<p>A friend has asked me what I have ever heard of the “People to People” Student Ambassordor program. Her son has received a letter indicating that he has been ‘nominated’ to participate or at least check it out, and the initial reaction is that the organization behind it is essentially a for profit company and the that participation would be expensive.</p>
<p>Does anyone have any information about it or know students who have participated in it who can weigh in on the program, its value, etc.? Thanks.</p>
<p>Your initial reaction is 100% correct! That being said, if you can afford to shell out the bucks, it can be a great travel experience. However it is really a perk for the well-to-do.</p>
<p>My D participated in the program when she was 13 – she went with a group to Australia. The concept is a good one but there was far less “people to people” interaction than D expected. Overall, she found it worthwhile but it was expensive and should be viewed as an opportunity to travel – not much more.</p>
<p>As a young teen, DD also received nominations several years in a row from P to P; one of her friends actually went to Australia (probably same trip as MusicMom’s D) and it was a great trip and worthwhile for her. Kid year before her also went (I think that trip was to Europ); he had to raise $$$ to afford to go. It was much too expensive for our tastes.</p>
<p>Hi, this is my first post to the Cafe although I"ve been lurking for quite a while, usually over on the SA boards.</p>
<p>My s went to the UK with P to P at age 13. He had a good experience, but in retrospect we all feel it wasn’t worth it. Other opportunities for internat’l travel came up in high school, but we had told him he could travel overseas only once with a group, and his younger sister did too. She went to France with her French club and I think had a much better time–she was older and went with a lot of friends, whereas he only knew 2 kids in the group before the trip. I think there are more and better opportunities elsewhere than People to People, plus it was pretty expensive. He was the first child, we didn’t know any better and there were no internet boards like there are now (s is now 22).</p>
<p>Hi, My daughter has been on four p to p trips and they were great. The learning experience was fantastic. And of course there are times for fun, but it is very structured and jam packed with activities. She has walked across the Sydney Bridge and volunteered at a home for children in Europe. She has also had opportunities to meet heads of state and New Zealand Environmentalists. The list goes on and on. Yes, they are expensive, but we felt they were worth it. Also, some of her best friends are from past trips. She says it is a mini college experience. You really get to know your “dorm” mates. There are meetings during the year before the trips so you have a chance to get to know the teachers and the students.</p>
<p>Both of my daughters got “nominations”. My younger D actually went. We were told tales of an amazing experience not available to anyone else…they told of kids meeting queens, kings, the pope, etc. It sounded great. There was an interview process and my D had to submit letters of recommendation. We were led to believe that this was an actual ambassadorship of some kind. They also led us to believe that fundraising was easy for this. It isn’t. It’s about $5,000. My D went to France–with a homestay, and Italy and Greece in 21 days. It was a poorly organized and very poorly chaperoned trip. For instance, they spent 4 hours in a bus to get to Pisa, and had 20 minutes there…they all ran to the tower, took pictures, and ran back to the bus for another 4 hour trip. There was a lot of getting lost on the bus. The “kings and queens” turned out to be them trying to meet a monk, which they never even got to do! She and several other kids were left wandering around Venice for their ‘Free time’, but one kid lost his credit card in an ATM and couldn’t get it out, and there wasn’t an adult there to help. No one answered their emergency cell number. She has fond memories of it now, but when she got home and showed me pictures, it was a whole bunch of “there’s another statue…I don’t remember where that was…there’s a ruin…I think it was somewhere in Italy…” So, overall, People to People is a giant corporation making tons of profit from parents looking to give their kids a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. There is no selection…everyone gets in who is willing to pay. There were kids on my daughter’s tour who could barely put two words together, let alone be ambassadors to another country. So, be wary. I think any teen tour would be as good, if not better, and probably less expensive.</p>
<p>For youth, middle school age, the structure and chaparones are excellent. If all you want is fun, that’s what it will be, If you do the prerequisites and enroll in the HS classes and college credit programs, it can be a major advantage to other opportunities later. You get what you put in to it.</p>
<p>We know two kids who have been on P to P trips. Neither one a powerhouse in any area, but I think their parents were so puffed up about the “nomination” that they coughed up the $5K for a rather puffed up trip.</p>
<p>It really isn’t any honor at all…if you’ve got the money, and your kid the inclination for some travel, go for it.</p>
<p>Older D went on one trip to New Zealand and Australia, our younger went on a short trip to Hawaii for middle schoolers and longer trips to the British Isles and to Australia. We stopped sending our kids several years ago because the costs rapidly increased in the few years we were involved. The trips were tightly structured and well chaperoned, though that would depend very much on the quality of the people leading the trips. We had good ones. </p>
<p>The nomination I am convinced is bogus. I think they get kids’ names off of mailing lists. The application process is not very selective. I think they want to weed out kids that are likely to be homesick, but that is about it. Our kids got something out of the trips, but I would echo the comments of an earlier poster about how little detail is retained by the participants. Some of that is because they are young kids who may not be aware of the significance of what they are seeing, but some of it has to do with the sometimes frantic pace of the trips.</p>
<p>One benefit that I think our kids did get from participation was the confidence that they could be away from home and survive. We had no problems Freshman year when our older D went away to college 1500 miles away and she is now on her own in Ireland for a year abroad during her Junior year. Our younger daughter will easily make the transition next year, I am convinced, when she starts college. She is even looking at a school in Europe. I can’t say that P-to-P was responsible, but the experience helped break the ties to us.</p>