<p>My daughter joined Sigma Alpha Pi at her school this fall. She had to be recommended by a teacher and have a certain gpa. I would not call it a scam.<br>
This is a school sponsored organization at her school and the members are required to actively participate. I checked it out online and here is a list of colleges with chapters:
[Society</a> of Leadership and Success](<a href=“http://www.societyleadership.org/listing]Society”>NSLS Chapters | Search 800+ Chapters Nationwide)</p>
<p>Like some students, a girl I know went off to an OOS college and quickly got caught up in all the social aspects of school. Result: she failed most of her freshman classes and her father made her return home (to attend the local community college). Shortly after arriving home, she received one of these NSCS letters which she laughingly showed her father as “proof” that she wasn’t all bad: she was an “honors student”. So, there appears to be a problem with the standards of candidates to this group. While it may be selective at YOUR college, obviously it’s not consistently selective. Perhaps they based her invite on HS stats but certainly not freshman yr grades.</p>
<p>Regardless. I don’t doubt that this group CAN offer a positive experience and on some campuses, it MAY be the best or only opportunity. At my kids’ colleges, there are more than enough groups for everyone wanting service and leadership opportunities so there’s no need to pay for the opportunity. Perhaps that’s not the case everywhere or perhaps kids LIKE this organization and ARE WILLING to pay to be a part of it (similar to Gold Key and/or other groups). I simply don’t think it’s an “honor” to be part of it or that students will miss out by declining. </p>
<p>Since NSCS offers entry after just one year, it offers EARLY opportunities to become involved in the community and school. I believe posters who say that there are members who work hard, contribute their time and energies and get something out of it. Volunteering is certainly a worthwhile experience and if I joined this group, devoted MY time and $, especially if I advanced to a leadership position, OF COURSE, I would defend my group. </p>
<p>This group is unusual in that they offer entry to kids who just finished their freshman year. The pessimist will say they are casting a wide net (and biggest catch $ wise). What happens to all those students who get this “honor” then do poorly over the next 3 yrs? Do they still list this “honor” on their resume? If students choose NOT to pay the fee, are there kids ignorant enough to list NSCS invitee on their resume? I hope not. Sort of like all those leadership conferences (and People to People, WHo’s Who…) that all 3 of my kids (and someone’s cat I believe) were selected for throughout middle school and HS. Unknowingly, these kids would show their ignorance to a potential employer/grad school admission office. Their website also lists affiliations with groups such as Teach for America, implying that NSCS members will be sought out because of their inclusion in NSCS. BUT my DD didn’t belong to NSCS and she had Teach for America emailing and calling her weekly all spring and they still send her emails now 6 months after graduation. I’m sure it was because she was graduating with Highest Honors and perhaps Teach for America asked the college for a list of top students. So I don’t think paying to be a member of NSCS necessarily gives you advantages listed by NSCS. I think being a top student at college is what provides these opportunities.</p>
<p>But there are some benefits to being part of this group or ANY similar group. The optimist will say the group involves students early on who show promise and are dedicated. The group provides an opportunity for these students to expand their personal development, through service and leadership. Maybe they provide speakers or workshops to their members as part of that fee. Perhaps this group could also work as a support system to help kids maintain high grades, just by associating with and motivating each other. But one has to always keep in mind that there is a cost for this NSCS opportunity that doesn’t exist with other groups offering similar opportunities.</p>
<p>There are MANY ways for students to explore and expand one’s education in positive ways. I think members mistakenly believe the “honor” of being part of NSCS sets them apart in some way so they are willing to pay to participate. Their involvement in service MAY very well set them apart from their peers and they should be proud of those efforts. But there are lots of other groups providing volunteer experiences on college campuses (and they DON"T require you to join within a specified time limit nor pay a fee for this wonderful experience). So, it’s not an honor per se JUST to be a part of NSCS. If you make the most of the opportunities, then your EFFORTS may make you stand out. But YOU would deserve that honor, not the group.</p>
<p>I also noticed that many defenders of this group also list several other honor societies they belong to. I think it could hurt one’s credibility to include a whole list of these “honor” societies on their resume - because how active can one be in multiple groups? Too many honor societies may give the impression that one simply wanted to say they were in the group. Employers already see your GPA and usually the appropriate designation (Highest Honors, High Honors, Honors, etc depending on your college’s criteria) so being part of Honor Society simply based on GPA doesn’t say anything new. But listing volunteer and leadership experience would enhance your resume so if you do list these groups, make sure you have your involvement listed as well.</p>
<p>Apparently College Confidential isn’t the only group questioning NSCS.
