great extent on where he will be applying. Frankly, the more competitive colleges see many applicants with this programand other similar ones designed to attract good studentson their records, so it will do little to set him apart. While they will view it as a productive summer activity, it will definitely not move an application from the out pile to the in.</p>
<p>If you and your son have read and discussed the programs offerings, and he is excited about going, then certainly dont discourage him just because its not an express route to Harvard or Yale, but perhaps suggest that he pursue a less traveled road next summermaybe something that reinforces his interest in the medical field (assuming, of course, that it persists) but that wont turn up as often on application forms."</p>
<p>Without benefit of that information, my son went to the 10 day summer NYLC after sophomore year. No, it's not especially prestigious by virtue of the fact that a lot of students are invited and you have to pay a lot of money for it. However, my son thoroughly enjoyed the program, met a lot of great kids, enjoyed his time in DC, met our Congressman, and discovered an interest in politics. He came home and got involved in Model UN (won several awards in MUN competitions), and became an officer and did a lot of work with the government club. He stays in touch with the Congresman he met. He wrote one of his essays about his experience in going outside his normal "techie" environment and developing his interests in politics. Just attending won't do much for an application, but my son enjoyed it and I think he gained a lot from the experience and from what he did once he got home.</p>
<p>The difference between NYLF and some of those other programs is you generally are nominated by someone who actually knows you (teacher, conselor, etc). So it may be a bit better to put on apps that others. Frankly I don't really know, I'm just a kid.
However, it's an amazing program, you give up several days to participate in it, and the kids that attend are high caliber students.
Put it on the app. And I found in an interview last winter for a program, that it can be a great talking point. If someone asks about ec's or whatever and this program is mentioned, if you are passionate about it, it can show them a lot.
I loved the program I went to, learned a ton, and it was THE best experience of my life. Put it on the app. I can't see how it would hurt.</p>
<p>There are many, many programs that are better than NYLF. Presidential Classroom, for example, typically has much greater pull for speakers and other activities. In addition, on the Georgetown app there is a box that you can check off if you attended Presidential Classroom - but no box for NYLF. In addition, NYLF is sketchy because they spend like 10 bucks to put together this fancy invitation and they try and make you seem like you are the only one being nominated. Well I recieved two nominations last year, one to represent NY (my state) and one to represent Arizona....why? Because these things are mass produced and mailed out.</p>
<p>I just have very bad feelings for it.</p>
<p>I went to the Georgetown IR Program, and we met with John McCain, was taught fascinating lectures by actual Georgetown faculty, had group discussions with various staff members at embassies, and enjoyed other great activities. It is much more academic, even than Presidential Classroom, which I also attended. I highly recommend that program.</p>
<p>If you've already gone to it, for sure put it on your application. Beats playing video games all summer by a mile. And dd got an invitation but was not nominated by anyone; I'm sure it was from the Sophmore year PSAT.</p>
<p>It can't hurt to list it as an activity; like others have said, it does show you did something with your time. Just don't list it as an award, and I would also think it's not the type of thing you'd want to base an essay on.</p>
<p>I've posted before on this topic. I have relatives that have done the DC one (I can't remember what it is called) and had fun but were disappointed in the speakers that didn't show, etc.</p>
<p>My kid did the medicine one, to see if there was an interest in going to med school one day. It was 10 days well spent, it was way more concrete than the DC one, shadowing physicians, visiting med schools and labs and working on ethics and public health issues. Kind of an exploration of the possibilities of medicine as a career. I consider it to have been time and money well spent, but would not consider it anything "prestigious". It was useful for what it was. Yeah, I would list it as an activity, but not as an award or anything.</p>
<p>The only thing I learned in NSLC was the proper way to snort cocaine.</p>
<p>I wish I were kidding. That program was a joke.</p>
<p>My D--west coast raised--found the Intl Relations NSLC fascinating and had a good time. Yes, it's a tour of DC with lectures. Yes, you pay for it. She didn't bother to put it on her college app. But she learned a lot about how government works, saw a lot of DC, met a lot of people she liked--and all for a LOT cheaper than if I'd taken her to DC and tried to do the same thing.</p>
<p>Just make sure you're not doing it for the wrong reasons, and everyone will be fine.</p>
<p>I am really surprised by this thread. When we got the lit, we thought it was something interesting and special and were sorry she was going to miss it. </p>
