Alex Carr's The Jaguars' Spot column for Wed., Dec. 29, 2010

If you’re one of these 60 …

I hope all you Jags had a very merry and meaningful Christmas with your friends and families! I sure had a lot of fun at Disneyland with my own family for a few days before coming back home for Christmas. But break is quickly coming to an end and some kids -- about 60 -- need to know about something they need to do almost as soon as they get back to school.

A couple of weeks ago I talked with school counselor Susana Cook regarding the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (as opposed to the VACATIONAL Aptitude Battery which is really nothing but a 90-minute time share presentation for beachside condos in Maui!). The ASVAB is a test administered by US armed services to gauge students’ skills and possible career options. Cook told me that about 60 kids at our school have yet to view their ASVAB results. For one reason or another they missed their appointment on Dec. 13. She told me that the make-up would be on Jan. 4.

There are many reasons this many kids didn’t see their scores. They might not have cared to see them, their teachers might not have been able to let them out of class, maybe they TRIED to go but got lost walking around our big big school (I can help these kids with their aptitude results!) Whatever the reason, you’re getting a second opportunity now to go check your scores. Remember, seeing them doesn’t mean you’re enlisting in the armed services or anything like that. It’s just one more tool in your kit to help you understand more about yourself. After all, you paid $15 to take the test so it is in your financial interest to see what you got.

So, if you are one of those 60 kids, go and talk to your counselor so she can be sure you get the permission slip that will let you get out of class to go check your score.

Tell me about it!:

Some Jags over the past few weeks have been telling me about a letter they got in the mail (I got one too) from something called the “People to People Student Ambassador Program.” It sure looks legit -- at least from the outside of the envelope. The letter says that you have been selected to go on a great vacation to Italy (this year’s destination; in past years it has been Japan, Spain, England, etc.). Basically, the letter tells you this is an experience of a lifetime and that this may be your last chance to travel before college. I looked into this group both at their site (www.peopletopeople.com) and in on-line user forums with feedback from people who have actually taken trips (www.consumeraffairs.com/travel/people_to_people.html)  and learned a little more.

On the People to People site I found a PDF file that shows prices in the neighborhood of $6,000-8,000 for a roughly 20-day trip. There are some trips as low as $4,500 for about two weeks. All travel, lodging, and meals are included. They talk quite about the “unique access” that People to People ambassadors (you) get while in the foreign country. One person on the above ConsumerAffairs.com forum wrote, “I actually traveled as a leader with People to People before I realized that I didn't want to be a part of what they stand for ... The video they show at the informational meeting makes parents think their child will have ‘special’ access to places because they are PTP student ambassadors. LIE!” Others complained that the student-to-leader ratio was 12:1 or worse.

Still, it’s your decision and you might really get a lot out of it. I’m just saying do your research. The internet is an incredible tool. Use it!

Got a great item for this column? Tell me about it! Catch me on campus or go to my web page and shoot me an e-mail (www.carrfamily.com/alex)

Read all of San Diego Press Club award-winner Alex Carr's columns at www.carrfamily.com.