People to People Student Ambassadors
 

So, my daughter is very interested in this program and I haven't found anybody local who knows someone who has done it. So, I thought.. lots of people on Greek Chat who may know something about this, why not ask there? She'd be 14 when she went on the trip, would attend the European Discovery program. She's been a very responsible kid.. 4.0 GPA, marching band, Girl Scout, NJHS, church youth group. But, I'd really like to hear from somebody who has been on one of these trips or knows someone first hand who has.

Thanks in advance!

I went through the interview process and received a spot; however, back 11 years ago, it was around going to be $5K for the trip. They say you can fundraise, but my parents weren't exactly comfortable with that. Ultimately I pulled out for financial reasons.

A friend's daughter went this past summer and had an awesome time. She's a little older than your daughter as she is 16. My younger cousin was to go on the same trip but had a schedule conflict. She was able to defer until next summer. The cost is still in the $5000 ball park and like APhi Sailorgirl said, they tell you about fundraisers but no one that I know did that.

I can tell you that in another club to which I belong, we get sporadic requests from kids. We can't afford to foot their whole bill but sometimes we can give them a little something. All we ask in return is that they come and speak at a luncheon when they get back.

I'm not worried about the cost so much because my mother passed away last month and I'm getting some inheritance. I was thinking about doing something special for each of my kids with some of the inheritance (in addition to putting away a big chunk for their college educations), and I think this would qualify. She had just hit me with the idea out of the blue and I had never heard of it so I've been researching.

I am sorry about your mom.

This would be a wonderful opportunity for your daughter. She'll visit places and experience things that many only get to read about. How great iis that to have that firsthand knowledge. If you decide to move forward, the organizers hold monthly meetings to prepare. These meetings are for both kids and their parents so everybody is on the same page. I don't know anyone who has been dissatisfied with the program.

A friend of mine in high school did the Australia program and absolutely loved it.

Two friends of mine were a part of the program during multiple summers and they never had any regrets!!

Compare it to other tours though . .. I don't remember it being cheap. And I am not sure you get that much more than you would through another program . . or even a privately set up trip.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_...ssador_Program

Yeah, I saw that on Wikipedia. My daughter didn't receive an invite in the mail but her friend did and it said that she could bring a friend to the information meeting. My daughter was upset that she wouldn't have received an invite and I told her that they probably just bought the names from some mailing list and she shouldn't be upset about it. The Wikipedia entry just confirmed that. I signed up on a scholarship information website and she has been getting college recruitment stuff in the mail and she's only in 8th grade!

We're going to go to the informational meeting on Sunday and see what they have to say. It can't hurt to get more info. I have also found a couple at work who were familiar with the program/knew someone who had attended and thought it was worthwhile also. Thanks for the feedback! I knew GC would have some info. Keep it coming!

ETA: I'm particularly curious about the possibility of high school or college credits if she does some coursework before/after.

I got an invite and really wanted to go on the trip to Australia but my family couldn't afford the pricetag. I was bummed until my hometown decided to send students to our sister city in Japan, and I got picked for that, which was free! :D

One of my students went on a trip this summer for People to People since I wrote her a recommendation this past year. She loved it and took tons of pictures. It is definitely worth it!!!

One of my friends did the Eastern European trip the summer between freshman and sophomore year of high school. She had an amazing time.

I went on the Australia/New Zealand trip with People to People the summer before 9th grade. It was an amazing experience! I fundraised every cent, and I think they did a good job of using the money wisely. We went to all kinds of locations, fed dolphins, stayed at a Maori village, snorkeled in the Great Barrier Reef - things you just don't do on a normal vacation. I think it's a great opportunity to have a little freedom in a very safe setting and start behaving like an adult. I will say if I could do it again, I may have waited a few years, since at 14 you're still concerned with cliques and boys - even the most mature of us. ;)

I don't believe any credit comes out of the program, but it's a "resume-builder" until she has more experience. Also, recommendations from the leaders and building networking skills with the other students is a helpful tool for the future.

Your daughter sounds like a great candidate. The initial invite seems random, but they definitely interview you and make sure you're really mature enough to handle yourself in another continent without Mom and Dad. Good luck to your daughter!!

People to People is a great, albeit expensive way to travel. It is not an EC-worthy activity and will NOT get your kid into prep school or college.

