<p>After doing well her first year, my daughter has received mail at home this fall from several honor and leadership organizations. They all ask for money to join, around $45-75. For that you get certificates, lapel pins, backpacks, induction ceremony, etc... and "scholarship and leadership" opportunities. Seems like a waste of money to me and she's not interested in getting involved in them. If the offer is based on gpa, don't your grades speak for themselves? It just seems that when you earn a real honor designation, you don't pay a fee to get it. Am I crazy to let her throw these away? Are any of these legit or just a racket?</p>
<p>Meaningless ripoffs.</p>
<p>There are plenty of companies that stroke the egos of students and their parents in order to separate them from their money. </p>
<p>There also are some travel companies that mask themselves as educational organizations to get people to pay large moneys for trips to DC. They often use a distant cousin of a President or a senile retired one star general to make their organization look authentic.</p>
<p>Dean J had an entry in Notes from Peabody recently on this (link below). Your radar is right on, your daughter’s resume will be fine without these ‘honors’.</p>
<p>[Notes</a> from Peabody: The UVA Application Process: Not exactly the honor of honors](<a href=“http://uvaapplication.blogspot.com/2011/08/not-exactly-honor-of-honors.html]Notes”>Notes from Peabody: The UVA Application Process: Not exactly the honor of honors)</p>
<p>erwinrd…I was wondering the same thing. I know about the so-called “honors” groups that solicit high school students; however, I’m unfamiliar with groups aimed at college students. Naturally, everyone knows that Phi Beta Kappa is legit and juniors and seniors are eligible for admittance. Our D just completed her first year and received invites into Phi Eta Sigma and Golden Key. Are these merely fluff or are they pre-cursors to Phi Beta Kappa/distinguished honor societies? Are they worthy of the $50+ fee?</p>
<p>I got at least 3 shady invites, I remember Golden Key was one of them. I was so annoyed by the invites that I almost didn’t join PBK when they invited me, but once I realized that was legit it was fine. Nothing but PBK will do anything for your resume, save your money and keep getting the grades that will qualify you for PBK. Also you will have to pay for PBK but it is a good investment. The only other one I joined was free, it was the math honor society Pi Mu Epsilon.</p>
<p>Thanks Hazelorb appreciate the insight. The validity of these groups was questioned.</p>
<p>I read an article about one of these groups that takes in about $5 million each year. They throw a party/conference/college fair in a few cities and plenty of impressive people go (including folks I know in the admission world). They give out about $60K in scholarships each year. </p>
<p>It’s not a scam, as the organization does provide some scholarships and services to members. However, I’ve seen it described as a raffle, which might be more appropriate. The people who get the scholarships are impressive and I’m sure they are happy to take the money.</p>
<p>The comments on my blog post are pretty interesting. :)</p>
<p>Oh my goodness the one about the cat… Hilarious</p>
<p>When I copied the link last night I woke up my son in the next room sleeping because I was laughing so hard at ‘Tom’s accomplishments’ (who is also bright and glamorous)!!. There has to be a book somewhere in all of this Dean J, seriously! I don’t know where you’d find the time, but you certainly have the material.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the replies! The “scholarship opportunities” were what made me hesitate from throwing them away. A raffle is a good way to describe it. The latest letter bragged about how 10,000 students nationally were honored with membership last year. Add in a few years worth of members and you’re competing with around 30,000 other top students for those scholarships. She has better odds focusing on applying for merit scholarships geared toward her particular areas of interest and ability. If she’s offered Phi Beta Kappa she’ll definitely take it and pay whatever membership fee they require, but looks like we’ll pass on these recent offers.</p>