People to People please share your child's experience

[shortbun]

My son has been invited to take a trip to Europe with People to People next year. I know very little about this organization so I'm depending on the DIS for my first look into it. We'll network around here as well. What do you know?

 

[cntrygal]

its a travel company for teens, they somehow get ahold of your child name and "invite" them, the trips cost ~ $5,000 per kid.

 

[shortbun]

its a travel company for teens, they somehow get ahold of your child name and "invite" them, the trips cost ~ $5,000 per kid.

Interesting...his teachers said they had submitted his name. I knew it wasn't a free program. Having been a travel agent for 27 years will help me to assess the value versus the actual cost.

 

[Sparx]

Interesting...his teachers said they had submitted his name. I knew it wasn't a free program. Having been a travel agent for 27 years will help me to assess the value versus the actual cost.

Its VERY expensive and not prestigious. Its been all over the news with long diseased students getting recommended for it or even pet's names being submitted.

Since you've worked in travel I'm sure if you went to one of the seminars (which are similar to time-share seminars where they push-push-push you to buy) you'd see that for the cost, its not worth it. I'm sure you could come up with a better planned trip for less money than P2P will give you.

 

[mrsv98]

DD received a letter to go to Australia next summer...umm, no she is 10!! Who in their right mind would send a 10 or 11 yo half way around the world on their own? Good grief.

 

[barkley]

our first experience was a solicitation when dd was 3-the paperwork said she had been nominated by a teacher for her academic and leadership skills we knew this was bogus b/c her name was spelled in the same incorrect way it was printed every month on a magazine subscription a family member had gifted her with. she has gotten them periodicaly since.

next experience was getting hit up to contribute to a classmate's (jr. high) ptp trip. i was floored the kid's probation officer would consider letting her leave the country (yes-PROBATION OFFICER, as in probation for grand theft auto and drugs).

current experience is living where ptp's international headquarters is located. suffice it to say that when they are hiring for a myriad of "professional" positions within the organization, they advertise in the unskilled labor section of the paper (from what i hear there is allot of staff turnover).

i don't know if ptp works the same way-but as far as teacher reccommendations for these types of programs, i would take them with a grain of salt b/c with some of these travel programs teachers have an incentive to make the reccomendations. the incentive being free or greatly reduced cost travel for themselves if they are successful in getting so many students to sign on for the program (years ago when i taught, i received solicitations to do this, as do my family members who are currently teachers-who in some case teach at schools that have banned teachers from engaging in this practice).

 

[MerMom60_94]

DD received the same letter the other day. I did a little search on the net and found some alarming stories. I believe they were on the Consumer Affairs website. There were a couple of different articles. One was regarding their marketing efforts, but the one that scared me had to do with the (lack of) handling of medical issues while traveling. We threw the letter away.

 

[MidgeD79]

My granddaughter went to Europe in 2008 with PtP when she was 12. She loved it and wants to do it again.

 

[DrCavin]

My DD12 went to Canada this summer, she had a great time & had no issues. She had a reunion Sunday with the kids from this area that went & had a great time as well.

It is expensive, was ~4K for 12 days for her to go to Canada. I actually opposed her going but her mother wanted her to go & fell for the entire sales pitch.

She would love to go again, not sure she will due to cost.

 

[kidshop]

I got the Australia letter for my 10 y/o. Ummm, no. I look at it the same way as any other solicitation. I don't trust anything that comes to me I didn't request. If I want something, *I* will search it out.

 

[TEENEE]

My ds went about 7 years ago. Yes it may be overpriced but it was worth every penny in my eyes. He was able to take a trip that I may never be able to take him on. He learned a lot in the preperation for the trip and certainly on the trip. The teachers that chaperoned and prepared the kids were wonderful. After the trip he was able go to them for advice regarding his education, they were always willing to help. He still talks about his experiences on the trip.

 

[MM27]

I'm a teacher and receive mailings from People to People every year. I trash them as soon as I get them. They are nothing more than an overpriced travel agency. They will take anyone that is able to pay for the trip, academics and leadership really have nothing to do with it.

 

[MichelleVW]

You will hear a lot of negative things, but if you have the money I say do it!! My oldest DD has been on two P2P trips and had a blast on both of them. She has swam in the Great Barrier Reef, been to the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, rappelled off a castle in Wales, been on the London Eye, played with sheep dogs in Scotland....and the list goes on and on...

 

[allison443]

We know some students who have gone and all really liked it. It's not an honor to be chosen but it can be a great opportunity for kids to travel with a supervised group.

 

[amyren]

I'm not that familiar with People to People but DH and I traveled with a similar group called Down Under Sports this summer. They take American high school athletes to Australia for sports competitions. Also pricey, but the kids are encouraged to fundraise. DH traveled as a coach. It was an amazing experience. I think we had as much fun as the kids. Anyway back to People to People, one of their groups was on our fourteen hour flight from LA to Brisbane. I was surprised at how young they were! The looked like 9 to 11 or so. There were probably about 12-15 kids traveling with maybe 5 adults. Personally, I wouldn't consider letting my daughter leave the country with a group unless she was high school age or I went along.

 

[mom2d&b]

Great thread. My DD10 aslo recieved a letter. Her trip would be Wales, Ireland, etc. I asked her school principal about it but she had never heard of the group.
We are going to go to the info meeting but not sure DD will go on the trip.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

Funny...I received a letter a few weeks ago that was addressed to my parents. It was an invitation from People to People inviting me to go to Europe as a High School Ambassador. Um....I'm 45! I told my parents that we should all show up at the introductory meeting together! I also received one inviting my DS11 to go as a Middle School Ambassador. Maybe he and I could go together since we were both invited!

 

[KristEn87]

I went on a P2P trip back in 2005. I was a senior in High School at the time and my trip was to Australia. It was quite expensive, but we did fund raise if we chose too. I never found it to be like a pushy time share sales and neither did my parents at the time. However, this was 5 years ago and things could have drastically changed since then. I think it was a wonderful opportunity that I may not have otherwise gotten the chance to do. I've swam in the Great Barrier Reef, I've climbed the Sydney Harbor bridge, seen the inside of the Sydney Opera House, swam and fed dolphins, went sand surfing and a lot more. I felt completely safe traveling with my leaders and our tour guide while in Australia was fantastic! While we were there there was another group of P2P students there and they were middle school aged. I think P2P has a middle school section and a high school section to it.
I received two letters that year for trips one was for Japan and the other was for Australia, I believe I was nominated for one and I think I received the other one because once you've been on a trip (my cousin had the previous year) they can submit names to be considered for later trips.

I'd say go for it!

 

[pixiegoose]

I went to Australia and New Zealand with PtP the summer after 8th grade (I was 13) and I loved it. That was in 1997, so things may have changed since then but I enjoyed it and never felt pressured to do it or unsafe while on the trip. We even had a medical emergency (someone broke their arm) and I think it was handled completely appropriately. I think the leaders make a big difference as to the experience you will have and mine were great.

 

[trip]

My DDs have received these invitations in the past - we opted not to send them. I think it is a decent program if you have the money and it is a lot of money. One of their fund raising methods is to have you write letters to everyone you know and ask for money.