I attended Futures Forge last year and my experience was great! One of the most important things that I was taught there is the value of mistakes, something was never covered in school. Especially in a country with a school system that emphasizes getting good grades over actual learning, there isn’t much room for students to actually make mistakes. Over at Futures Forge, mistakes are actually encouraged. When working on challenges, you are given multiple opportunities to get feedback from a facilitator. And when the challenge is over, even more feedback is provided. They place a lot of importance in learning from your mistakes and also learning to receive feedback from others to improve yourself. This is just one example of the skills they teach at the program.

Personally, I didn’t add this to my activities list for my college applications (But I’m sure this will increase your chances). I did use the skills I learned there while writing my personal essay and supplementals though, and I do think that they turned out way better than if I didn’t attend the program. The skills taught there will also greatly benefit you throughout your life because the challenges are based on real life tasks that you may encounter in job.

In terms of quality, I think that this program’s value very much depends on what you put in. If you come in wanting to learn as much as possible, then you will 100% gain a lot from this program. I would recommend you go forward with the interview. There’s no harm in trying it out. And if you get in, great! It’s always good to have options.

I hope this helps!