Awards You Pay For

It's that time of year, when many of our students are invited to become members of national award societies, or to attend various summer leadership conferences across the country. The invitations and “awards” look very impressive and allude to the great honor it is for the student to have been included. Prices range from $60 for a “one time membership fee,” or $500 to as much as $5000 for a conference fee that usually doesn't include travel expenses. Some are “free” to put your name in a book, but then, when they have all your information, pressure parents to buy the book along with other memorabilia at extraordinary prices.

Parents often ask if these are legitimate awards for their students. They also want to know if we think students should attend these conferences to give them a competitive edge with college or scholarship applications. And they want to know who nominated their students in the first place.

The answers to these concerns are complex – here are "Frequently Asked Questions" on this topic.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will attending or joining this society, conference, camp, summit, etc. help my child get into college?

College admissions officials and scholarship selection committees have told us they are not impressed with awards or honors that parents purchase. Hundreds of thousands of students are nominated each year for honors, memberships, conferences and leadership training.

College and Scholarship competition is much more powerful if students have received awards that mark them above the norm in something they have actually earned, such as the Rocklin High Distinguished Community Service Award.

Paying for a conference might provide a beneficial experience, but it should not be considered an award.

This conference is at my son’s first choice college. Will it help him get accepted there? 

Probably not. Beware that many summer offerings held on college campuses, actually have no affiliation with the college. Some organizations rent college facilities to hold their conferences, and loosely use the college name with promises of earned college credits or admission recognition.

Did the school send in the nomination?

Your school probably did NOT submit a nomination for your student – that’s against most school confidentiality policies.

How was my student nominated?

Students may have been invited or nominated simply because they registered for the SAT, ACT, applied for a scholarship, or something similar.

An issue to consider is that once you have registered with a conference, society or “award,” you can expect to receive a plethora of mailings, since these organizations often sell their mailing lists to similar vendors.

My student really wants to attend. Is there a way to check it out?

Contact the registration office for the event and ask for local references (names and phone numbers) of Rocklin students, who have attended previous conferences. See if they can get a previous camper to contact you. Find out things like: Did someone meet your student at the airport? Were the meals good? The rooms clean? Did you feel safe? How did you get back to the airport? What other costs were incurred that were not outlined in the brochure? Do you think it was worth the expense?

Should we spend the money?

I never tell parents how to spend their money. There is absolutely no way to guarantee this is a good value.
If students are ready to navigate a national airport in a strange city on their own, and will benefit from the program, make your decision to attend based on as many facts as you can gather.

What have other Rocklin High students said about these opportunities?

Over the years many Rocklin High students have attended these kinds of conferences; some of them thought it was a great experience while others thought it was a “rip off.”