<p>My son went as a 14 year old and had the time of his life - socially. Half the stuff they were scheduled for was cancelled and the price was outrageous. I also thought they gave the kids way too much freedom for the age group. If I had it to do over again, I would save the money for his high school foreign language trip.</p>
<p>I believe that at one time People to People was an honor, but a few years ago the name was sold to a for profit company.</p>
<p>Stop praying about the situation and just say “NO”. Put the $6,000 into an account for the boy to help with his living expenses when he graduates from high school. Put the $6,000 towards an educational “camp” at a college for the summer. Put the $6,000 towards a family trip and build some happy memories for the boy. </p>
<p>The invitations are meaningless. They are sent out in mass mailings. Do not interpret the invitation as anything more than an advertisement. Perhaps your nephew sees this as an opportunity to “get rid of” the boy for the summer so he doesn’t have care for him. Stop praying about the situation and do something about it. Talk with your nephew about it.</p>
<p>About 15 years ago our CAT was “nominated” by a “member in our community” for the People to People Program. What an honor. Our cat was not able to attend.</p>
<p>My daughter went to Australia with People to People nearly 9 years ago. My assumption then, as it remains now, is that if you have to pay, it is a tour…nothing more or less. We certainly had no expectations that it would be an influence on college acceptances. That said, she had a wonderful time and feels that her global outlook began with that program. Now a senior in college, she has spent much time out of the country, appreciating and studying other cultures.</p>
<p>[Consumer</a> complaints about People to People](<a href=“http://www.consumeraffairs.com/travel/people_to_people.html]Consumer”>Compare 30 People to People International Student Travel Programs Reviews & Experiences (2024))
^interesting relevant info about some of the realities of the program</p>
<p>My daughter went to Brazil with P2P in 2002 (3?) fully paid for by the great state of Texas. It was a pilot program that did not get renewed, but it was a great experience for her and for the other 20 some students who went (again, fully paid for by Texas). They did have to do some wacky things (like fly somewhere at 2:00 a.m.) and there wasn’t always enough time to sleep - but she really enjoyed it, and it started her on the path of “Queen of free travel” that she has become.</p>
<p>S2 went on a P2P soccer sports trip to Sweden. The team was slauhtered in the tournament. It was obvious they were not up to the same caliber, even with some training time together in Copenhagen. They were the patsies for the others to advance. The coach ditched them as soon as they lost. The side tours were cancelled for lack of participation. They had not told us how much more the side tours cost. At least he was 17 and coiuld handle himself. But it was party and sex central. I would NOT send anyone on the sports tours.</p>
<p>I went on the Exploring Europe trip to Italy, France, and England in 2007 when I was 16. People to People is a wonderful program and you do have to be nominated for it I am not familiar with the Sports side of it however I know for a fact that every person is nominated by someone in there community, in most cases it is teachers in schools because it is mostly teachers that lead the trips. I think this experience if experienced by the right person can be amazing. I learned so much from my trip especially in our monthly meetings where we had to learn and do assignments based on the places where we were going. Because of the home stay aspect of the program my French improved dramatically from living in a home with native French speakers and I developed the productive habit of journal writing. We were required to write a journal entry for everyday we were there and that is a habit that I continue today and it is so rewarding to be able to look back at my writing and remembering how I felt at certain points and what I did. Now as there is with any program involving a bunch of teenagers there was a fair share of drama and kids doing what they weren’t supposed to do but I think that says something about the way they were raised not the program. I had the time of my life on my people to people trip and learned life lessons that I still carry with me today. I was also nominated for people to people student ambassador of the year. It was also a topic of interest in all of my college interviews and my interviewers seemed extremely impressed that I had the privilege of participating in such a trip at such a young age. Like life, a people to people trip experience depends on the person experiencing it.</p>
<p>I worked for the corporate community affairs department of one of the biggest gaming companies in Las Vegas for over 3 years. My department constantly received solicitations from parents looking for money for their kids to take People to People trips - mostly form letters that they filled in blanks. My employer had specific charitable giving areas and did not give money or sponsorships to individuals. When this information was communicated to these people, I would hear the same thing from these parents ; “But they gave us a list, and your company is on it.” What was worse was when these parents would send the same letters to all of the properties in our company; and these solicitations would get forwarded to our office, so our department would end up with 10 - 20 copies of the same letter for the same kid, asking for sponsorships for their trip. It was really sad, because the People to People management was doing no research of any kind and not helping their participants whatsoever with their “lists”. I would NEVER participate in their programs for this reason alone.</p>
<p>Note and be leery that P2P-touting poster dansedecheval6 (post #28) has only this one post on CC.</p>
<p>I find it hard to imagine how he or she improved her French “dramatically” from her home stay, since the home stays in France last just a few days. (My D had a home stay with P2P in France that same summer, so I know whereof I speak.) I’ll also mention that no one bothered keeping their journals on my D’s trip, and none of the leaders bothered to check. Also, following her return, she was asked to nominate others for future P2P trips–she could have nominated ANYONE (including a cat). Finally, D’s P2P trip never impressed anyone–certainly not any admissions officers, who are quite aware that participation reflects only that someone had the time and money to go on a teen tour.</p>
<p>P2P is nothing more than a student travel organization that does nice, if expensive, tours. I can’t complain about the weeks my D spent in Europe–she had fun, got to see a lot, and was well supervised. But their sales tactics are very deceptive. They purport to be selective, and suggest that being nominated is a great honor, but will take anyone with the money to pay. They call the participants “Student Ambassadors” and pretend that they are actually engaged in some kind of international/cultural bridge building, bandying about the Eisenhower name to support this idea, while the kids are just traveling like any other tourists (except that they sometime have to wear their matching polo shirts). Unfortunately I fell for all their nonsense and didn’t really see through the marketing baloney until after D’s trip. Had I known, I would never have done business with P2P–I don’t deal with the ethically challenged.</p>
<p>It’s an expensive and fun vacation. We know two kids who have gone and enjoyed their trips, one to Europe and one to Australia. If you want to go on any of their trips, you can nominate yourself.</p>
<p>The just lost their Better Business Bureau accreditation - it was pulled due to business practices. Check out the BBB for Washington State, do a search on People to People - and you’ll see it : F and “rejected”.</p>
<p>People have been asking about this program - I saw this and thought I’d pass it along - looks like CBS investigative news finds the company fraudulent and dishonest.
