<p>P2P seems to be an academic vacation. They invite VERY many people and it seems to be much less selective than other programs.
Try HOBY, Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership - open to sophomores. Competitive and selective. I had the time of my life at both my state seminar and World Leadership Congress (summer @ UCLA, this year’s location to be in Chicago)</p>
<p>I went on a program with Global Leadership Adventures to the Galapagos Islands last summer. Hands down, it was the best experience of my life. The staff was great; they were all down to earth, friendly, and I could really tell they enjoyed being around teens. The adventures were so much fun and I made 14 great friends from all over the world, all of whom I still keep in touch with.</p>
<p>We stayed with the same host family (more of a mini-inn, actually) as the People to People program did, and the differences between the two programs were pretty obvious. Although I have never been on a People to People program and in no way to I intend to denounce the program, I couldn’t help but notice everytime I saw the P2P students around the town, they looked miserable. They always sported their “uniforms” and it seemed like they weren’t given much freedom. Granted, some may think that when a teen is without a guardian or family while traveling, they see freedom as being “dangerous”… but with Global Leadership Adventures, (GLA) students, including myself, were able to safelywalk around town all together in a large group, or stay at the host family’s house. The town was extremely small and staff members had their own meetings after the group meeting, so when they met it was always in a location where they could keep an eye on us. Our group made some pretty hilarious memories duing these evening excursions.</p>
<p>Anyways, I think it all depends on what someone is looking for in a summer travel/volunteer abroad program. Both the P2P and GLA trips covered similar activities, but GLA’s cost is $3,195 instead of P2P’s cost, which is upwards of $7,000, as of last summer.</p>
<p>GLA is such a great way for high schoolers to meet new people and develop social skills while seeing and learning about the world. When I began staying with 14 people who I had never met or been in contact with, I was forced to branch out and break out of my shell. When I came back home, I found I was more outgoing and things that required being social (talking to companies, schools, etc on the phone, approaching peers ) no longer acted as barriers that kept me from getting what I wanted. I am now the person who always greets others, and I have become very outspoken. I learned how to voice my opinion and it has proved beneficial in class discussions and in life in general when I am interacting with peers and adults on a daily basis.</p>
<p>I definitely had an unforgettable experience on this trip, and I am going to Bali with GLA for 2 weeks in July this upcoming summer. There is no doubt in my mind that this trip will be anything short of incredible.</p>
<p>Anywho, I just wanted to recommend this program to all high schoolers. After all, how fair would it be for me to keep this marvelous program to myself? Feel free to private message me if you have any questions about the program!</p>
<p>My dad had paid for P2P China and when he got sick, I couldn’t go. But they allowed me to postpone until the next year. The trip was a bit more expensive but I did some fund raising and received a bit of a grant as well. </p>
<p>I never really thought about the world before I went on the trip to the South Pacific. I stayed with host families for some of the almost-3 weeks and saw many things that I would never see otherwise. I wrote about it in one of my short essays because it really did change my “world view.” P2P also has very strict dress code and behavior codes. I thought the dress was really dorky but we looked respectful and acted respectful. </p>
<p>I’ve always had good table manners and civility but after that trip I have even more. I think that the strict behavioral and dress standards and emphasis on learning about other cultures was more positive than anything I could have accomplished at home in 3 weeks.</p>
<p>And I was far from miserable. We had a great trip with great counselors and a fun contingent. The 3 weeks went by so fast. Definitely not miserable and neither was anyone else that I’ve known who has gone on a P2P trip.</p>
<p>I’m surprised people mostly talk about the P2P international trips. To me, P2P wasn’t a joke because my really tough English teacher nominated me for it and it meant a lot to me that she thought that highly of me. She nominated me for a program where you can choose to go to basically any of the top 6 schools (Harvard, Yale, Stanford, etc.) I chose Harvard and yeah the price was a lot (2500+), but the trip was great. We had great speakers, amazing opportunities, we did go to Boston tourists traps, but our group leaders also perused the city in advance to find the cheaper stores. It was a genuine experience and a great one. Unfortunately at the time, I was really socially awkward and didn’t make the best of it. It was an awesome experience and I’m glad I went. If anything, it at least served as a tour of harvard. (I’m sure we stayed near the science buildings, but specfically in the law dorms… hastings). It was awesome and it convinced me that boston is where I want to go to school or live, even if I don’t get into Harvard.</p>
<p>Several years ago I traveled with P2P to Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and England for roughly $7,000. It was not a joke at all. We prepared in the months leading up to our trip with many meetings so we could get to know our fellow students from other schools. All of the students in my delegation group were very intelligent people, the majority of them had 3.8 unweighted GPA’s or more. </p>
<p>In our first meeting, my delegation leader addressed the past P2P travelers that were killed/injured. The boy who was killed was in a delegation with a specific leader that later faced several years of prison for exposing alcohol to minors. The girl who broke her leg and arm wandered off from the group when she was not permitted to, and walked into oncoming traffic in England. The boy who returned with “malnutrition” was an exaggeration; he simply refused to eat the food because it was foreign, and his parents filed a lawsuit because he came home claiming he was not fed. Since then, P2P has put $3 million dollars into a 24/7 health & safety department.</p>
<p>As for selectivity, it isn’t terribly selective, but at my school it is considered slightly prestigious.</p>
<p>My history teacher who nominated me sent his son on four P2P trips, and he had a low 3 GPA. His essays and extracurricular activities focused mainly on these trips. His son later got into Berkley.</p>
<p>As for the trip, I have to tell you, my experience was not touristy at all. We had access to many locations that the public did not, and we even got to meet and speak with a former member of the Parliament. We went to so many places and saw a huge amount of things.</p>
