<p>I realize this topic may be a little off for this section, but seeing that many of you may be Seniors... I was wondering if some of you have gotten this letter. </p>
<p>Has anyone heard of it? And if you have, is it really worth to take the opportunity? Does it really give you an extra boost in college admissions? </p>
<p>If you don't know what it is, it's basically a 10 day trip to discover "first hand experience" on medicine. Though, it sounds a little shady. They want you to pay 1,000 - 2,000 to attend. </p>
<p>I have a friend who did a different part of the NSLC (government or something), and he enjoyed it. He's one of the brightest kids I know, and is currently ranked 6th in the nation for extemporaneous speaking (as a junior), so I trust him. I've gotten the stuff, but I personally don't think I'll be attending.</p>
<p>i think that attending that thing just shows that your family has the money to do it (since thats the first thing that i always think of), you're really intersted in that field, you have nothing better to do, and you dont have the initiative to go out and "get first hand experience" on ur own and have to do that through that thing. personally, i think its more of a way for them to make money, they make it sound like ur so smart and all when they sent u the letter, but alot of people get it though. also, you dont have to go there in order to get "first hand experience." u might disagree, but thats my humble opinion.</p>
<p>I went to NSLC for International Diplomacy. Yes they do hype up the letter and its not as much of an accomplishment as they make it seem. However, I truly enjoyed it as did everyone who attended. At first I wasn't interested in international relations, but now I'm planning to major in it. The fieldtrips were awesome, the people were awesome, I got to visit the Swiss embassy, the State Dept. (boring speaker), talk to a CIA analyst, an Israeli ambassador, debate in a model UN type deal,... . However, if you're just trying to get an edge in the college application process, don't even think about going. First, it does show that you remain engaged during the summer but it doesn't stand out. Second, doing anything for the reason of padding your resume is not worth doing.</p>