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Has anyone had their kid participate in this particular NYLF program? It's quite expensive but it's of interest because son has had very limited exposure to any sort of formal CS education. There's no CS of any kind at his school. He's only done one 3-week summer CS program but still has great interest in investigating as a potential educational / career path.

Here's the link: http://www.nylf.org/hs/tech/

Right now most of the tech pages are empty but there is a slide show of the 2002 program (button at bottom of page).

Thanks for your feedback.

By kathie Wainstock on Saturday, February 08, 2003 - 12:11 pm: Edit

I don't know much about the program. What I understood, was that the child had to be nominated or invited to attend the Forum. My son was nominated. I applied for the scholorship, and was rejected. They stated that the mean family income for a scholorship was 11 thousand dollars. So, I scrapeds together the money and my son will be attending this summer. He is very commuter oriented and this is his life's ambition. I would like to get some feedback also.
Kathie

By LMAO on Saturday, February 08, 2003 - 04:25 pm: Edit

"Nominated?"

By kathie Waintock on Saturday, February 08, 2003 - 05:02 pm: Edit

Nominated, recommended, invited, appointed, named, selected? Is this not the case?

By Richard Peterson on Wednesday, February 12, 2003 - 03:59 pm: Edit

As a teacher, I have nominated students for this program. I also have had students who attended the NYLF programs in different areas (LAW). The program can be very expensive. The same knowledge can be obtained by different tutorials on the Internet, purchasing books, self-exploration on a PC, etc. No short program will make a techie out of someone who isn't one already.

By suzn on Saturday, February 15, 2003 - 06:34 am: Edit

My son was also nominated for this program. Very, Very computer savvy, his teachers are blown away by his knowledge. (major comp. geek, and proud of it). After reading your input Richard, the question marks are flying. Is there any other info. you could add as a teacher about this program, i.e., if he's already got the touch this isn't going to gain him anything? Thanks for any help.

By Meg M on Saturday, February 15, 2003 - 12:36 pm: Edit

We are also considering this for my son. He is also an ubergeek. thought best part would be just getting together w/like minded kids. More fun oriented than formal education. Is that perception correct?

By AnathemaCipher on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 05:33 am: Edit

Hi

I attend NYLF on Law my junior year. I got invited through teacher nominations. NYLF is a pretty good program. It really exposed me to a diverse panel of people with similar intrests and many intresting speakers (including lawyers who rep Pres Clinton, ACLU head, Top DC lawyers, law officials, judges etc).

Also if your child does well at the forum he has possibilities to garner further awards.

For example, I was selected by my NYLF advisor to be an alumni rep. He also nominated me for the 2003 International Diplomacy of Peace. While I chose not to go, I got an official commendation from a former chairman of the joint chief of staffs. Looks great in college apps.

By Your conscience on Thursday, February 20, 2003 - 07:17 am: Edit

Kathy, yes, as long as you realize that the prospective is nominated, recommended, invited, appointed, named, selected to pay money for a (presumably) supervised vacation. The bar of its admissions is set low and particpating adds no weight to college applications.

Some guidebooks imply its a drawback because it flags the student as a kid with money to spare who didn't do anything creative or challenging.

By suzn on Saturday, February 22, 2003 - 04:50 am: Edit

Your Conscience, Would you please let me (us) know where it is you got your information regarding NYLF?

By Jsch (Jsch) on Tuesday, March 18, 2003 - 01:46 am: Edit

Hello,

I am a junior in high school, and have received a letter nominating me to this..."event." To be frank, my parents and I were skeptical when we read the letter.

Does anyone know exactly what this Youth Forum is, and where I can find information about it from other sources (not the sponsors, I want opinions as well). My email is guardianblue@hotmail.com.
Thank you.

JSCH

By Congocross (Congocross) on Wednesday, March 19, 2003 - 05:18 pm: Edit

PARENTS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Save your money because these programs are scams trying to rack in your hard earn greens. In my high school which is well regarded in the US, just about everyone is "nominated". Same thing with the National Honor Roll and Who's Who. One thing to keep in mind, unless your kids really wants to go to a certain program or it is fully sponsor then it is most likely to be a scam. It is not fair what these programs is doing, overcharging poor parents that only wanted the best for their kids.

