''Who's Who Among American High School Students'' was a ''Who's Who''-style web site and

publication To publish is to make content available to the general public.Berne Convention, articl ...

owned and managed by Educational Communications Inc. that listed what it claimed were

high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

students "who have excelled in academics, extracurricular activities and community service." The website shut down in November 2007 due to the bankruptcy of its parent firm.

About

''Who's Who Among American High School Students'' compiled and published an annual edition in which students' names and achievements are listed. According to the website, people who accept nomination for inclusion in the book are sometimes qualified for various

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

opportunities. While there were no required fees to be considered, there was the optional purchase of the listing publication. ''Who's Who Among American High School Students'' was one of three publications produced by Educational Communications, Inc. (ECI). ECI was part of American Achievement Corporation (AAC), located in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

. AAC is one of 7 companies owned by Fenway Partners, based in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. ECI ceased operations on November 1, 2007.

Reception

There was much debate over the value of the book. Although it does not cost any money to be listed, it is often categorized as a

scam A scam, or a confidence trick, is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their Trust (emotion), trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using a combination of the victim's credulity, naivety, compassion, vanity, confidence ...

since it is an attempt by a

private company A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose Stock, shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in their respective listed markets. Instead, the Private equi ...

to make money through proud parents and students who purchase the book and various

memorabilia A souvenir (French language, French for 'a remembrance or memory'), memento, keepsake, or token of remembrance is an object a person acquires for the memory, memories the owner associates with it. A souvenir can be any object that can be collecte ...

(such as a "commemorative keychain") associated with the publication in attempt at recognition. There have been concerns about how students are nominated as well as whether the listing's entries are fact-checked and accurate.
Yvonne Zanos: What's what with Who's Who
', December 5, 2005, retrieved February 12, 2007

'', WCCO TV, January 3, 2006 Students consented to being listed in ''Who's Who'' in the hope that the listing would be seen by college admissions offices as a significant recognition of a student's academic and extracurricular involvement. However, most admissions officers believe that the recognition has no such value and in fact some consider the "honor" to be a joke. According to the admissions vice president of

Hamline University Hamline University ( ) is a private university in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. Founded in 1854, Hamline is the oldest university in Minnesota, the first coeducational university in the state, and is one of five Associated Colleges of th ...

, "It's honestly something that an admissions officer typically wouldn't consider or wouldn't play into an admissions decision," adding that ''Who's Who...'' is just trying to sell books.

References

External links

10-K Filed Form for American Achievement Corporation (AAC)
{{authority control Secondary school honor societies United States biographical dictionaries 2007 disestablishments in the United States