<p>Does anyone have experience with the National Youth Leadership Forum? My son was nominated by a teacher in the area of medicine. It looks interesting in this area but I am wondering if this program is different from programs where you pay money but pretty much anyone can go? Is it qualiatively different (they do consider grades, etc.) and is the experience worth it? Thanks.</p>
<p>It will not help on a college app and is somewhat similar nomination wise to National Honor Roll but it is a worthwhile program. My D did the leadership one and had a great experience met kids from all over and decided no for medical school and yes for allied health. It was a lot of money however but a lot of fun and good information.</p>
<p>Use the search feature. This has been discussed way too many times. The threads invariably divide the posters in two camps: on the one hand. some do not consider the entities running the "events" to be too praiseworthy and view the programs as simple money makers for the slick organizers; on the other hand, families and students who have participated think it was a worthwhile investment. </p>
<p>I think I would not stray too far from the consensus by saying that the programs have some value for students who have shown an interest in the subjects debated, but that the value as an EC for college admission purposes is close to zero. </p>
<p>Here's an example of a thread, but there are tons of them. </p>
<p>my s did the medical exposure at emory ...it was worth every penny...one day in medical school.. one day at the center of disease control..one day watching dog surgery..one day in the hospital..there also is a guest speaker..that year it was the dr who wrote Doc hollywood (movie starred michael j fox)..the experiece was also great to introduce him to dorm life..he went for 10 days and really enjoyed the campus ..he eventually went to dartmouth (ed) but emory was his third choice and would have happily gone due to that great summer experience he had
ps: it may not weigh heavily on the application but at least it showed he made good use of his summer.</p>
<p>I see two reasons to consider going -- the main one being that it would be worthwhile and also that he would get a better feel for if he is interested in medicine. I think knowing if you want to pursue medicine affects what courses you take in college and even what schools you might want to apply to so there is some merit. Also, while I don't think colleges would necessarily weigh it much, I do know that they look for a sustained interest in something. My son is in a medical magnet program where he goes to a hospital for lectures and experience. He has volunteered in a hospital over the last year and will do a medical research project before he graduates. In his case, adding another piece to a sustained interest might say something to a college.</p>
<p>as a follow up on the exposure to the medical field , my s while having a great experience did learn that the medical field was not for him and is now an economics major..this was extremely helpful since he learned he will not follow in my footsteps as i am in the medical field</p>
<p>My son went to the Technology forum in San Jose last summer (only one tech forum a year) and loved it. He heard some inspiring speakers, was exposed to a wide variety of potential careers, visited a local college and Nvidea Corp (sp?) who do the graphics card for video games, hung out with hundreds of kids with the same interests, and allowed us to take a 10 day vacation in California while he was there (we're from Illinois). It was expensive but in line with other programs like Camp CAEN at U of Mich. He didn't attend to use it for a college application entry (although he did write an essay about it) but rather to be exposed to all that it offered. If you're interested, NYLF has message boards which can give you a very good idea of what the forums are like.</p>
<p>If you're interested, NYLF has message boards which can give you a very good idea of what the forums are like.</p>
<p>Thanks. I didn't see that when I cruised the site -- I'll have to look for it.</p>
<p>I have a feeling that you'll feel differently about the program depending on what you're looking to get out of it.</p>
<p>I went to NYLF forum on technology two summers ago, and I was somewhat disappointed. I was partially going because of the comraderie, hearing inspiring speakers, touring around engineering schools, etc., but I was also going because I actually wanted to learn some new stuff about technology. I learned a bit, but I feel that my time would have been better spent at a community college taking a class in CS or EE.</p>
<p>However, I think that if you want to spend a relaxed week and a half hanging out with people like you, hearing interesting speakers, seeing cool demos, and touring neat tech facilities (I got to tour Oracle...that was pretty cool), then I think you'll enjoy NYLF.</p>