[New</a> backlash over “People to People” program - CBS News Video](<a href=“http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7373029n&tag=mncol;lst;1]New”>http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7373029n&tag=mncol;lst;1)</p>
<p>Wow, so glad you posted the link. The video certainly disposes of the notion that participating is any kind of honor. I had long ago determined that anyone who could inhale and exhale was “qualified” for a People to People trip, but apparently I was being under-inclusive!</p>
<p>Our oldest child is in the middle of a P2P trip to Australia as we speak. I knew nothing about this group until I surfed for info. When I saw the name of President Eisenhower I thought “O.K., it least it began with a good pedigree.” Ex spouse handled all the logistics and all I got was minimal information. Nevertheless, the kids seem to be enjoying themselves in the South Pacific, according to the emails. Ex hasn’t mentioned $$ at all.</p>
<p>I’m curious now so I will take a look at the CBS News story.</p>
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<p>Haha, what a surprise! Now, could CBS take a look at those “honest” four-letter organizations that send kids to DC for a few days after sending thousands of gold-sealed invitations to the truly “deserving.”</p>
<p>Just surfed P2P and read several comments, many from parents and students whom have been involved in past trips.</p>
<p>My quick perspective is that P2P seems to be a good organization that has let its objectives become akwardly executed by its for-profit partners. The Ambassadors part of the organization seems to have that typical feel-good student exchange vibe going for it, but the travel agents whom license the P2P name for the actual booking of trips apparently are a bit too gung ho in pursuing profits. One concern I have is that Adult chaperones (spelling?)/coordinators allegedly travel for free if they commit a specific number of students to a trip. Yes, the trips are expensive but international trips to western and developed countries are generally expensive, particularly if you eat well and stay there for three weeks.</p>
<p>That brings us to the marketing of these trips. It’s remorseful that “invitations” have been sent to the parents of deceased children, kids whom didn’t live to be toddlers. Ridiculous and ghastly. Also, as has been complained about by some people, not every young Ambassador was/is a stellar or distinguished student. Not a flaw that’s fatal to the program’s objectives but again a sign of somewhat deceptive promotion.</p>
<p>All things considered, any parent should approach this “opportunity” with his/her eyes wide open.</p>
<p>I actually went on trip with P2P when I was 11. I went to Italy and Greece. I thought it was absolutley amazing! I had so much fun and I really discovered my love for travel. I also worked on my independence because I was away from my parents for three weeks. It was definetly a great experience even if it was semi-expensive. However it was no more expensive than my school trip to France that was only one week and that was resonabley priced.</p>
<p>-Birdwings- their rating on the Better Business Bureau site is now a B+… however I don’t doubt that it is a scam and parents should steer clear, and save their $$ for other/better opportunities for their college-bound children…</p>
<p>My DD’s often get solicitations in the mail like this and I know children who have attended these trips (parents were well off enough to afford it). I think if you take it at face value (and many people have already stated what that is) and it is not a financial imposition for the family or can be scholarshipped then ok but wait for a time when the child is maybe older and can appreciate it a little bit more. Other than that many high schools offer chaperoned trips to foreign countries through language clubs with opportunities for fund raising, or there is always the opportunity later in college to study abroad. No need to rush something that is not going to benefit a child at this age as far as college apps and might possibly be something that would be a financial hardship. </p>
<p>Even the act of fundraising in the community for something like this can be very stressful. Many people are very generous but many more people can be very callous and once you make the committment to go reaching that dollar goal is a lot of hard work.</p>