Honor Societies

Parents Forum
1

<p>Is it worth it to join an honor society? </p>

<p>Let me explain why I am asking. My son told me recently that he was invited to join the history honor society Phi Alpha Theta. He declined it as he could not think of a reason to join. So, I have been wondering if there might be a benefit to joining. I reflected on my own experience in this arena and could not come up with a reason to encourage him to join. </p>

<p>When I was in college, I was inducted into the nutrition honor society Kappa Omicron Nu. I was flattered to have been asked and readily accpeted. In retrospect, I can say that I didn't benefit from it (and they certainly benefitted from my membership check). </p>

<p>I'm very interested to hear what you all have to say on this topic.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance.
Mary</p>

2

<p>The honor society for my major collected a check and I discerned no benefit to me from joining the society. On the other hand, Phi Beta Kappa does some interesting things and sends a newsletter (book reviews etc.) every few months -- for life. There are no required fees for this beyond the initial induction and key fees.</p>

3

<p>I don't recall there being an initiation fee for Phi Beta Kappa. Has it changed, or is it my failing memory (PBK was looong time ago for me)? There was a cost for the key, but I didn't buy one. I didn't get the newsletter either; signed up for it a year or so ago, got a few issues, and stopped because it wasn't all that fascinating.</p>

4

<p>I actually got my Phi Beta Kappa election letter yesterday, and yes, there still is an initiation fee. I think part of it goes to the national organization and part might stay locally.</p>

<p>I am also a member of Order of Omega, the Greek (fraternity and sorority, not language) honor society, which has given me some good leadership experience since I'm on the executive board. Other than that, I also joined Golden Key, which retrospectively was probably money not well spent (although I didn't know about my Phi Beta Kappa election at that time).</p>

5

<p>It is unfortunate that your son declined an invitation to join Phi Alpha Theta. If there is any way that he can revive his invitation to be inducted, I recommend he do so, because membership is an academic honor. (Phi Alpha Theta is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies, as is Kappa Omicron Nu.) The one-time initiation fee would provide your son with lifetime membership, and lifetime access to Phi Alpha Theta’s many activities and benefits. Phi Alpha Theta has a website, which your son should read through, if he hasn’t done so already. </p>

<p>Phi Alpha Theta provides members with more than just opportunities to attend conferences and conventions, and to participate in other scholarly activities. Members are also eligible to compete for academic scholarships, grants, awards, and prizes. Members acquire “bragging rights” which are particularly useful for history majors who graduate with a marginally marketable undergraduate degree, and therefore, often choose to upgrade their education by attending pre-professional school (usually law school) or graduate school in order to become career-competitive. (Phi Alpha Theta membership looks impressive on a pre-professional/grad school application, a resume, or a CV.) Finally, because membership is lifetime, members can continue to participate in Phi Alpha Theta’s activities and enjoy its benefits whenever, (often) wherever, and however they choose until the day they die. </p>

<p>I am a confirmed non-joiner. I have always loathed clubs, societies, and other organizations. Throughout my lifetime, I have voluntarily joined only a handful of such groups. I was honored to be inducted into Phi Alpha Theta (Alpha-Upsilon Chapter) nearly thirty-five years ago, and it is the organizational membership of which I am most proud. Membership might or might not have opened professional doors for me, but it certainly didn’t close any. For me, the most important benefit of membership has been the satisfaction of knowing that I earned membership.</p>

<p>Again, I recommend that your son take another look at Phi Alpha Theta, and if possible, join.</p>

6

<p>The degree to which most of these honor societies provide any benefit to students often depends on the local chapter at the school and how active it is, if at all. Take a look at the local chapter and find a few current members to see if there's anything there worth joining. In terms of 'prestige' the only one that generally gets any notice is PBK... after that there are a bunch of others that few people will have heard of.</p>

<p>Be forewarned that after joining many of these lesser known 'honor society's' seem to do nothing more than sell your details to credit card companies so you can get a (insert greek symbols) 'special' credit card or send you other junk mail. I wouldn't go so far as saying it's all a scam, but I often fail to see the worth in many of these organizations for the average 'member.'</p>

7

<p>Thanks so much for all the replies. I will be showing these to my son and we will discuss this further. It is challenging at times to separate the 'wheat from the chaff'. </p>

<p>I'd be very interested in reading more replies if anyone has anything else to add.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

8

<p>At the risk of turning your simple-request-for-information thread into a contentious debate about honor societies (which is not my intent), I am going add a few comments.</p>

<p>Phi Alpha Theta has multiple college campus chapters in every state, so individual campus chapter activity is an unimportant criterion for deciding whether or not to accept undergraduate induction. You son’s campus might or might not have an exceptionally active chapter; regardless, after your son graduates, he will continue to have lifetime access to Phi Alpha Theta’s local, regional, and national activities, no matter where he chooses to live. Some chapters are more active than others, and some members are more active than others. Phi Alpha Theta is low-key; it does not pressure its chapters to maintain an excessive level of activity, and individual member activity is a matter of personal choice. </p>

<p>With regard to the “status factor” of the “lesser known” academic honor societies: I agree with rocketman08’s statement, “In terms of 'prestige' the only one that generally gets any notice is PBK.” Phi Beta Kappa is exceptionally selective, highly esteemed, and very well-known (even among people who have never attended college). Phi Beta Kappa membership definitely opens pre-professional/graduate school and corporate doors. However, I disagree with rocketman08’s statement, “… many of these lesser known 'honor society's' seem to do nothing more than sell your details to credit card companies so you can get a (insert greek symbols) 'special' credit card or send you other junk mail.” I maintain that many of the “lesser known” honor societies contribute significantly to their respective academic fields, and carry academic prestige of their own.</p>

