$2,295.00 Oppertunity For DS????

[TheRootedNomad]

We got a letter the other day letting us know my son had been nominated and accepted for the People To People International Leadership Program.
He is in 4th grade. (He is ssuppose to be in 3rd.) The letter said the program was for middle schoolers but that he was being invited to Washingto D.C. this year for a week. The letter appeared to be legit but I made some inquieries and checked it on the web and with our school. The program is legit and can be tied to getting large scholarships later on. There will also be opportunites as my DS gets older to travel with a group to other countries such as France, Australia, ect. and examine their governmental processes. This past year there was only one child in our whole state that got to participate in a confrence in Los Angeles. Of coarse DH and I are extremely proud of his accomplishments.

Now the deliema....We got the next set of paperwork in the mail.
--It says this part of the program is for 5th, 6th, and 7th graders. (By the Sept. dates DS will be in 5th grade.) To participate for the 7 day forum in Wahington D.C. thew tuition is $2,295.00.
--The program will pay for lodgeing, meals, everywhere they will go, constant supervision, and he will meet politicians not necessarily all from the U.S. All while learning our governmental processes.
--This could be the first step in opening the door to possible scholarships and international travel to him.
--If we skipped, he would have to be nominated again to be able to participate.

----For us that's a lot of money. Could we scrimp and put other things on hold? Yes. Is it worth aproximately 7 weeks of my take home? I don't know.

What do you all think? What would you do?

[baronmom]

My son was nominated for that either last year or the year before. Can't remember which year. There was no way that I had that kind of money to spend for him to go to DC for a week. Sorry, but I think that is way to much money and unless you have the extra money, I wouldn't do it. JMO

[bee9984]

I also think that is alot of money however, for me I would do what I could to send him....within reason of course lol, but not go into debt.

This is a wonderful opportunity although by the sounds of things your son will have many wonderful opportunities in the future as well

[PrairieRose]

Our ds went on a trip like that in jr. high. It was really scarey. They had screwed up their airline reservations (they booked at 2 different airports!) when they got to the airport the airlines kept telling them that their reservations had been cancelled. When I finally got through with them on the phone they put them on a flight and sent them home.....omg, it was scarey. I would NOT consider letting my 4th grader do it. It's really just a sight seeing trip....honestly.

[chewawalove]

They will likely continue to receive these "opportunities", I know that DD & DS have received them pretty much yearly from jr. high on.

There may be something to it, but we have never been inclined to do this. The "opportunity" is more like $5,000 when they get older.

[Neeley]

DD and DS have both getting the offers since they were in 5th grade. We actually had DD all paid up and ready to go two years ago.

We were not going to have her fly though. Instead DH was taking 17 days off work and we were going to drive her there and then back home. We planned a vacation for DH, DS nd myself in Washington, Pennsylvania, and Virginia around her trip.

We ended up having a baseball tournament that conflicted and she decided she would rather do her brother's tournament. We were able to get the majority of our money back when we cancelled. Had we cancelled sooner we would have gotten all of it back.

DD's friend went a few years ago and really had a good time. She has wonderful memories of a fun trip and made a few friends she otherwise would not have ever known. She was excited over the fact she was treated more like an adult, given lots of personal responsibility and stayed in a real college dorm room.

I say go for it if the money is there or you are able to get it without putting yourself in a bind. Otherwise, I would wait until next year. He will continue to get the offers to go for years to come so dont feel like you have to do it this time.

[i.m.cheap]

You say your son is already a year ahead in grade level, so he will be a very "young" fifth grader. I would postpone any trips of this sort until at least 8th grade or so. And even then, only if you can afford it without putting yourselves in a financial bind.

[Moor]

my oldest daughter was able to do this. she went to england, ireland, and france. it was an adventure.
before you go into debt for this, see if there are businesses in your town that would be willing to sponsor your son. that is how we did it. she went to luncheon's, gave speeches to the vfw, american legion, and other places. each supported her, and then when she got back, she went and told them about her experiences and gave them another speech and thanked them all.
she is wanting to go again this year. but i am not sure i want her gong again.
she really loved it and made some really great friends.

[Denvergirlie]

I went on a people to people trip in highschool, the summer between my jr and sr year.

The trip was great, meet a lot of people, saw a lot of stuff, we went to Russia.

I personally feel that I was a bit young at that time to truely appreciate the trip and the experince.

I would never pay that much money for kids younger than I was in highschool to just go to D.C. and see the sights.

Good luck on whatever you decide

[Sari]

Is this like the "Who's Who" yearbooks they try to pawn off on everyone, saying they're so special but in fact just about everyone gets the offer?

[frugal-fannie]

I wouldn't spend it, my kids received these offers all the time, from that organization.

[justpeachy92]

If the program you are talking about is the junior state of america, they have information on their website for grants and scholarships and some information about fundraising on their webite.

[TheRootedNomad]

Is this like the "Who's Who" yearbooks they try to pawn off on everyone, saying they're so special but in fact just about everyone gets the offer?

No...He is the only one in his school who was even nominated. An actual teacher that is also a representative has to nominate you. Is it a 10 kids out of the US only kind of program? No, there are lots of smart kids out there..... by the way what a "wonderful" jab at my incredibly SPECIAL DS. I happen to know he's MENSA material.

Also, I would be traveling to D.C. to take him and bring him back. I would stay with my brother while there.

My understanding is that it is just as much classwork type stuff as sightseeing. That the neext level up that actually does the international travel is more sightseeing.

[suki]

My daughter has been nominated for People to People, Youth Ambassadors and Sports Ambassadors. Each of these programs represented wonderful opportunities. But, at $3 - 5,000 each, we could not do it.

She has still been accepted to a top notch college and has plenty of scholarships. She will travel to Germany this summer after graduation as part of a short exchange experience. She has earned the money to pay for this trip herself.

My point is, there will be several other wonderful opportunity in this child's life as they are obviously brilliant. If you afford t is one, will you be able to afford the others? Don't feel as though you must for the scholarship opportunity. Bright kids who apply themselves will have plenty of scholarships without this in their resume.

My daughter has a classmate who did all of those same opportunities. She traveled to England her Freshman summer and played mock UN, she was a student ambassador one summer, she did people to people in Jr. High, etc. She has no more scholarships than my daughter who didn't participate.

[erstbrmom]

I've gotten these types of offers in the mail for my three kids from the same company. Just remember nothing is a guarantee of future scholarships for college.