Beware offers that seem "too good to be true"
BY ATHEN HOLLIS
When I came home from school one day in February, I opened up the mailbox and saw an envelope addressed to me with a return address from Harvard Square. What could it possibly be? An early acception letter to Harvard? I wish.
I opened it up to find an invitation to The Congress of Future Science and Technology Leaders conference in July. I had absolutely no idea what this conference was, but it promised me a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make long term friendships, to observe things that will change my perspective, and to become a much stronger candidate when applying for colleges. It also stated that I was chosen to represent my school and the state of Maine.
I thought to myself, “This all sounds too good to be true, so what’s the catch?” Then I read the last page of the letter. This opportunity of a lifetime would cost me $995!
That's when I decided to do some research before even considering spending that kind of money. I found that The National Academy of Future Scientists and Technologists is the company that sponsors this event. According to their website, it is a relatively new company, only started in 2014. Their goal is to help students become strong leaders, and The Congress of Future Science and Technology Leaders is one of their many programs. This one in particular is for students interested in pursuing a career in science and technology. The event is only three days for a whopping $995. And that's just if you already have accommodations. The overnight price is $1,500, which really blew me away. Why was a conference I had never even heard of so expensive? After searching their website I discovered the company that runs the seminar has no outside funding and entirely subsists on the money students pay to attend their seminars and conferences. It is so expensive because that is their only way to make profit.
The letter led me to believe I was the only one at my school to get this offer and that it was a special nomination. But after asking around, I found out many BEHS students had been invited. One of them was sophomore Andrew Hawkes. He also thought he was the only one at Bonny Eagle that received the letter until I told him about mine.
“I was really happy,” he said. ”I didn’t know what to do, but when I saw the price of it, I was sure it was a scam.”
While the company and seminars seem legitimate, what they are doing does not seem exactly ethical. Having only their seminars as funding is something not many trustworthy companies do. Andrew said he didn’t know whether to trust it or if it was going to help him with colleges. And after the interview I was wondering the same thing.
I went to Ms. Karen Webster, a guidance counselor at Bonny Eagle. She was blunt in her evaluation of the company .
“I would never encourage students to trust anything they get through the mail. What helps you get into elite colleges is grades, SAT scores, and diverse extracurriculars. It’s not things like these.”
She advised that if you receive a letter in the mail with an offer that seems to good to be true, it might just be. “If you want to find a program like this for less money or even free go to the guidance office to find a better solution,” she said.
I found what Ms. Webster said extremely helpful, but I still wanted to know if this could help my college application from someone who deals with applications every day. So I got in touch with Andrew King, the Director of Admissions at the University of Southern Maine. He looked over the website and gave me his take on the company.
“I have to admit I have not heard of this organization before. I noticed it is not a .org or a .edu, and they are not a nonprofit.” This means they aim to collect profit through their operations to fund the company.
He did acknowledge that “they have logos from ASCA, The American School Counselor Association, on their website, which is a vote of confidence.” That logo means our school approves of the company. Then I asked him, will this conference give you a leg up when applying for colleges?
“We don’t encourage students to spend money on test preparation or academic events like this. What we look at is your academic achievement, which is your GPA," he said. "We ask how does this student fit into our community, are they willing to learn, are they creative, athletic? We would not be recommending investing in a conference to improve your application. It might be a bonus, but the kind of thing that would make more of a difference is a recognition or award.”
When all is said and done, the conference does look like an amazing experience, and if you are really passionate about going, then there is the option for fundraising. However, if you are looking for a boost when applying for colleges, I've concluded that it is not going to help you enough to make the price worth it. As for me, I am just not interested enough in STEM to take the time to fundraise. Therefore, I will not be attending this conference.
When I came home from school one day in February, I opened up the mailbox and saw an envelope addressed to me with a return address from Harvard Square. What could it possibly be? An early acception letter to Harvard? I wish.
I opened it up to find an invitation to The Congress of Future Science and Technology Leaders conference in July. I had absolutely no idea what this conference was, but it promised me a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make long term friendships, to observe things that will change my perspective, and to become a much stronger candidate when applying for colleges. It also stated that I was chosen to represent my school and the state of Maine.
I thought to myself, “This all sounds too good to be true, so what’s the catch?” Then I read the last page of the letter. This opportunity of a lifetime would cost me $995!
That's when I decided to do some research before even considering spending that kind of money. I found that The National Academy of Future Scientists and Technologists is the company that sponsors this event. According to their website, it is a relatively new company, only started in 2014. Their goal is to help students become strong leaders, and The Congress of Future Science and Technology Leaders is one of their many programs. This one in particular is for students interested in pursuing a career in science and technology. The event is only three days for a whopping $995. And that's just if you already have accommodations. The overnight price is $1,500, which really blew me away. Why was a conference I had never even heard of so expensive? After searching their website I discovered the company that runs the seminar has no outside funding and entirely subsists on the money students pay to attend their seminars and conferences. It is so expensive because that is their only way to make profit.
The letter led me to believe I was the only one at my school to get this offer and that it was a special nomination. But after asking around, I found out many BEHS students had been invited. One of them was sophomore Andrew Hawkes. He also thought he was the only one at Bonny Eagle that received the letter until I told him about mine.
“I was really happy,” he said. ”I didn’t know what to do, but when I saw the price of it, I was sure it was a scam.”
While the company and seminars seem legitimate, what they are doing does not seem exactly ethical. Having only their seminars as funding is something not many trustworthy companies do. Andrew said he didn’t know whether to trust it or if it was going to help him with colleges. And after the interview I was wondering the same thing.
I went to Ms. Karen Webster, a guidance counselor at Bonny Eagle. She was blunt in her evaluation of the company .
“I would never encourage students to trust anything they get through the mail. What helps you get into elite colleges is grades, SAT scores, and diverse extracurriculars. It’s not things like these.”
She advised that if you receive a letter in the mail with an offer that seems to good to be true, it might just be. “If you want to find a program like this for less money or even free go to the guidance office to find a better solution,” she said.
I found what Ms. Webster said extremely helpful, but I still wanted to know if this could help my college application from someone who deals with applications every day. So I got in touch with Andrew King, the Director of Admissions at the University of Southern Maine. He looked over the website and gave me his take on the company.
“I have to admit I have not heard of this organization before. I noticed it is not a .org or a .edu, and they are not a nonprofit.” This means they aim to collect profit through their operations to fund the company.
He did acknowledge that “they have logos from ASCA, The American School Counselor Association, on their website, which is a vote of confidence.” That logo means our school approves of the company. Then I asked him, will this conference give you a leg up when applying for colleges?
“We don’t encourage students to spend money on test preparation or academic events like this. What we look at is your academic achievement, which is your GPA," he said. "We ask how does this student fit into our community, are they willing to learn, are they creative, athletic? We would not be recommending investing in a conference to improve your application. It might be a bonus, but the kind of thing that would make more of a difference is a recognition or award.”
When all is said and done, the conference does look like an amazing experience, and if you are really passionate about going, then there is the option for fundraising. However, if you are looking for a boost when applying for colleges, I've concluded that it is not going to help you enough to make the price worth it. As for me, I am just not interested enough in STEM to take the time to fundraise. Therefore, I will not be attending this conference.