<p>Is anyone familiar with this program? Is it legit? Is it worth doing?</p>
<p>My son was nominated for this program by his history teacher. He’s a current freshman, turning 16 next month, and spending next year abroad in France. </p>
<p>It appears to be an awesome program – but my initial impression was junk mail – so I would like feedback from anyone who knows about it.</p>
<p>edit: I just did a search for NYLC and found a whole thread on it which essentially says good program, not as exclusive as hyped, not a college hook, expensive. So it’s not exactly junk mail, but not exactly the opportunity of a lifetime either.</p>
<p>People love to bash the NYLC here. Their sales pitch can def. rub people the wrong way. You’re right-- it’s not exclusive, and it’s certainly not a college hook, and it IS expensive. But…</p>
<p>that said, the few kids we know of who did it (including our S) enjoyed it very much. He’d never been on any kind of trip alone or with peers, so it was a great way for him to experience D.C. with a bunch of kids his age. They did a lot of things he never could have done with the rest of us on a family trip. He esp enjoyed the breakfast and program at the Nat. Press Club and also liked the behind the scenes visits to govt buildings. There are also seminars, speakers, and role-playing workshops at their residence site. If your son has an interest in govt it might be worth looking into.</p>
<p>All my kids were invited but none attended because were too busy saving for college. A neighbor boy did attend and as a result decided to major in something different in college from what he originally intended. So I guess it was a value for that aspect. The program does offer the opportunity for the student to learn and grow.I feel it may be of value.</p>
<p>My D attended for a week the summer before 8th grade and had the time of her life. She’s a junior in h.s. now and one of the girls she roomed with recently contacted her via email to say hi. D seemed to really grow up during that week away, gained confidence, etc…</p>
<p>I noticed on our trip to Muhlenberg a couple of weeks ago that the packet they gave prospective students and parents included an accepted students stats listing which included the number of kids who attended NYLC - along with the number of Merit Scholars in the class, varsity athletes. class presidents etc.</p>
<p>My D was invited; asked GC about it; opinion was that it’s valuable to D if D is interested but very expensive, but not something likely to impress the colleges D is interested in. We decided to put the money towards college.</p>
<p>I was invited, but I think it’s just a waste of money. A lot of my friends went and had a lot of fun there, but I have no idea what they actually did there. Anyone can get it, it’s not a big accomplisment.</p>
<p>Going will not add anything to the college app, but for those who went that we know, they did get something out of the program. The programs are pretty pricey.</p>
<p>I’ll second lspf72’s comments. Ignore the hype. It matters zilch on a college app. It’s probably more than you’ll want to spend. </p>
<p>However, if your child has an interest in government, current affairs, politics, history, etc., it may well be worth doing. My son went as a sophomore in high school, got a lot out of the experience, and recommended the program to a few others. </p>
<p>If the cost is not an issue, and there is a true interest on the student’s part, I still see it as a positive learning experince. I’ve said similar things before about the People to People program. Ignore the marketing and forget about a hook on a college app, yet it was the only way my kids were economically able to see Europe (son) and Europe & Australia (daughter) on my dime.</p>
<p>This is not exclusive by any means. I don’t know what their criteria is for sending out their applications, but my 2nd s has gotten 2 invites. He’s a pretty solid C student with sat scores barely above 1000. Give me a break. If you have money burning a hole in your pocket, then go for it.</p>
<p>Ditto the above sentiment. My daughter was working in DC and said these programs run continuously. She was stunned by how many kids participated. </p>
<p>So - if you have the money, it may be a great experience, but don’t think it will look impressive on app. If your child learns something from the experience and then USES what he/she learns in a meaningful way to actually do something - that would be different.</p>
<p>i did it because i was fortunate enough to have the financial means to do so, and i figured what the hell, why not? it MAY up my chances (i went in 05). with that being said though, the social aspect of this program is SEVERELY lacking…the kids are pretty much freaks.</p>
<p>I went my junior year of HS. It was not exciting to say the least. No one talks very much and I agree - the people are kind of weird. Honestly, the best part was when we got to pretend to be on the Supreme Court. The rest was touring, which I’ve done 100 times. We also got to meet our reps, but most of them ended up sending us out some staffers. It was pretty lame.</p>
<p>My son went to Jr NYLC when he was in the 7th grade. I am sure it will be different for high schoolers. It was a fun experience for him but it was very expensive. I don’t think it was worth the money maybe partly because he was still young. He has been invited to attend different conferences every year from NYLC, but he has not attended any since 7th grade. I would not send my younger son to any of those conferences unless it is free and selective.
On the other hand his friend who attended the conference with him in 7th grade has been attending every single conference from NYLC. They find it very valuable. So it depends.</p>