<p>So i was invited to join the national society of collegiate scholars and im not sure if its really worth it. Though it is a one time fee of 75 dollars, i just dont believe that it is anything oh so great. Im a sophomore in college doing pre med and focused on getting into medical school. I realize that i do need to do things to build a impressive resume but i would think that shadowing, working in a health care field, and doing community service would look better than this little society that im paying to be a part off. honestly, i feel like its just a scam, what do you think?</p>
<p>Scam, Scam, Scam. My son got one of these. Threw it out.</p>
<p>Just try to throw it out! Son received more than one "invitation." We received a couple addressed to us as parents after he ignored his. Then they called our house! We couldn't figure out what the point was.
For a med student, work hard to get the best grades you can, study for your MCAT, and accept gratefully any honors your college officially recognizes. (Latin awards, Phi Beta Kappa) Most of these other private "honor societies" are seldom more than money making schemes, as you suspected.</p>
<p>It's only based on making dean's list. You can put on your resume that you were "invited to join..." without spending the $75. Otherwise, putting dean's list on your resume is the same thing.</p>
<p>On the other hand, check out your school's chapter. If your school has a very active chapter, then it might be a worthwhile club on your resume if you plan on participating in their activities. </p>
<p>Your school might have other academic honor societies that carry more weight such as Phi Beta Kappa or honors societies for particular majors. Mortar Board's invitations for Seniors, for ex., are based both on academic eligibility and community service.</p>
<p>Does anybody know anything about Alpha Sigma Pi aka The National Society of Leadership and Success? I am willing to let my D join programs that will actually be beneficial to her, but we are pinching pennies, so I need to not waste money. She has till July 29 to decide. There are fees, local and national, but I haven't figured out what they are yet.</p>
<p>NSCS are very very pushy. My daughter was invited also and not only has she received numerous reminders but we have received several reminders as 'parents of' including one that is done up to look like a final notice for an unpaid bill. Very over the top and certainly adds to rather than detracts from my suspicion that they are more scam than worthwhile. Their pushy tactics are a real turn off.</p>
<p>So, is it really a scam? I know that my school has a chapter and so does UNC Chapel Hill.</p>
<p>Yes, D also turned down NSCS and received multiple pushy emails and mailings.</p>
<p>Does anybody know about National Society of Leadership and Success? NOT the same as NSCS.</p>
<p>The NSCS notice I liked was the one in which they said their program committee had met and was extending the deadline for acceptance of their invitation. How accommodating!</p>
<p>D did well but did not make Dean's List so not sure how she was selected. Maybe "Not dead yet"?</p>
<p>Scam... they just use your details for mailing you lots of 'exclusive offers' for random crap, credit cards and the like</p>
<p>Never pay for an award. I pity the poor parents who got their kids listed in some "Who's Who" of HS or college students because they were willing to buy the book... Always remember the people in charge of any admissions will know the worthless awards and ignore them- don't try to pad your resume with meaningless junk. Check out any local connections- it could still be junk.</p>
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<p>NSCS - The National Society of Collegiate Scholars is NOT A SCAM! I am the VP of Public Relations (2009) for the University of Central Florida Chapter. We host fun events, community service, and hand out over $3000 worth of scholarships each semester to our members. visit the site at [National</a> Society of Collegiate Scholars](<a href=“http://www.nscs.org%5DNational”>http://www.nscs.org) or [NSCS</a> @ UCF](<a href=“http://www.nscsknights.com%5DNSCS”>http://www.nscsknights.com) for our chapter.</p>
<p>I am also the Director of Communications for Sigma Alpha Pi (The National Society of Leadership and Success) and can attest to how this is NOT A SCAM! Ever semester you can apply for awards and scholarships. I wrote an essay and sent in my application and won first place in the US for the National Excellence in Leadership Award. I also received a check for $3500 (2009). Here is the national website [Society</a> of Leadership and Success](<a href=“http://www.societyleadership.org%5DSociety”>http://www.societyleadership.org) and our chapter’s website [Welcome</a> to the ??? UCF Chapter Website!](<a href=“http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~society/Home.html]Welcome”>Welcome to the ΣΑΠ UCF Chapter Website!) </p>
<p>PLEASE DO NOT THROW THESE INVITATIONS AWAY! Your son and/or daughter can really benefit from these societies. I originally did not join NSCS as a freshmen because my mom thought it was a scam, until my girlfriend became president of both at our college and I attended every meeting on campus. Give them a try!</p>
<p>By any chance, do you get paid to be President? Did your gf also receive a check for $3500? I’d be enthusiastic too about a group that paid me to do so.</p>
<p>An important point here is perception. Even if your group is an honest, supportive society and its members contribute their time (and obviously their entry fee), others outside of your little circle WILL perceive your society as less than you present it. I feel sorry for those members whose efforts will not be taken seriously.</p>
<p>This “honor” society keeps popping up every few months and every time we see defenders of the society who are new posters. Isn’t it amazing that MikedGreen just happens to log on, see this thread, and make his first ever post defending the excellence of the society…
