National Young Leaders Conference... on the up-and-up?

<p>So I got this invitation to go to Washington D.C. for this conference thingy. Of course they talk about how gosh darn prestigious it is through the thing, and they have a list of attendees from my high school in the past and one of them DID go to West Point, and of course I would never attend anyway, but I was curious. Is this a genuinely prestigious thing or crap like Who's Who or whatever?</p>

<p>I'm doing it this summer and I know a couple of people who have attended. It's not prestigious at all but it's supposedly a really cool experience because there are kids from all over the world attending. My one friend who did it last year said she made friends from dozens of different countries. If you're gonna do it, it won't be for college apps (sounds crazy right?).</p>

<p>yea, i also got the letter, it was funny because it said only the top one percent of the nation's high schoolers even get a letter.</p>

<p>I got the letter but I have a full time job at the beach so I am passing.</p>

<p>top 1% by what standards, i wonder...</p>

<p>I got that letter last year. I passed on it, too.</p>

<p>If they send letters to the top 1% . . . then I must know a lot of people who are a lot brighter than they look.</p>

<p>It's not that prestigious, and supposedly, if you tell colleges about it on your application, they actually look at it as you being financially privileged... so not the best thing. That said, I attended NSLC before my sophomore year and I had a great time. An intellectual epiphany it was not, but it was certainly a good time, and I did fall in love with Washington DC, where I have spent every subsequent summer.</p>