Like some of the other students on this site, our son received an invitation to the Congress. We were skeptical at first because we receive many different “offers” in the mail. We inquired and found out that a teacher at our school actually nominated him. I think we are like most parents in that we want to support our child and be good stewards with our money investing in the areas of life that are most beneficial. So after some research, we decided to try it.
We attended the 2015 Congress of Future Scientists and Technologists this past June and found it to be a very informative and inspiring event. I am amazed at the amount of negative comments and can only attribute it to not having a full understanding of what these conferences are actually about. This is not a class, although through Washington Adventist University, you may receive 1 elective college credit if you complete their course requirements. This is not something special to put on your college application. It is an experience that brings together a group of scientists, visionaries, and motivational speaker to broaden your child’s world view and inspire them to pursue their dreams in the field of STEM. Oftentimes schools are greatly lacking in STEM content and are not geared toward highly motivated students. Everyone leads different lives, however this was a great opportunity for our child to meet a Nobel Prize winner, Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, or Entrepreneurs like Dean Kaem in person. Our son left with a renewed sense of confidence and purpose and as soon as we got home started working again on experimental projects that had given him difficulty. He also left with a bunch of business cards and contact information from fellow attendees and is already starting to collaborate with them on different projects. (Our son sometimes doesn’t “fully connect” with fellow schoolmates but has remained long time friends with fellow attendees of MSSEF or Broadcom MASTERS). No, it doesn’t help you get in to college, but it may inspire you to attempt things that you wouldn’t normally do or obtain a mentor to work with, and set yourself apart on your college application.
As far as the cost of the program, we travel for our professional conferences each year and you must pay for your membership, each event/class, travel, lodging, and food. We easily expend triple the cost of this conference, however, we feel the benefit derived is immeasurable. The cost and time involved in putting something like this on is enormous. We don’t begrudge any compensation that the company putting on the Congress (or any conference we attend) makes- if we could put the Congress on ourselves, we would. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the Congress and would have paid to attend ourselves, so its a great benefit that your entire family may attend for free. They also emailed out a live stream link that allowed you to send it to whomever you desired so they could virtually attend as well as direct invitations to 5 teachers of your choosing. One last benefit was that if you had your GPA verified, you were inducted into the Society of Torch and Laurel which can be helpful with preparing for college.
Was everything perfect, no, nothing ever is. The choice of venue was just ok, traffic flow was terrible, and the general area was overwhelmed by our presence. The food, which was offered by the venue, could have been more nutritious, but they did allow 2 hour breaks so you could leave and try and find a restaurant of your choosing or have a bagged lunch. Will we attend next year? Yes, without hesitation. If you have reasonable expectations and a student who loves STEM, we think you’ll find it beneficial. Everything we do in life is an investment, it’s just a matter of where your priorities lie.