Q: What do you know about "Who's Who Among American High School Students?" I think people should know that it isn't what it appears to be. My daughter Rachael received a nomination letter. Rachael was born with a rare genetic disorder and never attended high school. It just struck us the wrong way. People might believe that this nomination gives their son or daughter an advantage when applying for higher education. Can you look into this?

JOEL HELMRICH
Upper St. Clair

A: I'm so sorry about your daughter. Her nomination to "Who's Who Among American High School Students" should give parents an indication of a screening process that may not be as selective as it might appear to parents and students.

The letter to Rachael claims to be a result of the outstanding achievements in high school during the past year. It says, "Congratulations on last year's academic achievements. Rachael has been recommended for a prestigious honor less than 5% of high school students achieve in the United States."

According to the letter, Rachael "qualifies for a scholarship and an application will be sent automatically upon acceptance. Who's Who will distinguish Rachael further with complimentary distribution to 11,000 university and high school libraries."

There is no fee to get a student's name published in the book. The fee comes into play if you want a copy of the book. The fee ranges from $50 to $79, depending on whether you want your picture published.

According to the Better Business Bureau in Central and South Central Texas, the company behind this publication, Educational Communications, has been around since 1996. "Who's Who Among American High School Students" is one of five books it publishes based on educational achievements.

The BBB says some consumers have complained about the validity of the nomination. The company responded to these allegations by stating that the publications are based on nominations or referrals submitted to them. So far, so good. Here's the tricky part.

Some nominators wish to remain anonymous. The company tells the BBB that it cannot disclose the source of their anonymous nominations due to agreements with certain organizations which would violate privacy laws and company policies. Although one can't know for sure, I'd say that sounds a lot like mailing lists.

Joel Helmrich's son, Josh, was nominated for the book, too. That didn't surprise anyone. Josh had been an outstanding high school student and athlete and is now a freshman at Yale.

What about Rachael? Joel Helmrich says Rachael never attended high school. She went to the School for Blind Children. Could Rachael have been nominated by a teacher at the school? Mr. Helmrich is on the board and says they don't do that.

Does this book give your child an edge in colleges and universities? Not according to Paul James Cukanna, the executive director of admissions at Duquesne University.

"It has no bearing," said Mr. Cukanna. "If [the parents] are spending [money] because they think that it's value added or gives their child competitive advantage, it does not."

What we seem to have here is a vanity press publication. As long as you know that, it's a chance to see your child's name in print, perhaps there is no harm done. I've seen many high school students who list "Who's Who Among American High School Students" among achievements.

There is no fee to get your name in the publication, so no harm done if a student wants to do it. If you want to get a book for fun, again, no harm done. The harm is in believing this is so special that you are one of a small group of students who will get a competitive edge when that is unlikely.

I called the company and a representative apologized for the letter. The company says it gives out 127 scholarships a year. The representative did not know how much money was involved. By the way, I was in "Who's Who of American Women" in 1983. My friend sent my name in and said don't buy the book. It just looks good on your resume.