Orcas

I've tried to find the cost on the People to People website, but if it's there, I'm missing it. What is the cost range for these programs?

For upper high school, I think travel with peers can be beneficial. We send our kids to summer camp for a few weeks, and they love it. I'm sure this would be educational in a very different and valuable way. But the cost, this I am wondering about after reading all these responses.

mary_s

My son also receives P2P invitations every year. You need to go to the informational meeting to find out the true expense, it's not posted on their website or in any of the literature that is mailed to you.
We took our entire family of four to London for the same cost as his trip with P2P would have been a few years back.
I think that the chaperones volunteer their time to go but I know of several young teachers that have done this because the trip is at no expense to them. So you are essentially paying for someone else to take the trip with your child.
I believe in giving my kids a chance to travel but I also like the idea of being there to share the experience with them.

amatters

HI!
I know two teachers who chaprone these trips as well as the local leader organizer in my area. I also looked into chproning one of these trips. It is legit, and for at least one night usually they try to have it set up that a student stays with a host family. Also they do not buy "school lists" as mentioned eariler. Each potential chaprone gets a letter asking them to nominate 10 -20 students, they also send out letters to local teachers asking them the same. I dont think the prices are they bad for all food, travel and lodging expenses. They also have guides with them. Also the CHaprones go for free, so you area also covering there costs. I think it is a great trip for a mature young person, they get to see the world and with out their parents being with them (many students are away from their parents for the first time)

WillTravel

Someone posted on the Europe board that the program for her daughter for 12 days would have cost $6,000. I agree this could pay for a family of four to take a similar trip.

Orcas

$6,000! Yowzah!

Bonn

My son got the offer last year. I saw it as nothing more than a commercial operation. And sending 13-year-olds overseas with strangers? Not for my family!

Jayne11159

Do they offer different destinations? The p2p "invitation" my son just got indicated that they were going to Italy.

The reason I would not let my kids go on one of these trips is a safety concern. A few years ago I helped chaperone a European trip for my daughter's middle school (and I was enough of a sucker to pay my own expenses). It was a nightmare. The tour company put our group with another middle school group of very undisciplined, disrespectful kids and it made it very difficult to keep the situation under control. One kid ended up being sent home which helped, but not before furniture had gotten broken, kids wondered off, sneaked out etc. I still shudder when I think about it.

After that experience, I would be very hesitant to send my child off with a group of strangers. My daughter has a friend who went to Australia with p2p a few years ago and had all of her spending money stolen by another kid in the group. I know that p2p has an excellent track record but if there happens to be one or two bad apples it makes it difficult for everyone.

CaliNurse

I too wondered if it is some sort of front-group. My daughter was "invited" (who knows how they got her name?) and we went to an informational meeting. The price of being a European "ambassodor" (oh pullleaze!) was outrageousl!!!!!!!! The kIds have a great time--why wouldn't they??? But surely, some adult(s) pockets are getting lined big-time. It was impossible to determine whose, or why it costs so much.

jvrab12

I have been a leader with the People to People programs for the past two years from Detroit. The organization is wonderful. Yes, some of you are going to say I get a free trip, I am just doing PR for them but the leaders do much much more. We are on call 24 hours a day during the trip, before the trip we have 6 orientation meetings, a pre-trip picnic, and I could go on for hours. The leaders I work with are very dedicated to the students having a good experience on the trip. The cost is high, I agree, but the student's get to do many things they could not if do if you were traveling as a family. For example, in London we went the House of Parliament, etc. I highly recommend this trip. Please feel free to email should you want more information.

elle

After checking several sources, I can find no evidence that this organization is a 501c3 (IRS designation for not-for-profit groups, including those with an educational mission).

So it looks like it's a for-profit enterprise. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing. But caveat emptor.

Tim_and_Liz

When I went to Russia/Scandanavia for 3 weeks in 1992, it was around $3,000. I don't think that is so expensive for that region of the world-- it's difficult to get around. We also did have a homestay.

AnnaR

Thanks everyone for the responses, I was curious about this organization not curious enough to go to the meeting though. My son has been getting these "invitations" since 5th grade, but so have a lot of his friends. He did say a girl in his school went, he didn't have any details. I didn't like the idea of letting my son go with strangers either, also figured the cost would be a lot too and wondered if the company was legit.

JJ5

Wow, somebody is making a bunch of money on this. Exchange programs are something else and can be great, but that is beyond pricey. I wouldn't have let any of my kids out of the country without me before 18. I know too much about kids.

I think it would be better spent going with their own family for that much money, or for a year or semester of schooling during the college years. It should be tuition etc. for that kind of money.