[National</a> Society of Collegiate Scholars](<a href=“http://cageyconsumer.com/students/scholars.html]National”>http://cageyconsumer.com/students/scholars.html)</p>
<p>All of the “free” activities were paid for by you and others who joined- does EVERY member get such a great return on their financial investment? There are plenty of other college activities to participate in to show prospective employers and grad depts your worth that don’t require the money and dubious “honor” status.</p>
<p>The Association of College Honor Societies recognizes NSCS as a legitimate honor society, along with many others, including Golden Key, ALD, etc. </p>
<p>Acceptance requires a minimum 3.4 and top 20%. While not the highest level of recognition, still laudable.</p>
<p>URL=<a href=“http://www.achsnatl.org”>http://www.achsnatl.org</a></p>
<p>The fact that a bunch of “honor societies” formed an umbrella organization to recognize one another doesn’t impress.</p>
<p>Back in the day when I was reviewing resumes, the only honor designation that would been considered meaningful was Phi Beta Kappa, which I note is not a member of the Assoc. of College Honor Societies. (I’m sure there are other honor societies that are well-known and well-regarded for specialized areas, like physics, but I didn’t deal with applicants in those fields.) I don’t see the added resume value of membership in an organization based on GPA, when the GPA speaks for itself. I’m also not aware of most colleges designating a top 20%, so don’t see how that can be a part of the qualifications for the Collegiate Scholars group. And how does the Collegiate Scholars learn of these qualifications before offering an invitation? Isn’t this information protected by privacy laws?</p>
<p>I’m apart of my school’s NSCS (at my school at least they are also an official honors organization.) Fortunately my school’s NSCS is active and runs on a point system. They (and Phi Eta Sigma) are good tools for newer students to get involved. They often bring in speakers, hold workshops, and organize volunteer opportunities. Sometimes they send announcements about tools the school Should be sending but doesn’t. I know it’s Phi Eta Sigma who does the tutoring for students during midterms and finals. I think it’s their e-mails (from the local organization) about the volunteer opportunities and workshops I find the most appealing. I think many students use it as another stepping stone to explore their interests.</p>
<p>interesting!
I just receive the invitation and since it’s just scram, I will throw it away.</p>
<p>My son just got an invitation to joint. I found a Facebook page for the chapter at his school (University of Delaware) with an event posted so it doesn’t seem to be a total scam. What’s the membership fee?</p>
<p>We also got the invite for our son to join, here is why we will not be joining even though his school has a chapter. According to their own financial tax records filed for the fiscal year 2007 (the most recent public records on file) the
total income was $5,777,952
total expense was $ 5,023,841</p>
<p>they claim that a majority is spent on program services, but the two programs listed are:</p>
<p>chapter allocations - $1,339,332
and membership - $2,872,574 this includes mailings to members and web site and brochures printed encouraging members to attend conferences (not any real service that I can see)</p>
<p>they did give out scholarships this year for a total of $102,313 (the most of them were for under $1000, but there were 6 at $5,000 and 53 at $1000)</p>
<p>the executive director had a salary of $137,288 (that is more than the scholarship line) </p>
<p>This is all public information from the agencies 990 report as listed on Guidestar.com the web site that monitors not-for-profits.</p>
<p>This is my first post here but it was because of the other posts on this site that I joined it is very valuable information, thank you</p>
<p>My son also just got an invite form University of Delaware. I was going to join, but thought it funny thaat they were asking for the $75 membership fee. My son was the President of the Big Apple Region of the Bnai Brith Youth Organization so I know the incredible benefits there are to be apart of a group that encourages leadership and community involvement. However the posts to wait to see about other honor societies that do not ask for fees and may be looked upon more highly because they do not smell from SCAM does make sense. I think I will hold onto my money and see if my son is invited to other societies.</p>
<p>Bump</p>
<p>–</p>
<p>The Association of College Honor Societies recognizes NSCS as a legitimate honor society, along with many others, including Golden Key, ALD, etc. </p>
<p>Acceptance requires a minimum 3.4 and top 20%. While not the highest level of recognition, still laudable.</p>
<p>URL=<a href=“http://www.achsnatl.org”>http://www.achsnatl.org</a> </p>
<p>–</p>
