<p>I've been invited to join the "National Society of Collegiate Scholars." They want $95 from me so I can be a part of their organization. The email says that it's prestigious to have on a resume, job opportunities, etc etc... Sounds like a scam to me but I wanted to hear your opinions. Thanks.</p>
<p>It may or may not be a scam, but I’m always wary about sending in money to these types organizations. I’m pretty sure I got a letter from the organization in question before in the past, but I didn’t respond to their invitation. If it’s legitimate, then you will probably only get back what you put into it (e.g. become an “active” member" to reap the benefits). Otherwise, it will probably be a waste of money.</p>
<p>Either way, I think your accomplishments (grades, activities) will speak more than a membership in this organization.</p>
<p>no, it isn’t necessarily a scam but it is NOT worth paying 95 dollars for. seriously, save your money because that won’t help you in any way.</p>
<p>Seems to me that although it isn’t a “scam”, there doesn’t seem to be any real benefit from joining. I don’t know many recruiters who would even give it a second look on a resume and it would be no different if you said you had a 3.5 GPA then if you said that you were a member of this. They actually say there is no requirement to do anything, so really what would the point be.</p>
<p>Perhaps if your school has an active chapter there is something you can get out of it…but it doesn’t seem like it.</p>
<p>Just look at their financials. as of 2011 they had only 1.3 million in assets and gave out 353,000. I’m not criticizing the percentages, just the numbers. This indicates to me that they don’t have any real corporate backing if that’s all they have.</p>
<p>Most colleges have honors programs you can get just as much out of… probably more.</p>
<p>Really just look at it this way…if you have a GPA that is 3.5, a recruiter will know that easily…you don’t need this organization to verify that so it is meaningless on a resume.</p>
<p>Its not legally a scam but it doesnt do anything for you. The $95 you gets gets you a plastic card telling you you’re a member and some mail that comes later. It is completely not worth it. I’m just in my school’s national honor society.</p>
<p>All nonprofits are required to submit a Form 990 annually to the IRS. You can check out this organization’s form at <a href=“https://bulk.resource.org/irs.gov/eo/2012_03_EO/52-1870777_990_201108.pdf”>https://bulk.resource.org/irs.gov/eo/2012_03_EO/52-1870777_990_201108.pdf</a> If you are not familiar with these, and most are not, for 2011 (last one I could find) it says in a nutshell the organizations revenues were $7.09 million (with $6.4M from “MEMBER DUES”. Expenses listed: $1.98M going to salaries, $570K going to grants/scholarships for 732 students, $3.3M going to “MEMBERSHIP - ENCOURAGES LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH COMMUNITY SERVICE, WEB PAGE ORIENTATIONS, BROCHURES AND PARTICIPATING IN CONFERENCES”, $1.06M going to OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES INCLUDE PUBLIC OUTREACH, ALUMNI SERVICES, CAREER CENTER, PACE, COMMUNICATIONS, AND RECOGNITION, etc. The Founder and CEO, Stephen Loflin makes $190K in salary and benefits.</p>
<p>So do the math, IF the $6.4M comes from member dues of $95 per student as it would seem then 67,368 students joined and 732 received scholarships of less than $1,000 each. You decide if it is a scam. </p>