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In article <1993Jan5.193201.17143@cbnews.cb.att.com>, baf@cbnews.cb.att.com (bernice.a.fink) writes:
> My son's Spanish teacher was solicited by an organization that calls
> itself the "United States Achievement Academy" (USAA) to nominate his
> top students for an "International Foreign Language Award" (IFLA).
> The teacher submitted my son's name and we received a mailing from
> USAA requesting that we submit biographical information and an
> optional picture for publication in their "National Awards Yearbook".
> The mailing offers copies of the yearbook at $39.95 for book with
> picture and bio, $35.95 for book with bio only, and $9.95 to get
> picture and bio published without getting a copy of the book.
> The mailing says that scholarship opportunities will be sent 
> on receipt of the biographical information.  The address is in
> Lexington, Kentucky.   
> 
> Can anyone tell me if the USAA is "dedicated to the recognition of
> achievement" as they claim?  Or is this simply a way of selling books?
> Please respond only with facts - not opinions.   Thanks!

There are (and have been for decades) a number of organizations that 
simply print your high-school graduate's name in a large book along 
with everybody else who sent in money.  

I can't claim to have any SPECIFIC knowledge of "USAA," but like most 
boiler-room operations, they re-incarnate themselves regularly under new
names so as not to get a reputation; and use official sounding names like
"United States something" or "Ivy League something" or "Merit something"
to sound like they're affiliated with some legitimate body you recognize.

Now, some of them actually DO do their solicitations according to class 
rank or achievement, and don't include just anybody who sends in money.  
But whether or not this is the case, all you get for your money is a 
book (often a nicely-bound hardcover book, but just a book) with your 
child's name listed among maybe 10,000 others, and that's your 
"achievement of recognition."  They stuff 50 people on each sheet of
paper and gross $500 to $1800 on each page of the book.

The one my dad dealt with 20 years ago did not offer "scholarship 
opportunities," but I would suspect that all 10,000 people simply
get the same list of organizations offering scholarships to foreign 
language mavens, and that's that.

The kicker here that you ought to notice is that, despite your child's 
objective achievement, his teacher's nomination, and the "Academy's" 
purported mission to "recognize excellence," your child will somehow
still go completely recognized if you don't pony up at least $10.

If you want to satisfy yourself on this issue, I suggest you call the
admissions office of your favorite Famous University Known for Foreign
Language Excellence and ask the officer if he's ever heard of USAA.
Dollars to donuts he either hasn't, or he has and will tell you just
what I told you.
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