<p>My son is a rising senior, and is also a member of two other honor societies (both with lower baseline acceptance criteria). The chapter at his university is very active and offers a large variety of academic, career, and social service opportunities. </p>
<p>I believe that any proven accolade that exposes my son to learn experiences and networking opportunities…and that reinforces his self-esteem…is a good thing. I encouraged him to join…and gladly wrote this pittance of a check.</p>
<p>And, it is my understanding that colleges and universities routinely supply lists of students meeting the acceptance criteria of most honoraries. It is commonplace.</p>
<p>Per the privacy laws I can’t get my own child’s academic info from her college without her consent–how can the colleges divulge this info to a bunch of self-designated honor societies?</p>
<p>Orangeblossom, if membership in this organization makes your son feel good, and it’s an active club at his school, all of which is worth the cost to you, that’s fine–but it doesn’t change the fact that it is not seen as a meaningful accolade to third parties (grad schools, prospective employers, etc.) and shouldn’t be mistaken for one, despite its lofty name. As for whether it’s a “legitimate” honor society, we could argue all day about the meaning of that term. It is what it is–a non-exclusive entity that confers no meaningful honor and has finances that are not terribly admirable.</p>
<p>MommaJ - Please let me know how you <em>really</em> feel. It is what it is…an honor based on established criteria…that in and of itself is meaningful. One that lets the student know he or she has accomplished something of merit. One that builds self-esteem. One that offers benefits to the conferee. And $75 is truly a pittance. And all honor societies are non-exclusive entities. It is my strongly held opinion that one works hard and succeeds to please him or herself, not to curry favor with others. Using your “gold” standard, why try at all unless the outcome is sheer perfection? Why would I ever put my dignity and self-esteem in someone else’s hands? I’m not sure I understand why you place such extreme importance on exclusivity and are so distainful of the others.</p>
<p>Orangeblossom, I could start an honor society to recognize students who don’t get thrown out of college first semester of freshman year–The National Society of Persevering Collegiates. It would pass your test of “established criteria”, but be totally meaningless nonetheless. So merely having criteria that doesn’t seem to be the way to judge the worth of NSCS or an any other self-proclaimed honor society. If someone fully understands exactly what NSCS is and is not and then decides to join, great for them. All the posters here want to convey is that the standards for entry are not high and the membership likely means nothing to an employer or educational institution. Those may be important factors to a prospective member who is otherwise dazzled by the impressive name. (As someone who frequently hired college grads, GPA, awards from the college itself and honor societies sponsored or generally recognized by the academic world were all that mattered to me in determining merit–I would have given zero weight to NSCS and its brethren, and I doubt I’m alone in that). So, I post merely as a caveat emptor to the many, many students who receive these solicitations and may give membership far more meaning than is warranted. On a personal level, I know if my kids (who did not qualify for traditional honor society membership) had received an NSCS solicitation in the mail (I have no idea if they did), they would have tossed it without a second thought. They didn’t need a third party to remind them of their GPA’s. Other students may feel differently.</p>
<p>MommaJ - With all due respect, who cares whether you or anyone else would give merit to someone who was a member of NSCS or ALD or Alpha Phi Sigma or any other honor society. The honor is for the recipient. It is a Kodak moment. It marks the attainment of a goal. In life, you work to please yourself…to achieve your own goals. I never gave much credence to an applicant’s academic credentials, etc. Top alma maters do not ensure top performers…in fact, I’ve found the opposite to often be true. While you claim that your post is “merely…a caveat emptor to the many, many students who receive these solicitieations and may given membership far more meaning that is warranted,” it really is highly judgmental and elitist and steals the need for self-validation that some of these honors confer. Believe in yourself…succeed in life. Who gives a hoot what others think!? And, using your criteria for establishing an honorary, then even Phi Beta Kappa wouldn’t pass muster.</p>
