A company who "recognizes 1% of high school students for their academic achievement". Each year, they publish a book with these students listed. Other perks include special scholarships you can win, a college referal system, and chances to join special educational experiences. Although it sounds wonderful, it really is more hype than anything else. I was recognized 3 years in a row (supposedly only 0.25% of American students get this "honor"), but I am still waiting to get something out of it. It's mostly an ingenious way of getting money from parents who wish to see their kid's name or picture in a book. I wish I would have thought of that

"Who's Who" has since expanded into colleges: Who's Who Among American College Students.

I received a letter from these people offering to list me just after I finished my junior year of high school. I sent one back pointing out that I had a 1.7 GPA, participated in no extracurricular activities (unless you count learning to smoke in the woods behind the school), and spent a lot of time across the desk from the principal. I asked them why exactly they wanted to list me. They didn't have any answer to that.

Basically, a scam. They ask teachers and administrators to nominate their top students for it, and mysteriously everyone nominated gets "accepted".

Being accepted into the book means you get a little five line blurb about yourself in a book the size of a decent encyclopedia.

It's free.

Oh wait, you want a picture of yourself in there too? That'll cost you $25.

Oh wait, you want a copy of the book? That'll cost you $50. Per copy. The first one is not free.

The monetary figures are approximate, but you get the idea. It basically preys on most American parents' willingness to pay any amount in order to see something about their child in print. A disturbing percentage of the time, it works.


For another example of this, see Anthology of Poetry by Young Americans.

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