<p>But she already did a week in DC Spring of 8th grade, stayed at Trinity College, toured Museums and monuments, had evening speakers/games, met our Senator Barbara Boxer on the Capitol Steps the day Jeffords turned Democrat. We sent the entire 8th grade class there for $800 per person including airfare, room, board, transportation and program. I don't know if it was through Trinity or what program, but the San Francisco 8th grade class participated with 8th grade classes from Hawaii, Mexico and an American Indian School. We raised the money from selling cookies, Friday snack sales and car wash.</p>
<p>A colleague's son has been nominated to attend this conference - at a cost to the parent of about $1300. Does anyone know anything about this? Is it worth attending?</p>
<p>being "nominated" is a marketing ploy they use to get you to shell out too much money to hobnob with other wealthy kids. I advised my d. to steer clear.</p>
<p>I have to disagree. First, though, I will admit that my son did NOT list it as an achievement on his college application, simply because in our opinion things you pay to attend are not in the same ballpark as (say) the Intel prize. But you accomplish a lot. That said, MANY kids list far, far dumber things, like club memberships in clubs they learned nothing from and did little for! </p>
<p>HOWEVER - he had the time of his life, made friends all over the country, had a fantastic trip to DC involving seeing "behind the scenes" in many government offices, Senate in session, etc. Yes, except for the great speakers, we could have done this at least some of this on a family trip. But he also worked really hard on a model Senate type thing which was wonderful. He is still friends with many of the kids he met. The program/staff were great and the program approved by the House and Senate.</p>
<p>Well, well worth the money. Older son went to the 11 day summer program which did a lot more; younger son will go to the shorter one. Older S cannot say enough good things about the program and said he learned a ton.</p>
<p>Many of the kids were NOT wealthy; first of all, the cost was so reasonable that most were middle-class; secondly, there were scholarships for those who couldn't afford it.</p>
<p>I thought it was great and we'd do it over in a heartbeat. It's not really an "honor" though, because I believe you only need a B+ average. And as I said, we didn't bother to mention it, though the school put it on the transcript.</p>
<p>PS -I take issue with the word "hob-nob," which I see as pejorative. Even if the other kids all WERE wealthy, which they were not, they worked hard on the model Senate and committees, while "hob-nobbing" implies that they were clubbing and worse! This is a highly respected program of its kind.</p>
<p>PPS - Son had many, many other very impressive accomplishments that could be put on the application. This was a fun learning experience. If funds are limited, of course, they should be put to different use.</p>
<p>Sounds like it could be a good experience. He's a very personable young man, great work ethic. Glad that your sons enjoyed it, Voronwe.</p>
<p>I had a child attend as well. One thing that especially stood out was a breakfast/panel discussion at the National Press Club. The speakers were top-notch as well - over the years they have had everyone from Chief Justice William Rehnquist to Jesse Jackson, from all parts of the spectrum. My child, too, is still friends with several kids from around the country. It was a wonderful experience. They also take alumni of the program to the Inauguration in January! </p>
<p>Well worth the money!</p>
<p>I agree. Our daughter was also asked to attend several of these type conferences. We researched all of them and found the DC National Youth Leadership Conference to be one of the best. She did attend and found it to be informative, uplifting and had a wonderful experience. By the way, when she had her interview at Wellesley College the one thing, above all, that seemed to impress the interviewer was her attendance of this conference. She labeled it "best of the best." We were taken back by this, because she had numerous honors and achievements that were not mentioned. It was as if they were expected. She was accepted to Wellesley and is in the class of 2008. She also made some great friends from all over the country at the conference.</p>
<p>Thanks for the info, megsdad! That's great that Wellesley thought so highly of it. I just sort of assumed that because you pay for it, adcoms would ignore it, but a couple of phone calls to the school's GC and two adcoms in really good schools (with whom I am friends) show agreement with you - this one is "the best of the best."</p>
<p>So I guess I WILL have second child put it on the application!</p>
<p>You might also want to check out this thread: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=5941%5B/url%5D">http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=5941</a></p>
<p>which discusses the NYLC from a different point of view.</p>
<p>The National Youth Leadership Forum that the OP of THAT thread was talking about is a completely different program from the National Young Leaders Conference, a division of the Congressional Youth Leadership Council we are talking about here. Nor is it that National Student Leadership Conference that one kid said all he did was "snort cocaine" at.</p>
<p>That's the problem with all these acronyms.</p>
<p>This program we are discussing is NOT the NSLC nor the NYLF.</p>
<p>It is the NYLC of the CYLC - see <a href="http://www.cylc.org%5B/url%5D">http://www.cylc.org</a>.</p>