I'm not trying to belittle the program because it sounds like a lot of fun, but how can it be a "resume builder" if the trip sounds like a vacation in another country (e.g. feeding dolphins, snorkeling, etc).

Is there more to the trip than it being a vacation from Mom & Dad?

It sounds like it is a good way to get recommendation letters from the teacher-leaders, but most people have teachers, pastors, etc that would write those also?

From some of the kids' blogs I've read who've been on the trips, they also do some sort of service project while there.

I know a couple of girls who did it while in high school. ONe did fund-raising by selling custom-made throws...I doubt she raised enough money to cover the cost, but at least she did SOMETHING...the other raised money through a custom-printed cookbook.
The price seemed awfully high to me, especially because they stay with families. But because of that, the trip gives them a lot more interaction with local people. Most of the girls learned a lot from the trip.
And it seemed a lot of girls went...not a lot of boys...

Haha, this was over a decade ago, so I listed what I remembered! We did stay with families one night, and also met with a lot of local people, ate local cuisine, learned about the governments and economies, etc. The program may have changed as well, so definitely voice these concerns at the meeting! My parents were 100% behind the idea (although 0% behind the finances) and I had a wonderful experience, so that's why I gave my two cents. :rolleyes:

And I do appreciate your feedback! I've priced other escorted European tours and it really doesn't seem any more expensive than those if the price includes airfare. Besides, if I took her on a tour, then I'd have to pay for two people (although I'd love to go to Europe) and take 3 weeks off work (and I have 3 hours of time off in my bank at the moment). The itinerary for her trip says that they stay with a family for 3 days in Salzburg. She will LOVE going there, especially if she gets to see where they filmed some of the Sound of Music.

I'm not worried about her getting into a prep school (can't afford one) or college. She's doing a great job of keeping herself qualified to do whatever she wants to do. My biggest worry is that she might eat a peanut product in a foreign country.

I didn't think her dad would go for the idea of her going abroad for 3 weeks, but he said it sounded like a great opportunity (as long as he didn't have to pay for any of it), so he's on board with the idea. The info meeting is tomorrow so I'll have a better sense then. It will also partially depend on how soon they will need money because I don't know how long it will be before my mother's estate is liquidated. So, we'll see. If she doesn't do this, then she'll be going to Interlochen for their creative writing program instead. That's $3400 for 3 weeks and is only in Michigan. I guess that's why $5000 for a 3 week/17 city European tour sounds reasonably priced to me!

Now if my kids were talented enough to get accepted to Interlochen, they would be there in a heartbeat. THAT is an amazing program!

And I know it's irrelevant in your decision-making but Interlochen is a huge EC that definitely impresses the admissions officers.

I think she will still go to Interlochen another year.. for either clarinet or creative writing. She was accepted last year but I couldn't afford it. I think it is more impressive if she does the high school program and this year, she'd just be intermediate.

So, we went to the meeting. We drove separately from her friend (who had actually gotten the invite letter) and got there first. Her friend clearly believes the whole "selective invitation" stuff and asked us how we got in without her. I told her that we had registered for the meeting online and Shannon just had to fill out a thing with her address on it when we got there. Shannon sat next to her friend during the presentation and said that her friend kept pointing out that she wouldn't be there if it weren't for her. This same friend (they've been friends since preschool) has quit every activity she starts and asks my daughter for answers on homework all the time, which has been driving my daughter crazy lately. So, now she's questioning whether she would want to travel somewhere like this with this friend. She said "I could totally see her asking me what things were all the time when I'd be trying to listen to a guide to learn about it myself and I wouldn't end up learning anything!"

Anyway... so they want $400 with the application and they want to start interviews in 2 weeks. They schedule the interview after they process the application. I told her that if her dad could put up the initial $400, we could do it, but my mom's estate isn't liquidated yet and I don't know when it will be.. probably not in time for the interviews. Additionally, the interviews are scheduled for 3 Saturdays in row. She has band competitions all 3 Saturdays (including states, if her band makes it, which is questionable.) I told her that my philosophy is that if things are meant to work out, they will, so if she is meant to go this year, then the money would come through in time and we'd figure out a way to schedule an interview around band competitions. I also told her that she could always do one of these trips next year and go to Interlochen this year instead.

