<p>DS got something in the mail regarding an invitation to join. Is this just something to throw money at or is it important? Anyone else get an invite? Says new member recognition event is Nov 14th at the Ferg.</p>
<p>Kids seem to get all these invites…I’m not sure which are really legit! </p>
<p>So far, our kids have only done Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, and Mortar Board.</p>
<p>Golden Key is “legit” and generally well recognized–dues are one time only, and IIRC, pretty affordable. The level of activity depends on both the student and the particular chapter.</p>
<p>Ok DS got an invite to join Phi Eta Sigma today. It says they are a National Freshman Honor Society. Any input on this one?? How many more honor societies are there???</p>
<p>Bamafana is your DS a first semester freshman? If so what grades are they using to base membership?
Does anyone know if mid-term grades been posted?
I think the UA web site has information on the different honoraries.</p>
<p>I wonder if only those with incoming transfer courses are invited to join this honor society in the fall. Like kids who attended a dual enrollment program or took courses over the summer?</p>
<p>Catfan makes a good point. What grades do they use to invite a freshman to join an honor society that has a GPA requirement?</p>
<p>Those with incoming AP have credit, but not grades in those courses.</p>
<p>Also, if you’re classified as a sophomore because of incoming AP credit, do you miss out on being invited to a freshman honor society?</p>
<p>It is possible to be invited to join a freshman honor society even though one is a sophomore (or above) by credit hours. During my second semester at UA, I joined both a freshman honor society and a senior honor society.</p>
<p>My son also received an invitation to Phi Eta Sigma. He entered U of A with dual credits (U of A factors the grades from dual credit classes into their GPA) and IB credits. The Phi Eta Sigma used his GPA from the dual credit classes to determine eligibility.</p>
<p>Congratulations, malomom. </p>
<p>So, kids who just have AP credits, or no credits coming in, may get an invite in the spring if their fall GPA is high enough?</p>
<p>If it’s a GPA qualification only, maybe kids not in the honors college will get a chance to join. I think that’s great. Any chance to encourage kids to make good grades is a good thing, in my book.</p>
<p>The Phi Eta Sigma invitation states . . . only students who have between 12-45 hours with at least an overall 3.5 quality point average are eligible for membership. This was posted on their website </p>
<p>Who is eligible to join?
On campuses with a chapter of Phi Eta Sigma, all freshman men and women are eligible to join who have a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale at the close of any curricular period during their first year.</p>
<p>Students receives lots and lots of invitations to honor societies. My son currently belongs to five, including Golden Key (got that his first semester, as he had tons of AP credits). Some are based on credits/GPA. Some are based on activities he did. Some were invitation, and then he had to interview for a spot.</p>
<p>Where do these invitations get sent to?</p>
<p>Are they mailed to the parents?</p>
<p>Are they sent by email to the students?</p>
<p>My son has a PO box, but he does not list that anywhere as an address.</p>
<p>Congrats, momreads, on your son’s accomplishments. Glad he’s taking advantage of those opportunities.</p>
<p>Montegut: There are good sides to all these honorary societies. Then, there are bad ones. The big concern is the amount of money that a student must set aside to join some of them. They can run $50 to $100 to join, and in some cases, one sees little return.</p>
<p>As for getting the invitations, sometimes they come via e-mail. Others come through the regular mail. One or two came to our home address and I popped them in the mail to my son. There were some that he turned down, too.</p>
<p>We get them in the mail. We ignore most of them. So far, sons have done Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Beta Kappa, Mortar Board, and whatever the math one is called. We will continue to look carefully at each invite and only do the ones that we think are worthwhile.</p>
<p>My DS is a first semester freshman, but he did have ALOT of transfer credit from dual enrollment classes in high school. So, he came to Bama with a 4.0 and is considered a sophomore(with AP credit also). Guess that’s the reason for the invite (although he IS doing fantastic in his first semester so far) .</p>
<p>Another thing…the Phi Eta Sigma said you get a cord at graduation if you accept the invitation. Is that a big thing?</p>
<p>Also, someone asked where the invites were sent. Both the Phi Eta Sigma and Golden Key came to our home address.</p>
<p>Wow, bamafana, that’s awesome. I’m sure getting these invites makes him feel even better for all his hard work. Wow, a cord at graduation, that’s really nice. </p>
<p>Congratulations on the honors to both you and your son!</p>
<p>I think many/most of the honor societies give out cords or sashes to be worn at graduation.</p>
<p>We have a few at home already.</p>
<p>Email sent out today that you have to get 12 to 45 units from UA or another university to be eligible in the fall. If your credits are from AP or Early College, you are not eligible this semester. I know a lot of you on the board have done something called dual enrollment to get your hours pre fall. You may want to check if those qualify you for this semester or not.</p>
<p>Mom2ck, they give you the sash/cord when you join the organization, and you have to make sure you keep it handy for graduation? I thought they may give them to you at graduation.</p>
<p>We’d all be happy for son just to get a diploma, actually!</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>You’re usually given the sash or cord at the induction. We have them saved in one area of a closet.</p>