Freshman Receiving Conference Invites/yearbook scholarships..Have You Heard Of

in addition to Christy's advice, be on the lookout for "Who's Who in American High School Students," which is just another marketing ploy. Their communications said that it was a listing of the elite, but there were people listed there that I know were in the bottom 1/2 of my high school class.

Here's an excellent article on how to weed out the scams that will be coming to your mailbox.

http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0082-scholarship-and...

Both of the ones you mention sell your child's information to other companies. NYL charges an outrageous amount of tuition for your child to attend their conference. It's not free...and then they sell your child's information to other companies.

Steer clear of them.

The National Youth Leadership is basically a very expensive trip to DC...... my great nephew went on it... my son got the information, also... I trashed that information.

Sure, they may have some "leadership" conferences and workshops, but basically it is a money-making prospect for those that run it.

Same thing with the "yearbook" scam...... sure, you don't HAVE to buy the yearbook, but they count on the parents wanting this "cool" book with their child's name in it..... just trash all that stuff... it is basically mass mailings and is junk mail.

Are they asking for you to pay them $75 to put your child in the book? If so, I think it's just a ruse for them to get money out of you. But that's just my "jaded" opinion.

Check with your school's guidance counselor and see if he or she knows anything about these organizations.

Dawn

It is junk mail and a scam.
I got something similar when I was in high school.

Then the other thing you have to worry about, is if you do this, your child's private/personal/address/phone number information is then given to them and they can sell your child's info to other companies. As Christy Lee, said below.
And that his also, how they make money... with people's data. Personal data. Data selling, is a big thing. But they ploy you with some heady "important" sounding name and purpose, to get the parents to buy, their "services" and/or some "yearbook." So then you have to pay them, money.
And the thing is, if you Google Search "United States Achievement Academy", their website states the full names of the children. But, any respectable website displaying children... does NOT put the full names or last names of the children on it, per PRIVACY laws etc.

Here is an article about it, although this article is from several years ago:
http://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/27/us/education-a-warning-...

these companys publish a book of the "best and brightest" etc students each year. they send out this big questionnaire to have you fill out and then ask if you would like to own a copy of the book at about $75 a pop. your childs bio will be included regardless but how can you not want to do it right. my son is included in the "who's who in american highschool students" all 4 years of highschool. your not going to get a scholarship because of it. but it is cool to have. but it is a sales gimmick

It is a crock....

The "special honors", blah is sent to thousands of kids with hopes that some people will bite on this scam, and some do.... and they make money off the people they scam.

You pay all the money for nothing basically except your name in a book, much like Who's Who.

Steer clear

Scam.

These things are really sad because a lot of people think their child has been specially selected.

TWO of my friends were "bragging" about their kids poetry getting published. They bought the book with thousands of other kids poems in it for like $35!

When I got the same letter for my fifth grader I spent two minutes looking into it and learned it was BS. I didn't have the heart to tell them they'd been had, they were so proud and had already spent the money. They're smart ladies so I assume they'll figure it out when they see all the other "gifted" poets in the book and do the math. That is quite a nice profit when you use free material for your book and a built in customer stream!

My grandson got one of those as well. It's a mass mailing; we threw it straight in the trash.

I read a few of the other answers. It does not fall into the catagory of a "scam". It's legit. However, you pay a lot of money for very little.

You can pay to have your child in a book. Big deal. It doesn't mean anything. It has very little to do with your child's acheivements. There are tens of thousands of kids who can have their name in that book if they're willing to pay.

As for the NYL, I've heard of it, but don't know much about it. Based on my limited knowledge, it's a very expensive trip. Save your money and take your child to the city or send him to a conference at a local college.

If it costs YOU money, it's almost certainly a scam.
My MIL has already warned me of this, she paid to have a few of her "chosen" sons put into a special "yearbook" but no college or employer takes these things seriously.
Going on a trip does not equate to good test scores and life/work experience, THAT is what your son should be focusing on right now, THAT is what colleges are looking for.
Signed,
mom of a college sophomore, HS senior and middle school 8th grader :-)

I would think if your child was being recognized because of a special acheivement or being honored, you shouldn't have to pay any money.

Sounds similar to a modeling "school" scam.

Just did a little search for reviews on this place and found the following article - http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/education/edlife/leader...

What I found interesting is that (at least in 2009) 50,000 kids attended these "conferences". That's an awful lot of "special/gifted" kids, don't you think? The article noted that lists of students and their personal are purchased for tens of thousands of dollars. A university admissions person pretty much says that participation in these trips or conferences is meaningless on a college application. Teachers are hounded for "references" or "nominations. Your child's teachers didn't seek this organization out, in fact, it was quite the opposite, and thousands of mediocre students are receiving these invitations.. This organization has nothing to do with your child's school or education.

Sounds like nothing other than a clever marketing tool that is clearly working with parents that want to pay money to be told their kid is special and have them take an overpriced sight seeing trip with workshops that could all be done in your own town, for much cheaper. Scam, scam, scam.

I see that others have already posted what I was going to -- that these are money-making scams and have nothing to do with your child's real achievements or abilities, sadly.

I would add this: Here's a good opportunity to teach your child about healthy skepticism and taking the time to check out anything that sounds wonderful but then demands you pay money. Use this as a teaching opportunity to make your teenager a more careful consumer.

We have received a ton of these types of "opportunities" for our daughter. One finally came across that sounded very informative and applied to her personal goals. I forwarded the info to her college/career counselor at school (aka my favorite person at her school!!) and she advised me to contact the company and ask if they would be willing to offer a scholarship for my daughter to attend. I followed her instructions and never received a response. To me, that was enough said about the true goals of the company.

If they truly want your student to attend and benefit from their program, they will find a way. If their goal is to dip into your pocket, it's your $$..do what you want. We passed on the "opportunity" and my dgtr has been accepted to her first choice university without it.

Good luck!