Just heard an educator say that we (USA)
have way too much money. Starting to think he was right.

Cats_Do_Dance

I was going to post that my daughter received invitations from People to People the summer after her 4th and 5th grade year (nothing after 6th) but decided not to. Guess what came in the mail today? Another invitation from People to People! Like the other invitations, I plan on letting this one slide too. I've heard of the costs, and my husband and I simply are not willing to spend the kind of money that would be better spend on a FAMILY vacation. We're also not keen on the idea of throwing fundraisers to help defray the cost either.

mcqueeney449

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Dee56

What seems to escape everyone is how is the "private foundation" getting these children's names and addresses to send out invitations. They claim you are "nominated" by a teacher and/or organization but it is a violation of privacy laws for a teacher to give out his info and the same for organizations related to the school. Sounds to me like they are "buying" it with free trips to those willing to "nominate" a child - see there webset where teachers can get a "free trip" if they sign up 10. Something not right here. And they never tell you who "nominated" your child. Something to hide usually isn't good.

tucsonartist

I have not read all of the replies but wanted to add my 2 cents.
My son has gone twice - once to Australia and once to Great Britain. He loved both of the trips and learned a lot. Granted, it is expensive, but it's a quality trip and the kids get to do things that you couldn't do if you were on a family trip. For example, in each of the countries they got to go to Parliment and meet with dignitaries. On both trips he had home visits. In Australia he spent two nights with a family and in Great Britain he stayed two nights each with two different families. That was the most interesting part of the trip for my son. The other thing my son learned was independence - as far as packing and looking after himself, handling spending money, and the experience of getting along with a lot of people different from him.
Also, I believe that school counselors recommend students - it's not just based on grades. However, it's not just buying lists of names, either. A friend of my son's went, but her sibling (twin) wasn't invited.
The teacher/chaperones are very good and they are strict on rules - one kid got sent home early due to alcohol use.
For us it was a very good experience and we would recommend it.

miguelgcuadra

How about your kids participating in one of the International Exchange Student programms. Families all over the world open their houses for different periods of time. Host families do not get paid and they provide room and board. Usually parents are responsible for air fare and medical insurance.
I grew up in one of the Latin American countries, and while in high school was a host student to a wonderful family in Salem , Oregon. Attended school, experienced life in the USA and a complete different culture. Perfect for learning a foreing language..

johnthedorf

Well I'll tell ya. I've sent both my son and daughter on the P2P program. It was expensive. They home stayed and saw more than I could possibly do. Kristin for example punted in Cambridge with the locals, partyed with the girls in Darmstadt and Poland. Since then she's become unafraid of doing and exploring including climbing El Altar in Equador, revegatating Salt Ponds in Cape Cod, being raucous in Mexico, getting lost with native guides in the Amazon! The point is that I think that P2P trip opened her eyes up to the world, gave her confidence in herself, provided an intimate understanding that no matter where you are people are basically the same. Bite the money bullet and give your kids the gift of experiencing the real world. I would pass on Australia however because it would only be one country and one where language wouldn't be a challenge to be understood. Opt for a program where they have to think if you can!

ktyson

Hi all,
I have to agree with tucsonartist and johnthedorf. My daughter went to England and Ireland with P2P the summer before she started 8th grade. I know for a fact she was recommended by her school counselors and teachers. P2P will not tell you who recommended your child, but the school told me.

This was a great travel experience for her. When people say that parents are talked into this because they are told this is a "once in a lifetime" experience for their child, and these people say the parents are being sold a bill of goods; i don't believe any of it. What makes traveling with P2P a "once in a lifetime" experience is that the kids stay with host families for a few days, and that gives them the opportunity to see what life is really like in other coutnries. As an adult they could travel to foreign countries, but they won't have the experience of living with a family. It taught my daughter that not everyone lives like we do. The families she stayed with also had daughters her age, so she got to go to school with them. One of the things she learned was that even in public school you have to pray every day, and as you know we don't pray in public schools here in the U.S. In addition to that the cultural experiences she had affected her greatly.

After returning she became dedicated to traveling, and has changed her lifestyle so she could save money to go on many more trips. Yes the P2P cost was high, and for that much money we could have probably both went to England and Ireland, but she would not have had the experiences she had.

This was 2 1/2 years ago and the price was $4,500 for three weeks. But you have to remember that that price includes airfare, lodging, all meals, and attractions.

When my daughter signed up to go she didn't know any of the kids she was traveling with, and now she is still great friends with many of them.

This is definitely a "once in a lifetime" experience.