<p>Anyone know if the High School Student Ambassador Program really does set students apart on college admissions?</p>
<p>no its a nice way to tour foreign lands, but nothing to be mentioned on applications</p>
<p>Thanks! That’s what I thought. They sent a letter saying it would look good on college apps and I’ve never even heard of it.</p>
<p>Look for former threads on this topic. I have nothing against the program; my son went to Italy with it.</p>
<p>I disagree. The People to People Student Ambassador program offers weekly educational meetings 6 months prior to departure. The program was started by President Eisenhower and I believe only enhances a students resume as a global learner, with a service opportunity while abroad. Provides interesting topics for discussion during subsequent college interviews as well!</p>
<p>I should add this was a wonderful experience for me as a high school student ('78) and my daughter (in 2011).</p>
<p>Here’s my impression based on my D’s participation in a Student Ambassador trip to Europe. It was six years ago, so I’ll put everything in the past tense–who knows, it could all be different now (unlikely).</p>
<p>People to People cruised just this side of scam. It strongly implied in its marketing materials that it was some kind of honor to be selected for the program, whereas they would pretty much accept anyone who could inhale and exhale. (Anyone who had participated could “refer” another student–that’s all it took beyond a couple of perfunctory recommendations.) The “ambassador” moniker was apparently utilized to imply that the participants were generating goodwill for the US everywhere they went, while in fact they functioned like any other tourists. Beyond the actual sightseeing and brief homestay, there was zero educational content to the program. (There was no service content, but it wasn’t sold as a service experience.) The couple of pre-trip meetings were brief and offered very little. During the trip the kids were supposed to keep a journal of their experiences that was to be checked each day by one of the trip leaders. No one kept a journal, no one checked. Even the food managed to be non-educational, as they fed the kids burgers and chicken cutlets in every locale. The trip was well-organized and well-supervised, but it was nothing more than another teen travel experience, and a pricey one at that. I think the college admissions officers were well aware of the nature of the program and gave it short shrift. I still get emails from the organization suggesting ways to give them more money.</p>
<p>Anyone interested in People to People should Google the program name along with the term “scam” to surface a whole bunch of interesting reading. While I think the term “scam” is too strong, I feel like we foolishly allowed ourselves to be sweet talked by the program (we bought that it was selective and educational without investigating further), and I don’t feel very warm towards the organization.</p>
<p>These programs prey on the fact the parents love to believe their children are “special” and have been “selected”. Their marketing focuses on higher achieving students because their parents already think their child is “special”. These parents are susceptible to the affirmation the marketing letters provide.</p>
<p>Students apparently enjoy these expensive trips, and if money is no object and the itinerary is appealing to you and your child, then why not? However if you are thinking, “wow, this is really expensive, but this is such an opportunity for my kid,” then RUN. It is an expensive trip, nothing more. No prestige. Simply a trip that you spend a lot of money on like hundreds of others. Harvard may send your kid a letter too. It doesn’t make you kid special. It is a marketing letter-same sort of thing.</p>
<p>I think People to People is a sponsored travel program, and yes they do the “honor to be a chosen” thing, but I think that for some kids that is a good thing. My neice was raised by a single mom without alot of money. Through the People to People she got to see Australia, something that she would not have ever done otherwise. I am not so sure how much she was being an ambassodor of the USA, but I think in the USA we are very isolated. Having lived overseas for a couple of years, it was fascinating to see other countries view points…we all have assumptions based on our culture but you don’t know that until you live in/see/visit another culture. </p>
<p>For example, people in the USA complain that signage and labels are now often in Spanish as well as English. Seems reasonable until you live in another country like Germany and they have signage/labels in English too. When I was in Germany I was sure happy that I could take the drivers test in English and not German. Either way Germany wants me to know how to drive?</p>
<p>My point is that it is valuable for our young people to have experience in other countries even if it is through a glorified travel program.</p>
<p>I would not say its an honor but our DD’s experience two years ago was great! She went to Japan where they did do a lot of sightseeing but also helped to clean up areas affected by the Tsunami. Before they went they had a day of “classes” going over eye witness accounts of the earthquake and Tsunami and met with organizers for safety instructions. She loved the day they spent at a local high school and still chats with them from time to time (?) Not sure how she does it. The whole time she was there they only ate local foods, had to take her to Taco Bell on the way home from the airport. She was nominated my her BF’s oldest sister and that family also has had good experience with the program. There are other programs similar to this one, including some that do much more volunteer work.</p>
<p>bopper-Can I ask how your niece was able to afford it given what you mentioned? The trips are really pricey. I do know that they encourage the parents to hold “fundraisers”. Not exactly kosher in my book, which to me was another reason to steer clear of them.</p>
<p>Some kids are fortunate enough to attend on scholarships.</p>
<p>bookworm–thanks, I was just wondering as the cost of the programs exceeded what I felt comfortable with even with an upper middle class income. They did send me volumes of information on how I could host fundraisers to get money from other people to pay for my kid’s summer in Europe or whatever since he was so “special” and was “selected”.</p>
<p>I helped a single mom hold a fundraiser for her D to go to Australia in high school.
She had the opportunity to meet other “chosen” kids from the US, but why she needed to go to Australia to do that, Ill never know.
:rolleyes:
My D spent five months in India after high school for the price of a short trip with p to p.
Her airfare was her biggest expense.</p>
<p>Trips like this can be a negative on college apps. I have heard multiple adcoms comment on how their expectations of applicants increase when foreign travel is mentioned. Travel of this nature almost always means that the applicant has access to resources that provide advantages not available to most students (SAT prep courses, academic tutors, increased EC opportunities, etc.).</p>
<p>P2P’s “you can fundraise!” pitch is another aspect of the organization that leaves me cold, In my wildest imaginings I can’t conceive of allowing one of my kids to get others to pay for a fancy trip overseas. I would hope people have better things to do with their money than use it to send a teenager on a jaunt–regardless of how “educational” or “ambassadorial” it might be.</p>
<p>I agree. Mine worked two jobs for six months so she could have a volunteer vacation for five.
I think you get out of it what you put into it, & kids that have mom & dad underwrite everything don’t get as much back.</p>