So, things are pending 1) Her own decision whether to travel with this friend or not, 2) finances, 3) scheduling an interview and 4) the decision of Interlochen vs. Europe.

She was looking at the application and asked me what she thought she put down for what is special about her. I asked her what she thought and she had a lot of good answers (wanting to make a difference in the world, being thoughtful and her ambition). I told her that she impresses me with how goal directed and self motivated she is and that I don't worry about her that much when it comes to things like drugs and alcohol because she knows.. (and she finished my sentence with) "It would totally screw up my life plan". 13.. and has a life plan. Now that's what I'm talking about!

Thanks for all your testimonials! It did help a lot to "know" some people who've done this program.

I wonder if you could write her a "no rec". :rolleyes::p

Your daughter sounds very mature, and I hope she has a great summer, wherever she ends up!

At lunch today, her friend brought up again that my daughter wouldn't be able to go if this friend hadn't invited her to the information meeting. My daughter finally got fed up and told her about the dead cat who was invited. Of course, her friend didn't believe her but was referred to Wikipedia for the truth! LOL My daughter is leaning toward P2P for this summer anyway. I told her, if it's meant to be, then the interview schedule will work out, the finances will come through, etc. She's going to go ahead and apply.

I've had loads of students get the "specially selected" letters. When they ask me about it, I say if they are interested to look into it, but it's no different than the trips that I plan in the end, and with me they travel with someone they know and trust, and their friends who come along as well. Being as I'm a foreign language teacher, I actually plan trips to Europe for my students and I've got 11 going with me this spring. I've got my own rules, and my students need to be B students, no truancies, at least in language level 2, etc...I don't take students I don't know personally, nor those who have not been in my class, or ones from whom I get bad vibes.

It's a great experience, but honestly I think P2P is super expensive for what you get. The trip I am taking my students on is 13 days and only 2200...and they stay with a host family for part of the time in France to practice their language skills and compare/contrast American/French life. My students last year even got to check out a French high school, and with the exception of their stellar cafeteria, and different daily schedule, all came back with a renewed positive feeling about American education (meaning that the teachers aren't mean and don't humiliate them in front of the class like in France). :)

Maybe see if your daughter's future HS offers anything that might be a little less pricey and more geared towards FL learning? Just an idea.

Well, she applied and interviewed and got her letters of recommendation in and was accepted. She's very excited. Now we have to apply for her passport ASAP.

Congratulations to your daughter!

fleur de lis, my son also did the Australia/New Zealand trip before 9th grade over a decade ago. I wonder if ya'll were there together?:) THAT would be a small world!!

He also did the pre med honors symposium thing too in the summer between junior and senior year. I don't know how much he got out of it (he is now an econ/engl major) but he had a good time and met some neat kids.

My other kids haven't had the luxury of being a 1st child:cool: ha ha!

My poor third son got sent to "math camp" - the Duke summer program - not quite Australia!! He did have fun though.

I went on the European Odyssey Tour and it was AMAZING! I learned a LOT of history while I was there and it was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity! I hope everything works out for you and your daughter. Did you speak with the leaders about a possible alternative interview time? I can't remember if they had those or not.

My most memorable times include: repelling down a castle wall in Italy, staying with a family in france, ridding the Metro in Greece to some go carts we saw on our way to Athens, the Parthenon, Venice, getting stuck in the bathroom of a convent in Pompeii, climbing mount Vesuvius.

I really hope your daughter gets to go!
Make sure you tell her if she goes to keep a VERY detailed journal! We had to keep one as an assignment, and so I kind of slacked off on it. Now that I am not right in the moment I regret it because I don't have as clear memories of certain things.

She's going on the European Discovery tour and did manage to get an interview on a night when she didn't have any activities and has been accepted. She's very excited! She wants to be a journalist so I think she'll be good about keeping a journal, but I'll be sure to nudge her about it.

Yay! Congratulations to you and your daughter! (I know my dad was just as excited as I was!)

If you have any questions/concerns/just want to talk about it or anything feel free to PM me!

She leaves this morning! France, Switzerland, Austria and Italy. She'll be back on July 16th. I've been calm, cool and collected up until this morning when I woke up before my alarm went off and am finding myself a bit nervous now. She is VERY excited!

she'll love it and you will be fine