By Jmoyer (Jmoyer) on Wednesday, March 19, 2003 - 06:23 pm: Edit

Aargh. Can we hear from any former participants for the tech one? It honestly offers no advantage on resumes??? Yikes. One more thing. is there any benefits to the teachers who 'nominate' their students? My son's teacher was restricted to one nominee for the entire school. He really wanted a student who would go... Will be looking for more responses as he will have to fundraise the entire cost.

By Flamman (Flamman) on Tuesday, March 25, 2003 - 01:55 pm: Edit

My kid was invited, too.

I suspect that National Youth Leadership Forum on Technology is not a scam in the sense that your son or daughter will be abandoned at the San Jose bus terminal as the organizers head for Rio with bags of cash. I'm quite certain that all of those seminars will be held, and that all the big names will show up.

But ... based on overall appearances, I am starting to think that the primary purpose of NYLT is NOT educational. I suspect that organizations like this are in it for the money, and they make their money by playing the "parental pride" card. When someone sends us a fancy letter confirming our own preconceived notions about the brilliance of our children, we probably don't mind forking over a few thousand bucks, right?

Here are the warning signs I'm seeing:

* I look at their web site, and there is nothing in their "about" section that really tells me who they are. It says NYLF is "a tuition-based 501 (c)(3) nonprofit educational organization established to help prepare extraordinary young people for their professional careers." OK, great, but who the heck is behind this grand scheme?

* My wife called NYLF a little while ago and got an "all lines are busy due to an unusually large call volume" message -- which kind of makes it sound like hundreds of people are calling in. (And so, one suspects, maybe it isn't all that selective a process.)

* Finally, last year, eight girls from my daughter's school attended the medical program. That's eight girls out of less than 100 girls in the class. And that's just the number who went, not the number actually invited. How selective is that?

Can anyone else shed light on this deal? Am I right to be suspicious?

By Youthscam (Youthscam) on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 09:54 am: Edit

I worked for them for 3 years...if anyone has any questions, feel free to e-mail me

By Mamamiles (Mamamiles) on Tuesday, April 15, 2003 - 06:54 pm: Edit

My daughter attended the NYLF on Defense, Intelligence, and Diplomacy, and it wasn't all play and no work. In addition to listening to guest speakers and participating in field trips, they also participated in simulation exercises that required research and debate. Whether or not it is meaningful to admissions staff is unknown to me. We sent our daughter for the experience and it was worth every penny; even if it had no impact on the admissions decisionmakers, it was a positive experience for her and further whetted her curiosity about world events.

By Youthscam (Youthscam) on Thursday, April 17, 2003 - 10:58 am: Edit

Envision EMI, Inc. is a FOR profit Marketing organization that the Co-Founders of the Non-profits NYLF and NYLC started...the non-profits HIRE Envision EMI as a vendor to run their programs...how convenient. They are all located in the same building.


I think you all should call (202) 638-1780 and ask to speak to Donna Snyder, Executive Director of NYLF and an Employee of Envision EMI or Anne Humphrey. Don't waste your time talking to the admissions staff that answer the phones, they play the numbers game with Marketing to fill the programs and know nothing about the Education programming side of it.

Ask them:

-who will be speaking to the students this summer (no big names booked yet – last year we had them all confirmed in January)

-how many site visits your son or daughter will be able to go on. (have them list the companies and ask for phone numbers of their contacts - they have none)

-Ask if Apple is going to be a sponsor and providing an Apple Lab this year

-Ask if there will be any sponsors at all this year

-Don’t take last years schedule as an answer…this years program is totally different, it’s a new city and a whole new staff. They will tell you that the new Director has been with the program for a couple of years (he was a faculty advisor that I should have fired before I resigned), he knows nothing about technology. If you’d like to find out for yourself, put your son or daughter on the phone and have them ask him a few basic questions, you will be dumbfounded!

