I just received a mailing from the “Golden Key International Honor Society” notifying me that because of my class standing (top 15%) I am invited to join my University’s chapter.
Normally, I am very wary of honor societies that aren’t PBK or the like; they tend to strike me as just cash grabbing scams with very little long run benefit. This honor society in particular has a one time membership fee of 95 dollars (which is pretty steep.)
The mailing has an invitation for my family and I to attend a banquet dinner that will be held at my school. The letter itself is signed by my school’s Vice Chancellor so it isn’t entirely third party. The information they sent says that the chapter offers scholarships, study abroad opportunities, community service opportunities, and graduate school admissions advising.
I am a member of my University’s Honors College and I think that simply putting my GPA on a resume would sort of imply my class standing to an extent, so if the organization has no real tangible benefits aside from telling employers/graduate schools that I got pretty good grades in college, then I don’t think it’s worth it. However, if it’s legitimate and not a total scam, I’d certainly considering just throwing the 95 bucks down and joining. I’ve been looking for more ways to get involved on campus, anyway.
Hi preamble, I’m a member of my university’s chapter. It is legitimate. Besides whatever events your chapter might have (my school’s chapter isn’t that active), there are events that Golden Key plans, such as grad school info sessions and such (many are virtual), and special study abroad opportunities.
@guineagirl96 Oh okay, that’s good to know. I am looking at my chapter’s FB page and they have some photos of members doing community service with some organizations in my city so it seems at least sort of active. I’m mostly interested in the community service aspect because my school’s Honors College has similar “perks.”
Well, usually somebody with no prior posts comes on to say how great these societies are (and you can take a drink when that happens–fun game!) but this time people with more posts are vouching for it. What I would say about any of these is that it probably won’t be a significant credential, so you should look closely at what it actually does on your own campus. (Note: is the banquet dinner free, or do you have to pay for it?)
@Hunt - The banquet dinner is free (free food is my favorite type) – from what I can see on their social media pages, the group is pretty active on campus. It’s difficult to judge just how active a group on campus is at my school because my school has a majority of commuter students so the nature of student engagement is inherently different from a more typical residential campus (though this is something they’re actively trying to change.)
I’ve already sent in my membership dues so fingers crossed it’s worth it - if anything, I’m just hoping for a good opportunity to get involved in the community and make some new friends - but if it’s not, well, it wouldn’t be the first time I wasted money on something silly, LOL.