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I got this in the mail but i have no idea what it is? Is this real or is it like a College partership fake stuff.

By Emeraldkity4 (Emeraldkity4) on Tuesday, January 06, 2004 - 11:55 pm: Edit

Well.. yes and no

I thought it was something that is sent to everyone, since my daughter who is on several soccer teams ( but isn't very strong player), received one, but while I had tossed her invitation, a friend of hers actually participated in a month or so in Australia last summer for soccer and enjoyed it very much.

By Northstarmom (Northstarmom) on Wednesday, January 07, 2004 - 07:29 pm: Edit

I'm sure the programs are enjoyable, but it seems that virtually any h.s. student who's breathing gets one, and I think the selection process probably has to do with who has the big bucks to pay.

When S, 15 got his first invitation a few years ago, we looked at the European program and chuckled because we had just done virtually the same itinerary over a 15-day time with our family of 4, and we had spent less than People to People charges for one kid to go.

We also had managed to do things in which we interacted with Europeans. I think we got more out of doing this in a small family group than S would have if he had done it with a large group of American teens.

If one really is interested in doing this kind of travel, my advice is to do it with a parent or other family members. I think you can have an even better experience and at a far cheaper price.

There also are some camps in France, Spain and possibly some other places where one can do immersion programs in French or Spanish. Check the Internet. The costs seem to range from about $1,000 for 2-weeks to about $3,500 for about 3 weeks. These, too, are below the costs of People to People and to me seem to offer a better experience in that one would really be living and interacting constantly with Europeans, not American teens.

When I have seen large groups of teens traveling together on tours, no matter where they are from, it always seems that they are mainly interacting with each other, not with people from the place where they're visiting. For that reason, that hasn't been the type of experience I've wanted my kids to have. If one wants to be surrounded by people from one's country, one can stay home.

By Mikejones (Mikejones) on Wednesday, January 07, 2004 - 09:36 pm: Edit

Thanks for the Help

By Goneinfivemin (Goneinfivemin) on Thursday, January 08, 2004 - 10:06 am: Edit

I was a student ambassador to Australia and New Zealand a couple of years ago. It was a great experience that I'm mentioning but not highlighting on my applications. I got to do things that I would not have been able to do with my parents such as go to school in Australia and New Zealand, stay with host families, and spend the night in a Maori marae. I should mention, however, that my delegation was fairly select. Our leaders told us that many other delegations allowed everyone in, but ours did not...we had to have certain grades and go through an interview process where they cut ~25% of the applicants. Although I was surrounded by american teenagers it wasn't a negative experience, because we often split inot smaller groups so we could really interact with the people. sure, there was a lot of intra-group interacting, but many times this helped us pool our perspectives about what we were doing, not necessarily determine who should go out with who etc. If you have any more questions about the program let me know.

By Emeraldkity4 (Emeraldkity4) on Thursday, January 08, 2004 - 10:08 am: Edit

It is great when parents are able to have time and money to take the whole family to Europe or whereever. However some of us have neither the time or money to do so, and these trips can be a fantastic opportunity for kids.

The girl that went to Australia for the soccer camp, didn't just meet other Americans ( although the US is a pretty diverse country in itself), but kids from all over the world.
She also did her own fundraising for the trip which I think was about $2000 for about three weeks. Try and do fundraising to send the family to Europe!
Doing things as a group with other teens is totally different than doing things with your parents.
My daughter had her first airplane trip in November with a school biology trip to Maui. She totally loved it. They camped, snorkeled and surfed and did a little shopping.
I was thrilled that she had the opportunity, if she waited for us to take her she very well may have had kids of her own !

By Northstarmom (Northstarmom) on Thursday, January 08, 2004 - 10:52 am: Edit

Emerald,
My experience has been that it's far cheaper to take an entire family to Europe than to send one kid on a sponsored study tour. I think that lots of parents and students don't know this.

Most of the travel abroad study trips that I have seen cost at least $4,000 plus spending money.

Here's how I could take a family of 4 abroad for less: Tickets from the US to Paris: $550 per person (using something like Priceline or traveling during a cheap time such as Xmas vacation (low season fro European travel from the US or grabbing fares during a sale), apartment ($1,000/week).

Clearly, one couldn't spend 3 weeks there with a family of 4, but by eating in one's apartment, one could have a nice 8-10 day trip, throughly explore Paris and take some side trips to Giverny and Verseille, and come to $4 k or less. A bonus would be having a wonderful family bonding time, and a great experience with a teen who is preparing to leave soon for college.

One wonderful thing about France is that students as old as 26 can get free or dirt cheap admission to places like museums. This saves on costs in a major way.

Also, clearly, if just one parent were doing this with their child, they could stay longer (including paying less per week to rent a smaller apartment) at the same budget. There even would be time and $ for an overnight trip to a place like Brussels or London. Similarly, if one has frequent flyer points, this can be a great way to cut costs.

If one also takes the time before the trip to connect with acquaintances or friends of friends who live where you're going, you also may be able to get some great experiences in which you see things that most tourists don't get to see.

For instance, when I traveled to Egypt several years ago, I had a marvelous experience visiting a university in Cairo. A former student of mine had studied there, and she connected me with one of her professors, who was happy to have my son and me visit the university and meet him and his students.

I had a great experience last summer in Paris when I looked up the friend of a friend. We ended up becoming great friends, and he introduced me to lots of interesting people from American expats to people who were French, and he also told me about some interesting activities that I would not have known about without his inside knowledge.

I imagine that this kind of trip wouldn't be appealing for parents who don't like traveling. however, for parents who love traveling and who share interests with their kids, these kind of trips can be absolutely wonderful, and affordable, ways to enjoy one's kids.

By Chinaman (Chinaman) on Thursday, January 08, 2004 - 12:23 pm: Edit

If someone can afford it, it is positive experience. This experience has a positive side as people can see life from another angle (Simple life on TV is such a show). Do not do it for college admission. People with making less than $150,000 should not waste thier money on such programs.