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I got a $1000 scholarship from them today. That should clear up any doubts about whether they actually give out scholarships.

By Bestmiler (Bestmiler) on Thursday, August 05, 2004 - 03:06 pm: Edit

I went to NYU's bulletin board and i asked an Adminstrator about "who's who" and this is what he said.

I recently received something in the mail about "Who's who among american high school students". If i add to this my application for NYU, will it have any benefits or will it be laughed upon? Thanks

Congratulations on being recognized for your academic achievements in high school. You will find in our application a section that specifically asks you to detail any academic honors that you have received. We encourage you to include this information there. Best of luck!

By Jenniferpa (Jenniferpa) on Thursday, August 05, 2004 - 06:14 pm: Edit

Yes, but the NYU statement sounds exactly like a boilerplate insert. I very much doubt that it is anything other than a standard speil. I think the issues is not that no one ever gets something from them, the issue is that anyone (and his dog) can get into it. How much of an honor is that? Getting a scholarship in this circumstance is no different to buying a lottery ticket: some one will win, but it doesn't require any skill.

By Bestmiler (Bestmiler) on Thursday, August 05, 2004 - 06:48 pm: Edit

Heres the link:

http://nyu.atinfopop.com/4/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=8734033161&f=9834033161&m=661103812

By Chimmortal (Chimmortal) on Thursday, August 05, 2004 - 07:02 pm: Edit

" Getting a scholarship in this circumstance is no different to buying a lottery ticket: some one will win, but it doesn't require any skill."

Are you on the scholarship committee?

By Jenniferpa (Jenniferpa) on Thursday, August 05, 2004 - 08:07 pm: Edit

And you might want to look at these:

http://www.collegeconfidential.com/cgi-bin/discus/show.cgi?69/72297

http://www.collegeconfidential.com/cgi-bin/discus/show.cgi?6/65748

I'm sorry, I said everyone and his dog - it should have been everyone and her cat!

Look, put it down if you want - just don't expect it to make any difference.

P.S. Are they still charging for the scholarship application?

By Calimom (Calimom) on Wednesday, August 11, 2004 - 04:38 pm: Edit

Chinmortal, in the thread below, you shared that your sister received a scholarship, and in this thread, you also got a scholarship from them. How about sharing a bit more feedback as to how you both received these Who's Who scholarships?

http://www.collegeconfidential.com/cgi-bin/discus/show.cgi?6/65748

By Chimmortal on Thursday, April 29, 2004 - 04:25 pm:

My sister received a scholarship from them a couple years ago without buying anything from them.

By Vermicelli (Vermicelli) on Wednesday, August 11, 2004 - 04:46 pm: Edit

You don't need to pay to be nominated for a scholarship and be in that book. You pay for souvenirs and a copy of the book

By Jadex (Jadex) on Wednesday, August 11, 2004 - 04:57 pm: Edit

You don't have to pay for nomination, but there IS a $3.00 processing fee for the scholarship application once your biography is accepted for publication (I've got the form in my hand as of this minute).

Who's Who isn't a scam. My friend got a $200,000 scholarship from them last year. Getting a scholarship from them is like playing the lottery, though. It's a luck of the draw.

By Angstridden (Angstridden) on Wednesday, August 11, 2004 - 06:31 pm: Edit

The scam is that anyone can be in the book...
its not an honor..

By Voronwe (Voronwe) on Monday, August 16, 2004 - 08:12 am: Edit

I have tried repeatedly to explain what is meant by "scam" here. They are not a "scam" in the sense that they DO give out money - they HAVE to. But as a poster said above, it is like the lottery.

The use of the word "scam" here is simply meant to express that the AWARD IS MEANINGLESS. I simply cannot stress this enough. As a former Ivy League interviewer with many, many contacts in the field at not only my own but other universities, I can assure you this is true. So many people get this award that it has absolutely no value whatsoever in college admissions. Besides the fact that the book is very thick and made up of teeny-tiny print, so you can see how many gazillions of people get this dubious "distinction," there are no "cross-school" qualifications to determine whether someone who gets it from one school is anyway equivalent to someone else.

Adcoms totally ignore this. It is looked at embarrassing that anyone would put it down.

Once again - the simple fact that they distribute some scholarship money does NOT make this an honor or a distinction. And the fact that they do not force you to buy their keychains or whatever other junk is available does not make it a any better (hey, this is America and there is a sucker born every minute - if you want to buy the junk, it's up to you). The entire thing was modeled after the real "Who's Who" to PLAY ON THE VANITY of students and their parents. It is very, very sad, and in the sense that they play on your desire to believe this is something to be proud of, brag about, or put on your college application - in THAT sense it is a scam.

I noticed in my years as an interviewer that people with REAL achievments never even mention this except to say, when asked if they had gotten one of the millions of letters sent by them, "my mom sent my name in!"

By Momofthree (Momofthree) on Monday, August 16, 2004 - 06:31 pm: Edit

As a school counselor, I am asked to submit the names of 10-15% of the class to Who's Who. I do not nominate more than that number, and nominate only juniors and seniors. This might mean that 20 students in each class are nominated. It may not be the most significant award, but it is not to be spurned entirely. I tell students they do not need to buy the book to be in Who's Who.

By Just_Forget_Me (Just_Forget_Me) on Monday, August 16, 2004 - 10:15 pm: Edit

Chimmortal-Congrats. I'd be interested in hearing how you + your sister landed these scholarships + what the process was like.

By Marlgirl (Marlgirl) on Wednesday, August 18, 2004 - 11:38 pm: Edit

Um... I still think it's a scam. At my dad's office they were sick of getting telemarketers so they set up a special voice mail for a woman named Sophie Adams. If a telemarketer ever called, they forwarded the call to Ms. Adams. Years later my dad got a letter for Ms. Adams that she was invited to Who's Who for her superior achievement in the field. So why is this a scam? Sophie Adams doesn't exist. She's just the name of the person on the voice mail that no one ever checks. It MUST be a scam.

By Candi1657 (Candi1657) on Friday, August 20, 2004 - 12:09 pm: Edit

Very interesting anecdote.

By Celebrian23 (Celebrian23) on Monday, August 23, 2004 - 02:05 pm: Edit

i still thinks it's a scam too, they just want our money

By Aim78 (Aim78) on Monday, September 20, 2004 - 12:46 am: Edit

Conflicting views here. IMO, put it if you have empty space and nothing else of significance to add. Who knows, the adcom reading the app might be uninformed about Who's Who. Probably not.