<p>I don’t want to sound defensive, but P2P was a life-changing experience. I returned more confident and mature (sorry if that sounds sappy, but it’s true!) </p>
<p>So in conclusion, I really don’t think anyone who hasn’t been on a P2P trip has a say in whether or not it’s a joke. It’s something you have to experience to truly understand it. The price was indeed high, but the access we had to things was unbelievable and amazing, so it was worth it. My family would have never been able to do all the things we did on my P2P trip.</p>
<p>^ Agreed. I went to Europe the summer going into freshman year, so obviously I wasn’t in it for “honor” or looking good to college. I’ve always been fascinated by history and the world, so this trip was absolutely amazing for me. Sure, we did some touristy things, but can’t go to Paris and completely ignore the Eiffel Tower… But we also did some things that, not only would I not have gotten to do if it was just a family trip, but I also did so many amazing things that I couldn’t have ever imagined! </p>
<p>As for food, we had a ton of cultural meals. We went to the Hard Rock Cafe in Paris and had McDonalds at the airport (it IS an airport after all…), but that was it for the American food!</p>
<p>About medical concerns: somebody sprained their ankle, but the leaders took him to the hospital where he got the attention he needed, and they bought him crutches. Also, another kid fainted b/c of dehydration (our leaders, however, were constantly urging us to drink water), and the leaders immediately took him to the hospital, too. The leaders were responsible and not panicking, and gave the kids the help they needed. </p>
<p>Yes, this program’s not the cheapest thing in the world, but it was definitely worth it for me. Because of it, I’ve fallen in love with the world and the unique people and places it has to offer! It has inspired me to major in anthropology/archaeology and classics, as well as study abroad (I’m not in college yet, but I definitely know what I want to do!). I hope to continue to travel and learn about world cultures. </p>
<p>Sorry for the rant, I just felt like P2P was getting a lot of criticism that I personally don’t think it deserves. So, if you take anything away from my long post, it should be: the experience depends on what you make of it. You can choose to embrace it or criticize it, but I don’t think you can rightly do so unless you’ve experienced it.</p>
<p>I did People to People in the summer between 8th and 9th grade and loved it. It’s really not a joke at all, it changed my life. In all honesty, before I went, I was really self conscious. I was the girl who no matter how hard she tried to look good, I never looked good enough for myself. I barely ate because I was afraid of getting fat and ended up getting overweight. Going on a P2P trip changed that. You’re surrounded by strangers, so you can be yourself. Also, I figured that there weren’t going to be many times I was in Italy eating authentic Italian pastas, so why not eat it? I came back a confident person and since I’m not afraid to be myself.
People to People isn’t a trip designed to educate book wise, it’s cultural education. The trip I went on didn’t involve a home stay, but in Greece, Italy, and France we did activities with kids our age to get to know them. In Greece we went to a sports camp and lost in a game of soccer. In Italy we had dinner with a group of Italian students. In France, we went to another sports camp, and actually won a soccer game!
In People to People, you also do charity work. Our group volunteered in Greece to help out at a sea turtle rescue center, and we learned about how important sea turtles are to our planet and how we can help protect them. As a group, we all donated some pocket money to get to about 30 euros to “adopt” a turtle under our P2P group name.
P2P really is life changing, there’s no lie about that. It’s a great cultural experience and it’s not a 3 week party for rich kids whose parents want them out of the house for a while. I came back not a different person, but I came back as me.</p>
<p>It may not be a joke to you guys. But it is to everyone else thinks that it is something legitimate that colleges would look to see. Yes it is expensive its somewhat of a scam. If you notice the best high school summer programs are free and offer financial aid, not pay ridic amount of money and we’ll tote you around for a while</p>
<p>P2P isn’t an extremely selective program, but I went to Australia with them in 2009 and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. There wasn’t a lot of academic learning, but for kids who live in really sheltered areas like myself, it was great to go and experience a different culture.
And there was a lot of amazing food cx us kids joked that it was “Australia fat camp” because we all ate so much.</p>
<p>@BernieMadoff: “Yes it is expensive its somewhat of a scam. If you notice the best high school summer programs are free.” </p>
<p>This is absolutely untrue. Summer programs offered by universities or boarding schools are big moneymakers for those institutions and are naturally much less selective than the schools themselves. Just because those institutions don’t have shareholders, doesn’t mean they don’t profit. P2P is, in my observation, a well-run set of programs. Experiences will vary, of course, but calling it a scam is inappropriate. They offer a product at a price. If it doesn’t work for you, be gracious.</p>
<p>Parting thought. Nothing that costs money to produce is really free. You may be confusing the fact that someone else may generously pay your bill. Hopefully you’ll be such a generous person in the future.</p>
<p>I think something important to consider is that many programs that may seem appealing to colleges may not be. Certainly something like P2P or GLA (a program that I did this year, and loved) isn’t something one should do just for college. What comes of the experience is usually what impresses the college, whether it’s shown through an interview or an essay. </p>
<p>Anyway, my opinion is that one should do something that they want to do over the summer, whether it’s a leadership conference or studying abroad or an internship. What will impress colleges is what you take away from the experience, and how it helps one grow as a person.</p>
<p>I went on a P2P trip during the summer of 2010 to England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. I was a bit wary when I got the letter in the mail too, but I can honestly say it was one of the best experiences of my life. I met amazing people, and I learned more in the 2 and half a weeks I was there than I did in school. I know it’s expensive, but its TOTALLY worth it. If you can afford it, then I would definitely recommend it!</p>
<p>I don’t know if going would necessarily look good on a college application, but it would not hurt it. It would just help make you appear more well-rounded (which is always a good thing). (:</p>