People to People-Student Ambassador Programs

[xnfs93hy]

Hey.

I got invited to this People to People-Student Ambassador Programs thing, early on in the school year in like October.

However, when you are a junior you usually recieve a bunch of crap in the mail, and you just kind of toss it aside. However, for some reason, the letter has been lurking in the corner of my bedroom. Today I decided to clean my room and just for the heck of it, I checked out the website.

I actually think the People to People thing is legit. Like, for real, like I actually got invited to something.

But how? Did someone nominate me? Who?

Is this like a big deal or something? I think I can still do it, I missed the meeting in November and emailed them to schedule a new one.

I am just asking because almost 1M searches for the People to People thing came up under Google.

Has anyone ever heard about it?

Is it legit?

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[Maygyver]

I did this between my Junior and Senior year. I'm not sure how legit the actual like nomination thing is, but the actual trip was AMAZING. I did the one that went to Australia. I would say it was the best month of my life. I would highly suggest going.

 

[xnfs93hy]

I did this between my Junior and Senior year. I'm not sure how legit the actual like nomination thing is, but the actual trip was AMAZING. I did the one that went to Australia. I would say it was the best month of my life. I would highly suggest going.

That is the same one I am invited to.

Wow.

Yeah I will be a senior this fall so it falls under the same time you went.

Can you tell me more about it? Do you think I can still do it?

Does it cost anything?

 

[mathlegend]

I heard about that. When I was on tour in Beijing with my youth orchestra, we saw kids from the People to People program. It seems like they basically travel around, not sure what much they do. It's legit tho.

 

[xnfs93hy]

NICE!

haha. UGHHH!!! I hope I can still do it

 

[Maygyver]

That is the same one I am invited to

Wow.

Yeah I will be a senior this fall so it falls under the same time you went.

Can you tell me more about it. Do you think I can still do it.

Does it cost anything?

I think you could probably still do it. I think most of our meetings were in the summer. I could be wrong though. I think all in all the program costs around a couple thousand. Included in the fee was all your flights, food (except extra snack food-not really necessary, you get fed well), hotels (some of which are actually REALLY nice resorts) and activities. We climbed the Sydney Harbor bridge, held a koala and wombat, snorkeled, fed dolphins, snorkeled at the Great Barrier Reef and all kinds of awesome stuff. I am a really frugal person so I was apprehensive about the fee, but when you work it out, it is actually a really good deal.

 

[broken tibula]

Everybody and their grandmother gets this letter. I know of two people who actually went on the trip (my friend Katie went to AUstralia back in 2005--Mayguyver, maybe you went with her!) had a great time. However, the trip also cost $4000 or something crazy like that.

 

[xnfs93hy]

Nice

I just hope it doesn't cut into my SAT/ACT prep I plan to do.

 

[xnfs93hy]

Everybody and their grandmother gets this letter. I know of two people who actually went on the trip (my friend Katie went to AUstralia back in 2005--Mayguyver, maybe you went with her!) had a great time. However, the trip also cost $4000 or something crazy like that.

Really? I don't know anyone who got this. I know one girl out of my entire school who go invited to something like this. It was a different program.

 

[broken tibula]

Well it's ridiculously popular where I live then. All of my friends got one, and I know of at least thirty other people who have also gotten them. Sometimes it's to London or Paris, but mine was to Australia as well.

 

[Maygyver]

Well it's ridiculously popular where I live then. All of my friends got one, and I know of at least thirty other people who have also gotten them. Sometimes it's to London or Paris, but mine was to Australia as well.

PM sent.

 

[xnfs93hy]

http://www.peopletopeople.com/Trave...acific-Adventure-HS-09.aspx?zip=07719&range=0

This is the one I am invited to.

 

[Maygyver]

http://www.peopletopeople.com/Trave...acific-Adventure-HS-09.aspx?zip=07719&range=0

This is the one I am invited to.

The one I went one was just Australia. We did get to make a pit stop in Fiji though because we had a gasoline leak. Pretty, pretty awesome.

 

[xnfs93hy]

Apparantly it is not that selective. They usually target the top 10% of the high school class.

Which is odd because I am nowhere near that figure.

God bless the person who invited me

At least someone realizes my hard work.

 

[xnfs93hy]

Well it's ridiculously popular where I live then. All of my friends got one, and I know of at least thirty other people who have also gotten them. Sometimes it's to London or Paris, but mine was to Australia as well.

