I just received a letter stating that I was nominated by a teacher to participate in this program. This invitation was accompanied with a “tuition scholarship” that covers all expenses. In addition, transportation won’t be an issue because I live near Boston (where the event is being hosted). So, seeing as money isn’t really a factor, I figured “what the hell, nothing much to lose in attending this.”
As such, I’m wondering if anyone here has experience regarding the conference. Is it worth your time? Good way to build connections with like-minded individuals? This isn’t something I need to put on any applications; I’ve already gained admittance to my school of choice. Just looking to see if this is a worthwhile experience.
If it’s free, I’d say go for it! But knowing this organization’s smarmy way of coaxing nervous families to fundraise to get their “honored” 3.5GPA kids to attend, you should read the fine print if any hidden costs exist (such as hotel rooms, other registration fees or items not considered “tuition”).
@T26E4 Exactly what I was thinking. The only obvious opportunity cost is forgoing a weekend on the Cape and a single day of work. I can understand that some kids/families have a lot more to sacrifice in attending the program, so I’m thankful to be in such a flexible position. But yeah, this “Congress” is first and foremost a business. The sign-up process was reminiscent of something I’d see on a “get fit fast” website, involving an option to pay for $600 overnight accommodations (didn’t buy), an “exclusive” $149+ guidebook (didn’t buy), and some other expensive perk (didn’t buy). Happy that the receipt read $0 in the end and that I didn’t have to input any credit card info. So you were definitely right in regard to reading the fine print.
@Alfonsia Ended up just reading it myself, lol. Didn’t have to put in any payment info and I seem to be officially enrolled. I figure that if they pull something shady on me then I can easily opt out; no real binding commitment has been made as of yet.
Good for you. Anecdotally, it seems that participants enjoy their time. It may be some confirmation bias, however – since they sacrifice and fund raise to get there. Perhaps you, without any skin in the game, can give an unbiased after report? hahaha