Hook, Line, and Sinker: Invitations to student leadership conferences just sales pitches

Each year, companies that hold student leadership conferences spend extraordinary amounts of money to recruit students to attend their conferences. Many companies recruit students through what seems like a rigorous process when in reality, the process is not very selective at all.

Often times, companies will send students well-written invitations that make a student feel as if he or she has been chosen from a select group of outstanding students and that the recruitment is an ‘honor’ to receive. College and Career Center Scholarship Adviser Teri Koyanagi said that the process is simply a matter recommendation or individual interest.

“Sometimes counselors will recommend students, but a lot of times students just find out about [a conference] and go on their own,” Koyanagi said. “At our school, they route a list around and counselors or teachers, if they feel like you’ll have an interest in that, they’ll put your name on it, but it doesn’t always mean that it’s a huge honor.”

The New York Times went as far as calling the invitations a ‘sales pitch’. Koyanagi believes that the ‘invitations’ are sent to students in order to “play to [their] egos”.

However, Koyanagi also believes that leadership conferences can have a positive effect on an individual, but the events can be costly.

“Some students make new friends; they make a lot of contacts. It was a great experience for them, and a lot of times it brings them out of their shells,” Koyanagi said.

As helpful as the conferences may seem to a student, they generally do not show importance on one’s college application. Koyanagi said that while colleges are aware of the conferences, having attended the events do not better one’s chances of admission into his or her choice school. Alternatives such as Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts have been acknowledged by the New York Times as groups whose values can have a lasting effect on an individual since the programs can last for a longer period of time—in some cases, a few years as opposed to a few days.

All this should be taken into consideration the next time one receives an ‘honorary invitation’ to a student leadership conference.