- Ask them what “10X” is. (it’s a new initiative to increase profits 10 times in 10 years)

-Ask how much money per student enrolled Envision EMI Inc. gets from the non-profits



Also keep in mind that kids this age will have a good time just being away from home (in most cases for the first time) That’s the beauty of this whole scam, they come home raving about the experience, it’s like summer camp.

By Texas137 (Texas137) on Thursday, April 17, 2003 - 12:45 pm: Edit

to all of you with computer uber-geeks...
check out the USA Computing Olympiad at www.usaco.org
for excellent, FREE, on line training materials you can use to prepare for a series of internet contests during the school year. It's interactive; you submit programs and get immediate feedback. There is also a possibility of a FREE olympiad training camp (but too late for this year)and a chance at the US team to the int'l competition. You have to already know how to program in C/C++ or Pascal to use the training material; the emphasis is on learning algorithms. But working through it to prepare for next year would make a great summer project for someone so inclined. And did I mention that it's FREE?!

By Youthscam (Youthscam) on Thursday, May 01, 2003 - 07:28 am: Edit

I'm getting lots of e-mails. One thing that keeps coming up is the fact that the NYLF admissions people won't put you through to Donna Weldon the Executive Director of NYLF. Envisiion want's your $2,100 + you have to shell out for airfair...and you can't talk to the person in charge?! Here is her direct line: 202.777.4184 or cell 202.321.3659.

It seems that Envision hasn't learned from my 3 years with the Tech program. In 2000 the program was called NexTech, it was a disaster. In 2001 under the same name we tweeked it a bit to be more technical...but the students still wanted more tech. In 2002 the name was changed yet again to YTL Summit (Young Technology Leaders), we almost nailed it...but the students still thought there was too much business...they want the tech guys, the engineers. This year, another name change to NYLF Tech and a location change...what is the focus going to be this year? You got it...Business! Brilliant! My 84 year old grandmother could put together a better tech conference.

Keep the e-mails coming...I'll answer as fast as I can.

By Technocrat (Technocrat) on Thursday, May 01, 2003 - 08:46 pm: Edit

I worked on the program in Austin Texas the last three years, also. We (the managerial staff) put together a good program, that I was very proud to be associated with.
However, none of the veteran managerial staff are associated with the program this summer. The executive staff in DC disregarded the recommendations of the program managers and
1)Changed the name for the second year in a row
2)Moved a successful program out of Austin to start over from scratch, with new staff in San Jose
3)Did not retain any veteran managers with the program
4)Promoted a first year manager to the position of director to run the program against the recommendations and protests of the staff.

Look very closely at the confirmed program for this summer. It took us three years to gain the experience, contacts and local reputation to put together the program touted in their literature.
You will not see the same event in San Jose.

By Youthscam (Youthscam) on Friday, May 02, 2003 - 08:37 am: Edit

I thank the author of an e-mail I received from California who reminded me to pass along the following to you all:

"Request a copy of NYLF's tax returns or exemption application, you must be sent copies within 30 days, for a reasonable charge, of each Form 990-PF and any Form 4720 (up to the most of the organizations Form 1023. The reasonable charge is currently $1.00 for the first page and $.15 for additional pages."

This is where you can see the Incestuous relationship between Envision EMI, Inc. (the FOR PROFIT) and NYLF (the "non-profit"). Both organizations are located in the same building; both were founded by the same co-founders. And of course the NYLF Board is stacked with the co-founders friends and former staff.

Call 202.638.1780 to request your copy and see for yourself. And for all the Envision staff that I know is reading this forum, go to the front desk and request a copy for yourself, they have to let you view and copy them upon request.

By Tenaciouselle (Tenaciouselle) on Tuesday, May 06, 2003 - 10:16 pm: Edit

I am currently a high school junior just peeking into this forum. Last summer, I attended National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine on a full scholarship. I just sent in my application and received a letter saying that I got the scholarship from Baylor Med. I went and I truly had an amazing time. I really did learn a lot, although we did have fun, too. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask. Just letting you know that it's not a scam.