<p>Orangeblssom, please look back at the original post in this thread. The OP wanted to know if joining was “worth it”, expressed concerns about building a resume, and didn’t seem to feel at all honored by the NSCS invite. The consensus of opinion here (not merely mine) is that joining NSCS is not worth the cost because invitations automatically issue from a suspect organization to multitudes of freshmen based solely on GPA and class rank and membership adds zero to a resume. (If you generally disregard applicants’ academic credentials, you must at least agree that NSCS membership is not a resume plus.) Your position seems to be that membership is a personal ego builder and valuable for that alone. I, on the other hand, don’t understand why a student who already knows he has a 3.4 GPA and is in the top 20% of his class would feel extra special about paying $75 for certificate from a third party that merely confirms that status. However, some posters in addition to yourself have explained that NSCS has a very active presence at certain schools (though that certainly appears to be the exception). In those cases membership may indeed offer more than a personal “Kodak moment”. So I would amend the consensus opinion as follows: Unless your own campus happens to have an active chapter that can serve your needs, joining NSCS is not worth the cost because invitations automatically issue from a suspect organization to multitudes of freshmen based solely on GPA and class rank and membership adds zero to a resume.</p>
<p>I will comment no further on your obviously hardened and jaded stance.</p>
<p>However, the invitations are not just spontaneously generated…they come about as a result of info sent by the participating schools to the organization. This has been confirmed by my son’s university.</p>
<p>I signed dd up for the scholarship opportunities. Well worth $75 membership if $1000 scholarship for new members is offered. dd was on dean’s list 2/3 quarters this school year and she was also invited to join school honoraries.</p>
<p>It seems from looking at all the comments here, the organization’s websites, and the article from Dennison, that it falls in the gray area between legit and scam. It seems legit in the sense that the student does receive some training for his or her $75. However, the website goes to great lengths to imply that it carries with it a great deal of prestige, and that will benefit the student in some way down the road. I highly doubt this is true. Consider this quote from the website,
“Core Philosophy: One can achieve their dreams with proper support and dedicated action. We help people realize their dreams and change the world in the process.” Warm. Fuzzy. Ungrammatical. Extremely vague. Could one not say the whole college experience could be defined this way?
Most informative are the notes that Rembrandt shares. The organization seems to exist to pay the executive director a hefty salary. The whole thing seems like an elaborate marketing scheme for selling a service, ie, leadership and success training. That’s a very vague commodity. If the activities make your student feel energized and self confident, then maybe it’s worth $75 to you. On the other hand, you could encourage your darling sons and daughters to find other college activities that will teach leadership skills and save the $75.<br>
They may not be such low level scam artists that they’ll take your money and run, but the value of what they’re selling is extremely subjective, and I would not hold my breath for much in the way of scholarship money. Prestige is a very elusive commodity.</p>
<p>Well reasoned, MommaJ, it’s nice to see a thoughtful, calm and articulate post.*</p>
<p>I received my letter a few days ago from the National Society of Leadership and Success (as well as the following reminders), and I don’t plan on joining. My opinion is that I don’t feel like paying 75 dollars for something I can get for free - social interaction is great, but you don’t need to pay money to meet people - especially in college. The speaker series would be cool if there were interesting speakers, but as far as I can tell on the NSLS website all the speakers are “motivational” and not academic. Encouragement is nice but, again, you can get it without paying 75 dollars, either from your friends, family, or even a motivational poster. I guess another valuable aspect is name recognition - The National Society of Leadership and Success looks awesome but if no one has heard of it and no potential school/employer places any importance on it then it’s just nice to be associated with something that sounds so cool, but doesn’t have any importance outside of your pride (and like someone said earlier, you can just look at your own grades and know you rock, rather than paying 75 big ones).</p>
<p>So that just leaves the t-shirt, pin and plaque (I find it funny how on one line of the NSLS FAQ page it admonishes societies for touting “material things” and yet three lines later it boasts about t-shirts, certificates, etc). Now a t-shirt might be cool, but I think I could probably find one for less than $75. That just leaves the pin and certificate of membership, both proclaiming your membership in this society. This is so if, while walking to the grocer, say, you think to yourself “Hmm, wasn’t I a member in something?” you can just look down at you lapel, see the pin, and remember about that awesome achievement you paid for!</p>