<p>The “lesser known” honor societies (such as Phi Alpha Theta and Kappa Omicron Nu) are academically prestigious because they are course-of-study/subject-specific. Their purpose, as you and I know, is to promote scholastic research, and to support rigorous academic standards. Moreover, all Association of College Honor Societies affiliates (of which there are presently only about sixty-five, including Phi Alpha Theta and Kappa Omicron Nu) must meet rigorous minimum scholastic, membership, governance, and administrative standards (including full financial disclosure) in order to earn ACHS certification. (ACHS separates--as you described-- "the wheat from the chaff.") ACHS publishes its standards on its website, and acknowledges that many of its member honor societies maintain standards well above the ACHS required minimum. Phi Alpha Theta, although relatively unknown to those outside the field of history, is not one of those fly-by-night “take your credit card number and run” organizations about which rocketman08 wisely forewarned you.</p>

<p>As I mentioned in my previous post, a history degree is marginally marketable, despite the fact that it is a tough degree to earn. History majors have to do a lot of reading, research, and writing; history majors practically live in the library, and they accept frequent coffee-fueled all-nighters as a fact of college life. History majors work exceptionally hard to earn a degree with which they are subsequently qualified to do practically nothing, which is the reason so many history grads must either upgrade their education and/or search for a career far outside their chosen academic field. Rewards for hard-working, dedicated, self-selected history majors are few and far between, and therefore, such rewards are valuable. </p>

<p>Phi Alpha Theta has offered to reward your son for his hard work in his chosen field of study. I urge him to accept that reward. I know from personal experience that he will be glad he accepted.</p>

9

<p>Sorry to dredge up an old thread, but it seems it is that time for honor societies to do their solicitations.</p>

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<p>There is a whole other category of lesser lesser lesser known “honor societies” that seem to exist only to line their pockets with initiation fees. Got one from one from one I never heard of. Return address is a PO box. Google didn’t have much on them either. Although I appreciate the compliment, I see this for what it is- a shakedown. This is just like the crappy invitations to appear in “Who’s Who in <trendy category=”" of=“” the=“” moment=“”>" books. Total useless crap, a scam.</trendy></p>

<p>So if you’re invited to a reputable honor society, or even a “lesser known” one, I’d think about joining it. Other than that, avoid the scam ones. More worrisome is how this outfit got GPA info. Is it for sale???</p>

10

<p>Some honor societies are a scam to get your money, but if your child has been selected by their department for one that is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies, it most likely means that the student has met national criteria for excellence in that field (there are usually overall GPA requirements as well as major GPA requirements) and perhaps some other qualifications (such as “commitment to the field of X” or “good character”) that the faculty has recognized.</p>

<p>For the honor society that I serve as an advisor for, our department identifies the students, not some national group. We invite them to join, and honestly, we think of the invitation as a way to honor our best and brightest. I’m not sure how much mileage they get from their modest initiation fee, but it can’t hurt to have another reference to Excellence on the resume. (The Dean tells me it gives our kids the edge for jobs and grad school, but I’m not sure I completely agree.) What it actually gets our students: a nice certificate, a membership pin, honor cord for graduation, a nice reception at the induction ceremony, photo op for mom & dad, and a little self-esteem boost.</p>

<p>Having said that, I turned down an invitation to an honor society when I was in college, since I had just written a scathing editorial in the school paper about how such things were empty, meaningless and often scams. Ah, the passion of youth!</p>

11

<p>With regard to history majors being “required to search for a career far outside their chosen field” – living IS a career in the history field.</p>

12

<p>Re: oldmanbiker, post #9, how did the honor society get the GPA information?
I think it is valuable to distinguish between honor societies to which students are elected by the faculty at their colleges, vs. the national sweepstakes “You may already be a winner!” type mailings. Despite FERPA, at a number of colleges, the faculty who are electing students to honor societies are able to obtain lists of students who meet the GPA criteria for election. Definitely, Phi Beta Kappa elections at my university are handled in this way. In fact, the local Phi Beta Kappa chapter ranks students by GPA, weighted according to the average grade awarded in the course–so they actually get pretty detailed information from the registrar’s office. The GPA-ranked list does not determine the elections, in itself, but it is one element in the decision. So the GPA information may not have been obtained in an underhanded way.</p>

<p>Phi Beta Kappa is unquestionably worth joining, if a student is elected.
Many of the smaller honor societies, based on field of study, are also well worth joining. If the faculty know beforehand that a student has been invited to join (and if the faculty actually know the student), then it’s probably legitimate. stradmom is more knowledgeable about the National Association of Honor Societies.</p>

<p>As far as the initiation fee goes for Phi Beta Kappa: At some universities, the initiation fee and also the cost of the key are handled by the university/faculty, so the student never sees this. I believe that Princeton handles things in this way, for example. Where the set of Phi Beta Kappa members on the faculty is smaller or less well-paid, the student may have to pay the initiation fee. Purchase of a key is generally optional–nice if you want it, but not necessary in most circles.</p>

13

<p>A student I met recently told me that he was denied latin honors at graduation because he was not a member of an honor society. He declined his invitation to an honor society because he really didn’t have any extra money to pay for the honor. When it came time for graduation, he found out that even though he had a 3.9+ gpa, he would not receive latin honors because he was not a member of an honor society.</p>