By Youthscam (Youthscam) on Wednesday, May 07, 2003 - 09:18 am: Edit

Congrats, you were one of the lucky few to get a scholarship. 99 % of the participants pay $2000 + airfare to attend these Forums. If you can go to Summer Camp for free...wonderful! I'm corresponding to lots of parents that can barely put food on the table who are being fooled into thinking these programs are exclusive and an honor to attend. The programs are neither exclusive or an honor. And it certainly doesn't make or break a college application, call any admissions office and ask for yourself. I worked for this organization for 7 years...I know what their motivation is.

I urge everyone to call and get a copy of there tax forms (info above)...you will be amazed at the greed, and pure gull of this organization. Facts are facts, read them for yourself and you decide. Just be aware that they may send you the 990 forms in a gold foiled envelope to impress you ;)

Another question you might want to ask them:

Why do the "non-profits" NYLF and NYLC hire Envision EMI to run every aspect of their programs? Isn?t there a conflict of interest? All 3 organizations were founded by the same people; they are all still in the same building, hiding behind the "non-profit" status. NYLF has a Washington, DC Pennsylvania Avenue mailing address to impress you?but that's just a P.O. BOX,They're located in the same suite as NYLC and Envision EMI. Why do they do that? Hmmmmmm

Keep the e-mails coming, I'll answer as fast as I can.
ess you ;)

By Deceived (Deceived) on Tuesday, July 29, 2003 - 03:01 pm: Edit

AFTER READING ALL THESE COMMENTS I AM FEELING NAUSEOUS AND SCAMMED. I PLAYED RIGHT INTO THEIR HANDS AND AM OUT ABOUT $3000.00 AFTER TUITION, TRAVEL AND CLOTHES. MY SON IS AT THE NYLF ON TECHNOLOGY RIGHT NOW AND IS VERY DISSAPPOINTED AND BORED. EVERYTHING NEGATIVE WRITTEN ON THIS MESSAGE BOARD HITS THE NAIL ON THE HEAD AND THIS IS ONLY HIS 3RD DAY. HE WAITED 7 HOURS IN THE LOBBY ON THE FIRST DAY BECAUSE THE ROOMS WEREN'T READY. NO ACTIVITIES OR GUIDANCE DURING THIS TIME. HE DIDN'T GET INTO ANY OF THE FORUMS HE PICKED AND SAID IT WOULD BE A JOKE TO EVEN TRY TO GET COMPUTER TIME. THE CEO OF INTEL DIDN'T SHARE ANYTHING HE DIDN'T ALREADY KNOW AND HIS LEADER IS 22 WITH UNKNOWN EXPERIENCE AND NO TEACHING ABILITY SO THE THE "TECH TALKS" ARE SIT AND BE BORED TIME.
IF THE REST OF HIS STAY CONTINUES ON THIS PATH MANY OF US (ABOUT 1500) ARE OUT A WHOLE LOT OF $ FOR WHAT? WE CAN'T MAKE AN EDUCATED DECISION UNTIL OUR KIDS HAVE COMPLETED THE COURSE, BUT IF ANY OTHER PARENTS ARE FEELING THE SAME AS ME, WE SHOULD TRY TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

By Texmom (Texmom) on Friday, August 01, 2003 - 10:31 am: Edit

My son is also currently attending the tech forum. He, too, has not been impressed the past two days, and says the food is not very good. He is having fun being around a bunch of teens, but not getting much of a chance to focus on the areas of technology which interest him. I wonder about supervision personally. Although the information we were given says the students are supervised 24/7, this is not true. The students are given permission to roam around the vicinity of the hotel within a certain perimeter. Because he is not impressed with the food, he has gone out to eat several times off-site. After spending the amount of money we did, we let him know we were not pleased about that. So far, the benefits I see are his ability to see colleges, find out about what he doesn't want to do in the area of technology (which still has it's benefits), see some college campuses, and find out a little more what it will be like to go away to college not necessarily knowing anyone when he arrives. Still, I do believe that this experience is a worthwhile one and one that will create confidence...I am just not sure it is worth all that we paid. As the last person said, we willbe better able to evaluate the program when it is over. I do want to add that the list of speakers this year was not even close to being as impressive as in the past.