Go figure, I just checked out College Confidential, and there are threads under Summer Programs that say that they usually target the top 10%.

 

[mathlegend]

Hmm I'm pretty sure I'm in top 10% but I never got one. I get a lot of national leadership kinda junk though.

 

[URHere]

I went on one of the People-to-People programs when I was in middle school (The UK and Ireland trip, about a decade ago). I really valued the program because it gave me an excellent chance to travel, however, I thought that the trip had almost no significant educational value.

As for how people are selected, people who go on the trips are usually asked to recommend people they think would be a good match for the program. If you have a friend who has previously gone, they may have nominated you.

Cost-wise, the trip is kind of crazy. I don't remember the exact numbers because I was young and my parents paid, but you're looking at several thousands of dollars. Once you pay, you go to classes once a week where you get to know your travel companions, learn about the history of the country you are visiting, give presentations, etc. On the actual trip, there are occasional "quizzes" on history, but they really don't mean much of anything.

Overall, I think the program is legit, but don't expect it to wow anyone down the road. Also, it's pretty pointless to take it for high school or college credit. If you want to travel, and you have the cash, then go. Otherwise, it probably isn't worth the cost.

 

[xnfs93hy]

Yeah, I think I'll save my money.

 

[CScull]

My sister went on one to California actually when she was in 7th grade I think, and she really enjoyed it. It's not going to be a big resume booster if that's what you're hoping for though, you'd be better doing an internship somewhere or a program like Boy's Club, or Governor's School.

 

[Pepipanda]

I did one in 8th grade. Went to DC and missed a week of school. Not worth it. They gave you a bunch of questions(historical ones) to write up answers to ahead of time, which I didn't do, then was made to do during the camp. They said they were optional and you only had to do them if you wanted credit, which I didn't think my school accepted.

You see some cool stuff, but it wasn't worth the missed days and assignments to me. (but then, at least some of my opinion is biased because some of my teachers made it really difficult for me to make up the work and I don't find history/politics to be all that interesting)

 

[xnfs93hy]

I've decided against it guys. Thanks for helping me out.

I have decided to study for SAT's/ACT's and do the stuff for my five AP classes next year.

 

[Maygyver]

I've decided against it guys. Thanks for helping me out.

I have decided to study for SAT's/ACT's and do the stuff for my five AP classes next year.

Boo, you don't need to study for the SAT/ACT all summer! The trip was only like 30 days or so. It's up to you though.

 

[Bacchus]

This won't be a resume builder, but it is nice to list and gives you an opportunity to talk about the travel. I did this, wow, 7 years ago... holy crap!

I went to Australia and New Zealand, total of 21 days. The price was about $5,000. However, its a reasonable price when it comes down to it for the airfare and accommodations.

I would highly, highly recommend going. You're not losing a lot of study time for the SAT/ACT and preparation for the test is often overexaggerated. The days you're losing, I think wouldn't affect you too much.

I'm going to comment on some of the places on your itinerary (mine was different).

Sydney:
*Best part was definitely climbing the Harbor Bridge. I don't see it on the itinerary but it may be scheduled. It was breathtaking. We climbed on a cloudless day. Not too difficult.
*Going to school was fun, just to see what the Aussie educational system was like. But, it is another day of school.
*The Harbor Cruise is a great way to get to know your tripmates and meet other people. Just be careful running around on the al-ewe-mini-um roof of the captain's quarters, haha.

Barrier Reef and Sand tobogganing:
*Tons of fun.
*The reef is beautiful.
*Sand tobogganing is a huge thrill

Christchurch:
*Beautiful city, haven't seen anything like it ever before.
*Antarctic Center is a great experience -- you're 8 hours from Antarctica by plane!
*A bit cold during winter, definitely.

Rotorua:
*Smells like sulfur because of the hot spring, but not bad.
*I like the outdoors so the nature hike among the springs was really fun.
*I did my homestay here, not Auckland. Thoroughly enjoyed it. NZ people are so nice.
*Staying at the Marae with the Maori was an interesting experience. They do a lot of cultural things with you, including a pig barbeque that is to die for.

Auckland:
*Overall, a great city. Supposedly has one of the highest crime rates in NZ, though, according to our bus driver.
*We just walked around because this is where we departed from to go back to the States.
*Awesome extinct volcano that you'll get to explore.
*Best part -- walking around past midnight looking for the McDonald's to get ice cream