I remain convinced this is a scam (S and D were both repeatedly invited to pay to join).</p>
<p>Frame the letter. Pitch the rest of the “stuff”. DS was “invited” to join National Society of Collegiate Scholars after his WORST term in college…not even close to dean’s list material. This is junk mail.</p>
<p>I will freely admit that I just stumbled onto this discussion thread while Googling my Society’s name. I did just join this forum to post this message.</p>
<p>However, I will also openly honestly say that I am the President of the National Society of Leadership & Success (NSLS/Sigma Alpha Pi) and a member of the National Leadership Council (NLC) for the National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS) at California State University Northridge. I’m also a member of Golden Key, although I didn’t see it mentioned here.</p>
<p>NO, I DO NOT GET PAID FOR EITHER POSITION. I have been a Secretary, IT Coordinator/Webmaster, VP of Communications, and VP of Public Relations for all of these Societies, and I never was paid a cent. Being an officer of a campus club is not something people should expect payment for. It is a volunteer opportunity that allows someone to demonstrate their leadership potential.</p>
<p>The invitation system works as such: once someone makes a qualifying grade ONCE, their name is put on a list. The length of the list varies from school to school; at some it is 1000 people, at others it is only 300. The list also changes depending on how the school grades (the GPA scale), whether it’s quarterly or semesterly, and how the Admissions/Records office chooses to distribute that list to honor societies like those mentioned above.</p>
<p>It is possible that you can do outstanding in one semester, horrible in the next, and still get an invitation. Chances are, the invitation reflects the outstanding semester, because the honor society has yet to receive any kind of notice about the horrible grades. And why would they? They only receive lists of names of people who meet a MINIMUM GPA requirement; if you were on it once and then not again, the invitation still gets sent out for that one time.</p>
<p>They will send follow-up letters, but nine times out of ten, you can ignore the “deadline.” Honor Societies function on PARTICIPATION, which means the more members a university chapter has, the better. Not only does it receive more funding from the school, but it can do more for the community. If you ever get a letter and your “invitation code” has expired, call the Membership line. Someone will almost always be able to assist you.</p>
<p>The lifetime fee is an investment. I can’t begin to calculate all the amazing things I’ve been able to do (and that I have learned) because of the Societies I’m in. For example, in just a few weeks I’ll be traveling to Washington D.C. for the first time, for free, to network with students from around the nation, listen to some top speakers, participate in great workshops, and be a Big Sister to a kid in need in the capitol.</p>
<p>For NSLS specifically, I get access to some of the nation’s top speakers and authors; events that would normally cost $200+ just to get a seat are covered by that one-time fee. I get access to personalized recommendation letters, thousands of dollars in scholarships (if, of course, I apply for them, the same way you have to for any other scholarship), a job bank ONLY for members, one-on-one success coaches, and much more.</p>
<p>I have met loads of friends, traveled, become active on my campus and my community, and learned so much.</p>
<p>These Societies are NOT a scam and I highly recommend you do more thorough research before writing them off.</p>
<p>National Society of Collegiate Scholars - nscs.org
National Society of Leadership & Success - societyleadership.org</p>
<p>For everyone out there wondering about this program. I am a new member. It is a bit different from other honor societies since you do actually have to participate in activities to achieve membership. I can also attest that as a college student about to graduate and job hunting, I have had companies call to confirm my membership. For what its worth individually, I think it is a good program and helpful in many ways. I have not applied pr received any scholarships, am not an officer, and can also say that officers do not get paid. It is strictly volunteer, which I also believe teaches kids something today that is missing in our society.</p>
<p>Again with this – notice again that the only ones who support this organization are first-time posters !!</p>
<p>Of course we’re first time posters. As I mentioned in my post, I only posted here because I found this discussion thread when I was doing a Google search for my Society. What does that have to do with anything?</p>
<p>If you want to find more “proof” of my non-Society related internet activity, there’s loads of it online. Heck, I’ll point you at my Facebook, at my friends in the Society and fellow classmates, at my networking contacts that I’ve met because of it.</p>
<p>Not all of us knew about College Confidential through any other method than stumbling across it when looking for info about our Society. And again, as I’ve said before, I encourage people to properly do their research rather than just taking the word of a few posters in a forum as the end-all, be-all Word. </p>
<p>It’s pretty biased and unfair not to look into the Societies as they are on the campuses you’re looking at, or at least contact those of us that are involved in it and will freely attest to it not being a scam. Like I said, I don’t get paid for all the hard work and time I put into it, but if my word’s not good enough, it’s not impossible to find one of the over 80,000 or so other members from around the country.</p>