By Dcamara (Dcamara) on Thursday, August 07, 2003 - 12:49 am: Edit

ok i am a student and i just got back from NYLF/TECH and i am telling ya it was the best Eye opening experience i have had. I disagree with what people are saying. Yes some of the food was bad, but ya got to give them credit for trying to feed 1500 people in a limited amount of time. For the eating out part there was an FA at every road in the area we where alowed to walk around in. My Tech Talk group rocked, we had an experienced FA that worked with huge companies like cisco, sun microsystems, and now he runs his own, he basicly told us how it is in the tech field and what we need to do. and the speakers....we have the ceo of Intel, and lockheed martin, how much more inpressive can ya get. Lets put it this way, if ya just went to what ya had to, and didnt inteact with anyone ya woudent learn a thing, what some kids did. But if ya got out there, asked a question, talked to some of the people and students that were there you would learn more there ya ever had.

By Seg9585 (Seg9585) on Friday, August 08, 2003 - 02:32 am: Edit

Hey all--
I also attended NYLF Tech, and I must say that it was definitely an experience I will never forget.
The true positives were the interactions with other people that have the same interests as me, along with my site visit in an area that I'm interested in (NASA).
I'll admit that some aspects of the forum were worse than I expected-- for example, I only got to go to 3 seminars and 1 site visit, when I hoped to have gone to alot more. Also, the "tech-talks" WERE a little boring and time-consuming, but its the peers that made everything so much more interactive and interesting.
2 of the days seemed more like a vacation than a learning experience, when we went to san francisco and san jose rather than listen to plenaries and seminars.
Also, one thing I will also never forget is the fact that I got the chance to ask the CEO of Lockheed Martin a question in front of the entire Forum.

There could have been improvements, but if you put everything into perspective, what you put into the program is truly what you get out of it. People were there who you could learn from, if you listened and asked questions. Of course, there was the CS-addicted bunch who got nothing out of it and eneded up playing hours and hours of gaming without really caring about what else was going on. I chose to spend MY time wisely, going to "Peer-to-Peer seminars" (where I learned alot from people my age) and simply got the chance to talk to people as interested in technology as I was.

By Fanatic2k4 (Fanatic2k4) on Friday, August 08, 2003 - 12:06 pm: Edit

I attended the Tech conference for the second year, and just got back a few days ago. One of my friends forwarded me the link to this page, and after reading through the entries, I would like to add my own comments about the program.

First let me point out that you only get out of the program what you put in. If you stay in bed and sleep through the seminars, you won't have anything to show when you get home. Kids that are forced to go to conferences such as this aren't going to have a good time.

I had the pleasure of meeting the director of this year's program, and I can honestly say that he is trying his best to make the program an awesome experience for everyone who attends. The ten days were PACKED with things to do. I don't remember a moment where there wasn't a seminar, "open port", or activity going on.

The program was changed from last year to allow everyone the chance to attend a site visit, a university visit, 5 plenary sessions with big name speakers, 4 seminars (which were mandatory), and the chance to walk across the street to the Tech Museum and San Jose Art Museum. On Friday night, we went to see a baseball game. Many hundreds of kids were packed onto 34 buses. It took just over a half hour to load everyone on the buses and be on the road. We also had the opportunity to see San Francisco and Santa Cruz on the weekend. A lot of us kids don’t get out much, and to be able to leave the hotel and see the sights was great.

If you are privileged enough to attend you’ll see why it costs so much. The hotel we stayed at was one of the most luxurious hotels I’ve ever stayed at. The hotel staff did an excellent job with the food. There were 4 separate computer labs and another room for laptops to plug into. Granted, they were filled most of the time, however, each computer cost around $250 for the ten days. With salaries for the entire staff and materials for the tech talk rooms, the budget of the forum was running tight at the end of trip.

All in all, my experience was one I’ll never forget. I learned so much about the technology industry and I was able to narrow down a field which I’d like to focus on in college. I highly suggest this trip to anyone who has an interest in technology. However, you must be willing to actively participate in the activities planned or else you’ll get nothing out of it.

