<p>Hi–another ‘program’ question! My son got a big, fancy invite to the “Congressional Youth Leadership Council” but it wa based solely on his PSAT score. Huge, expensive invitation, description of global, potential ‘leaders’ meeting up together in DC & abroad. </p>
<p>It sounds like a fancy way of getting kids signed up for a multi-thousand $$ (over $2k) summer program.</p>
<p>Unless there is some prestige/value invovled in this that I don’t know about?</p>
<p>DD attended this program during the school year. They keep you very very busy. She met lots of kids from all over, had a chance to let her congressman know how she felt on certain issues concerning the environment (a real clash there), got to see lots of DC and the war memorials, enjoyed the press conference immensely but overall found it to be a rather expensive opportunity. Later she got the international invite but declined that.</p>
<p>Prestigeous summer programs are programs that students design themselves including ones in their local community that may appear modest, but took lots of work and passion, and ones like TASP and RSI, which are highly competitive and don’t cost a cent. The expensive programs that one hears about through expensive invitations are great ego boosts, but will not impress top colleges because probably all of their applicants could have attended such programs if they were willing to spend the money.</p>
<p>When sons got invitations like the ones to Congressional Youth Leadership Council, we laughed and threw them in the trash. I suppose that if one has money to burn they could be fun experiences for kids, but if they’re interested in government, they may be able to learn far more by creating a local program for themselves in which they shadow local officials.</p>
<p>If they want lobbyists, they should be paying you.</p>
<p>(If he’s got a cause he wants to lobby for, I’m sure there is an organization that would love to have him, and would train him for free to do so. My d. has been lobbying local Congresspeople for three years now, has gone to DC to lobby, and when her AFS trip had its orientation in DC, led the youth lobbying delegation 'cause she already knew how to do it.)</p>
<p>Thanks for that input. I figured–how prestigious could it be–it’s just based on PSAT scores–how does that alone (even if very high) make one a potential ‘leader’?</p>
<p>Son is not really that interested in politics, so it’s pretty much something not to consider (although the European version ($5+) sounded fun–Vienna, Budapest, Prauge…). </p>
<p>They’ve certainly spent a lot in fancy invites, though!</p>