Bob - What part of KY? We are getting together for breakfast in Louisville in the morning, if you want to join us.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34872552

I'm in Paducah, thanks for the invite, if I were closer I would love to show up. If you are ever headed this way, give me a message on here.

Now I am going to go take my shattered illusions of high school greatness and cry myself to sleep :)

Please don't ignore the fact that I mentioned the program was probably quite different 22 years ago. Most of the comments here probably have little to do with the way it was when you went. For all I know it WAS a big honor. Just not now.

There is a long thread on the disboards.com --budget board.
Many people agree that it is NOT
an honor and that sometimes kids
with bad grades and behavior problems
have received invitations.

So I just posted yesterday about how my daughter received a couple of P2P invites over the last few years and guess what?, she just got another one in the mail today. Must be that time of year!

I also contacted her school after getting the first invite and no one there could tell me anything about the program, let alone her teacher "supposedly" nominating her. I think that portion may be a bit of a crock as well. With that said, I would still consider her going if that was what she really wanted, but would probably steer her toward other, more cost effective programs.

Namaka,

Same thing happened here. Friday's mail brought yet another "invitation".

Following the previous two invites, we contacted every teacher since the 8th grade (that we had contact info) to find out where the nomination came from. We were unsuccessful. Of course P2P wouldn't provide that information. Very fishy, at best.

MvK

A co-worker of mine had a niece "invited" to the Australia tour about 6 years ago. This girl was a marginal student but had a great time -her cost for the three weeks was $6,000! This working class family was so honored and impressed with the invitation and was reeled right in. Then, three year ago, my friends granddaughter was invited. At the time she was 12 and her "invitation" was to Yosemite for two weeks. She flew from NY to CA and spent two weeks in a cabin. Yes, they did alot of hiking and nature observation. Cooked their own meals and had alot of fun. The pricetag? $3000. For two weeks in a cabin. IMO, not money well spent.

Any one else aching for an invitation to join the owners of this firm on THEIR trips? Private jets around the world? Fabulous secluded island hideways? I'm curious.

Our DD has received an "invitation", and I laughed when it arrived. Even she realized the cost was ridiculous. We have been on family trips abroad for the same price as for one person with P2P.

The funny thing is, several months after her "invitation", our small town newspaper (comes out once a month) had a huge feature on a neighbor girl who went. It mentioned that she could not figure out who nominated her, but it was such an honor, etc. This neighbor is pretty clueless (yes, that sounds awful, but true) so it did not surprise me that they fell for this.

Everytime we get one of these in the mail for my daughter, my first thought is that Mrs. So and So wants another free trip abroad next summer. Granted, chaperoning can (and should) be a big responsibility, but not all teachers live up to that. I think it is sad that people are so desperate for college application filler that they are willing to pay so much for it. On the other hand, these invites do seem to inspite a few families to make a family trip abroad before the kids leave home. Either way, I don't think one should approach it as an edge in getting into college but rather as a travel experience. For various reasons including the chaperoning responsibility, I'd prefer to take my own children when and where we can.

My daughter got one of those letters last year, but I ended up taking her to Italy myself for much less.

My son just got one, but he won't be going either, nor will I take him. I told him I'd take him on an overseas trip as long as he could get a B average, and he didn't.

That kind of indicates the caliber of students "invited" on these trips.

No surprise that once again I am in the same boat with Neo, rowing in the same direction - he's just more articulate.
One of the joys of living in a quasi free market is being able to select from a variety of products. As ever, that right comes with attendant responsibility - in this case, caveat emptor. We exchange info here in an attempt to get unbiased (or at least with source of the bias acknowledged) information and garner the value of other's experiences to balance claims made by marketers. In this case, the "honor" of being "nominated" to spend way too much on a product that is dubuously depicted as providing some sort of future academic distinction. Truth be told, there are no academic requirements for the P2P trips, and anyone with the price is welcomed. So, OP, do let us hear what you learn at the information meeting.

We have been getting these invitations for a few years. Received two this week for a trip to Australia. Attended one meeting which was jammed full of parents/teenagers. Clearly this is no "honor' but a travel agency designed make a profit by preying on parent's wishes to promote their children. Having said that I do believe that something like this may play a beneficial role in introducing young teenagers to the concept that the world is a bigger place than their home experiences. Perhaps programs like this in some small way might decrease the prevalent myopia many Americans have in viewing the world. May also aid in the maturity process as a trip like this might be for many the first time away from home without parents. It is too bad that the costs are so high and the promotion misleading. Reminds me of the letters I get to be included in the "best of" listing for $....

Seamus, glad we're in the same boat rowing in the same direction. Sometimes I feel here like I'm up the creek without a paddle.

Ah, Neo... I'm just glad you're back!