If you would like to know more about the summit, or hear the ranting and raving of kids that have already been, visit the nylf message boards.
http://community.nylf.org/

By Youthscam (Youthscam) on Tuesday, November 18, 2003 - 08:10 pm: Edit

I stand by all of my earlier statements, NYLF and Envision EMI are nothing but marketing machines. It's not an honor, it's a purchased mailing list...put a bunch of teens together and they will have fun no matter what happens...It's a summer camp for rich kids.

By Godsmoke (Godsmoke) on Wednesday, January 28, 2004 - 11:45 am: Edit

I attended NYLF/Tech this past summer (2003), and I have a number of things to say about that experience.

First, the conference is extremely expensive for what they provide. After requiring a new wardrobe (which I appreciate having now), they require a large sum for tuition, and if you plan to do anything fun, spending money not included in their fees.

Second, and this is a subject which will varry in effect, they treat the attendees like grade schoolers. I am not arguing for/against this, as I understand that some parents feel more comfortable with higher amounts of supervision, but speaking from the perspective of an attendee, it was beyond what was necessary.

Third; I am in the minority here, but the tech-related content at the forum (isn't that why we're all here?) was extremely low-level. I could probably say with confidence that 1/3 of the attendees would openly admit they were not that interested in technology, but were there either because their parents made them go, or they wanted to put it on their college applications. I have spoken to many other past/future attendees for whom the content would probably fit well, but anyone who is programming in multiple languages, or runs a lab of linux servers is going to be horrified by what NYLF declares as tech.

Fourth, I think that it's really silly people brought up food, so I'll address that. The food was not great, it was "ok"-"good." What one must understand is that after you realize that they aren't spending much of your tuition on YOU, that the food follows the same rules. They had to feed 1500 people in about an hour and a half. This mass serving created large problems, but it goes with the territory.

Fifth, the Tech Talk Groups (and other mandatory meetings). I feel it's important to speak about the mandatory agenda items. This partially goes back to my previous point about their controll over the attendees. We must have spent 2 - 3 hours a day with the same 30 people, in the same room, on the most horrible chairs (I know that point sounds silly -- but over 9 days of doing this ... it got to be a real issue, people would sit on the floor). These "Tech Talk Groups" were an interesting experience. Mine, personally, had 15 interesting people, who were fun to talk with, but, had very little, if any tech experience. We would spend most of our time in "briefing sessions" where we would be told what to do (and what not to do) when we were in certain presentations by famous speakers. My Tech Talk "Advisor" was a very lovely person, and was really understanding of the situation, and was pissed off at the administration's handling of things.

Sixth, the "college trip." This point, again, will have greatly different impacts on different readers. There were 4 or 6 (I believe) colleges that we might have visited while there, but which group goes to which college was random. My group went to a highly religious (Christian) college, with the smallest and least impressive technology program I've ever seen. First there was my objection to being forced into a religious institution, where they loved walking us through the chruch -- which made our route longer, but the claimed it was faster. Second, even if this was a religious college, I would have understood why the administration had chosen it for the visit, IF they had had an amazing tech program. Instead, we were lead into a room for a presentation by two college seniors on their "big project" that is meant to be 2 years of research and design. This one specifically was about wireless networking, and I took some pride in demolishing the concepts for the projects, and proving that their 2 years were wasted time, and it could have been done so in a much more efficient manner. My confidence about their technology program was at zero.

Seventh, was how the administration felt it was alright to treat us. On numerous occasions, I (and a group of friends) were confronted with a problem that was mainly the administration's fault. We would go to the office, and complain about something. They blew us off as one of the 1500 kids they didn't care about. I insisted on being treated like an adult, and it wasn't until I created demands that any action was taken. This blatent disrespect for the supposed attendees of an expensive forum was astonishing. I later complained to the head administration by phone, who assured me that it was an isolated case.

