Junior National Young Leaders Conference - Legit or No?

[Anonymous]

I went as a Jr in high school. Grew up in the area and even worked at the 4-h council where it was hosted! Only reason my parents let me go was because it was local and decreased costs. Even though we did the touristy stuff, it was fun to do with people from across the country. We also did other team building and leadership activities. I had fun.

[Anonymous]

I participated in the Model General Assembly in Richmond,VA (through the YMCA and my high school) starting in either the 8th or 9th grade, as a page. After attending several years as a "representative," I was selected to attend the Conference on National Affairs in North Carolina. I think it was a very worthwhile experience, and many of the people who were leaders at that conference (I was not one of them) have gone on to lead fairly prestigious careers in campaign politics (those in my peer group are just entering the phase of life where they could actually run for office and win now).

The people I knew who went to these types of things you mention were the kids who actually didn't participate in a lot of other activities, and I always wondered why they were nominated when people who did more and were more active in our school were not nominated.

[Anonymous]

scam but some suckers will pay.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:scam but some suckers will pay.

it isn't a scam, in that you do get to do a lot of fun things in dc and meet your reps and such. There was a program involved. But it was a somewhat expensive camp in the end.

I was not an uninvolved student, either. I wasn't on student council, but I was involved in plenty of activities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So does anyone know of a program that IS worth the tuition? Can anyone recommend a group/organization that they felt their child experienced or could have experienced that really is beneficial and not about the for-profit company?

I liked CTY when I was younger. Girls and Boys State/Nation are also supposed to be pretty good, but are for older kids and are quite selective. http://www.boysandgirlsstate.org/girls.html

[Anonymous]

What is the difference between nylf and jrnylc

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So does anyone know of a program that IS worth the tuition? Can anyone recommend a group/organization that they felt their child experienced or could have experienced that really is beneficial and not about the for-profit company?

I did People-to-People when I was in highschool. It was an incredible experience that I still value today. The big negative is that it made every travel experience after that seem not as good. We had such good behind the scene tours, excellent tour leaders on our buses, the experience of staying with a local family for a few days, meetings with important people, etc. It didn't lead to anything along the lines of a future job- but it was an incredible experience.

[Anonymous]

My ex worked for them for years. It's a very expensive field trip program.

[Anonymous]

I did NSLC in high school and really loved it, especially as a pretty sheltered kid. It definitely helped me prep for college in terms of dorm-living and being far away from home and it pushed me outside my comfort zone and exposed me to major and career options I hadn't considered. It truly altered my post-secondary plans and led me down a path I never would have explored otherwise.

With that said, I also worked LeadAmerica in college and from the POV of the underpaid, undertrained, over-worked counselor, these programs are a total for-profit crock. (And some high school students definitely saw through it from the moment they showed up.) However, I'd say at least 60% of my students every session got out of it what I did when I was in HS. So I say it all depends on your DD's level of exposure. Middle school seems a bit young to truly benefit from such an experience, but for many high school students, participating in a 10-14 day "academic"/ career-exploratory trip away from home is worth its weight in gold in prepping them for college.

[Anonymous]

Super expensive camp. Not legit.

[Anonymous]

John's Hopkins University has a program through the John's Hopkins Center for Talented Youth. Their CTY Summer Programs are more selective. Students must qualify through test scores, teacher recommendations, and might need to be identified as gifted and talented. I had a student attend one of their programs and decided to return for another program last summer.