<p>We did PTP after my daughter got her “invitation” and begged us to let her go. Although my daughter had a great time, the trip is grossly overpriced, they wait until after the “no refund” deadline to add additional fees such as “fuel surcharge” and the faculty didn’t want to come home early so they delayed getting medical help for a student until the last evening. While they were gone my D pointed out the other kids began drinking in the hotel.</p>
<p>How about this - you can do the SYA summer program for a LOT less money and you’ll stay 5 weeks in full immersion compared with 2 of mostly vacation with a few days of host family stay (maybe) in the PTP program. </p>
<p>So imagine my shock when an investigative reporter I know, was contacted by a parent whose son’s trip overlapped my D’s (from a different state). He died after begging the faculty to take him to the hospital and they waited until he was in crisis.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/01/p2p_hill.html[/url]”>http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2008/01/p2p_hill.html</a></p>
<p>PTP now floods our home with requests that we “nominate” D’s friends in exchange for a drawing for scholarship funds, and they’ve implemented a PTP trip for doctors. Figure they’ve squeezed all the blood out of the student turnips and are now going after the pocketbooks.</p>
<p>I’ll say it again - these places were created to take your money and give you something of less value in return. The hucksters have spent years polishing their act to sound legitimate. Buyer beware. It’s an expensive vacation geared towards kids with deep pockets or family members wiling to fund raise.</p>