I have reached many of my main points, so at this time, I will just explain my personal issue with the forum.
One of my points was about the lack of technology-expertise at the forum (in fact ... that's THE REASON I attended). I have spoken with many people who just wanted a relaxed environment, people that didn't know very much about technology, and most are ready to admit that upfront. I, on the other hand, consider myself at the top in my age group, so my comments about the tech-related content may not be applicable to all people reading this "review."

If anyone would like an answer to a specific question, feel free to email me: godsmoke@speakeasy.net

By Youthscam (Youthscam) on Monday, February 09, 2004 - 08:39 pm: Edit

You got it...the people running the program can't even turn on their own computer.

NYLF's goal: Enroll as many students as possible...hope for a 5% return on their "invitations" and summer camp for rich kids is on.

By Yenlikethemoney (Yenlikethemoney) on Monday, March 01, 2004 - 05:15 pm: Edit

I went to YTL sophomore year summer, if entertainment is what you're after, go for it. As far as being 'educated' on CS related topics, I'd say the program is quite lame to that end. I wasn't exposed to any topics that I couldn't have learned about otherwise.

But to be fair, the program did provide the opportunity for us to create connections with other similarly-minded people. It's also interesting to note that there is an incredible (if not inspiring) concentration of young entrepreneurs... I came home with a pocket full of bussiness cards - from fellow attendees.

By Broy77 (Broy77) on Tuesday, March 16, 2004 - 12:35 pm: Edit

My daughter got an invitation to this and before I did anything I decided to visit the website. I am glad I checked out this site for all the insight that this has provided me. The invitation and all of the seems very impressive. What is in it for the teachers that are recommending these students? The student search services, I feel is where these lists are being obtained from.

By Youthscam (Youthscam) on Saturday, March 20, 2004 - 06:52 am: Edit

I am a former Director of the Technology Program. In my opinion...I would not send my child to ANY of Envision EMI's programs. Envision is a For-Profit organization that was founded by the same founders of all the Non-Profits they say are their clients. The Non-Profits turn around and hire Envision to Market and direct the programs. The perfect loophole...you get to market your noble "Non-Profit" status and rake in the money.

I'm sickened by parents that e-mail me about taking a second mortgage out on their homes to send their kid to Envision Programs. It is NOT an honor to attend. They hope for a 4% return on their impressive invitations.

These are Camps for Rich kids.

By Kshaw (Kshaw) on Monday, March 29, 2004 - 07:18 pm: Edit

FYI you can get the 990 forms free on Guidestar.org after registering (also free). The latest for NYLF is for 2002. In that year they paid Envision $8 million out of a $25 million budget. They also show what appears to be $379K in scholarships though the heading says "grants and Allocations" whatever "allocations" means. I'm here because I was trying to findout about NYLF since my son got the letter. I was pretty cynical from the get go. It all just smacked of direct marketing schtick-the packaging, stationery, even font choices. It may technically be a non-profit but I doubt it's really helping people. My advice is that if something like this arrives that is totally unsolicited, it's got an angle.

By Youthscam (Youthscam) on Tuesday, March 30, 2004 - 01:45 pm: Edit

Good for you...don't fall for Envision's Marketing scam!

By Tia (Tia) on Saturday, May 01, 2004 - 10:59 am: Edit

I attended the NYLF program on Diplomacy in Washington DC 4 years ago and it has changed my life! My mother is disabled and my dad works contruction, they are the "stupid parents" who took out extra loans to help me attend this program. But this experience changed how I saw myself. We simulated the debates between Korea and the United States and I spent weeks researching the current issues. Once I was there I was elected president of my group, it was amazing! I went to a high school where it wasn't cool to be smart and I had spent a lot of time down playing my talents. At NYLF for the first time I believed I could be a confident professional worthy of the respect of other sucessfull adults. I went on to get a full ride to college, sure maybe attending this conference didn't make any difference to that scholarship selection committee, but it sure gave me the confidence to even apply. I am now an engineering major and the president of our more prestigious honor society, only the top 10% of the junior and seniors are even invited to apply. I am also in a sorority and I sit on the Honors Council for the whole University, and all of that started for me at NYLF. Thank you NYLF!!!!