<p>S2 was invited to join Tau Beta Pi. It looks like a legit organization. Does anyone have experience with this group? </p>
<p>It’s pretty big at Michigan. My GPA wasn’t high enough to join (this is the most selective one at Michigan) but I joined department specific honors societies. In general they’re all mostly the same. There’s some “free” food and some social activities, but I don’t think it has actual employer draw. One thing they might do is have information sessions for companies but that’s it. If he feels the social activities are worth the joining fee and the service hours when electing, then tell him to do it. If not, tell him not to. Its only value is apparent on the surface. </p>
<p>It is the National Engineering Honor Society and only the top students are invited to join. It is legitimate. Son joined and was on the board at his U. I think it looks good to potential employees/internships. Neither of my sons joined other honor societies in college as they had little or no meaning overall (money maker for someone?).</p>
<p>I know what you mean. With our oldest we fell for the “honor” society gimmick freshman year. I know engineering kids don’t have a lot of extra time, but I hope he joins. I agree that it may attract the attention of future employers and hopefully introduce him to some engineering kids outside of his Electrical E major as he seems to spend all his time with the same group. </p>
<p>I know this thread has been inactive for a while but I was wondering if anyone has anything to add about the value of joining. My S just got an invitation to attend the information session and initially blew it off as another scam organization but I encouraged him to attend. He is already quite active on campus but this one does sound like a real honor, is it worth it?</p>
<p>Without a doubt, it is not a scam organization. TBP is pretty well recognized and only the top students get invited. That said, I did it in and never really got anything out of it (but never really put much into it either). For me, I just never had time (married with a child) and any extra time I had was spent in undergraduate research.</p>
<p>It’s not a scam and I did join when I was in college. I just don’t remember what value it brought to me.</p>
<p>To use Tau Beta Pi and “scam” in the same sentence is about as ridiculous as saying Phi Beta Kappa and “scam” in the same sentence. I say that in all seriousness because Tau Beta Pi is, for all intents and purposes, the engineering counterpart to Phi Beta Kappa. Whereas PBK, the oldest national honor society, only excepts liberal arts majors, TBP, the second oldest national honor society, only excepts engineering majors.</p>
<p>That said, an inactive chapter may not bring much benefit to the student. At my own particular chapter we have alumni come back to specifically recruit for Microsoft, Schlumberger, Northrop, Booz-Allen, IBM, etc. That said, the real reason I joined is the people. The students at my chapter are a breath of fresh air. They are friendly, helpful, serious and hard working yet fun and relaxed. One of the things that has been a genuinely pleasant surprise both with TBP and my major specific honor societies is that the people acing engineering, at least in these groups, are super nice and altruistic. The reason I joined my major specific society was that our main objective was offering free tutoring the underclassmen in the major. With TBP, we’re constantly going out with our MindSET program to inspire younger students to pursue a STEM field of study.</p>
<p>Ancillary reasons for joining:
Our lounge in the engineering building is a convenient staging area for classes where I can study, sleep, and eat meals.
Networking opportunities. I’ve already met an alumni in my field that has been a great contact to have. As well one of the grad student members is also my TA for a class, so it’s nice to be able to chat with him outside of office hours.</p>
<p>Of course people can make friends and go to happy hours with any group on campus, I just really liked carving out my niche with fellow “nerds.”</p>
<p>Yes, it is most definitely and old and legit organization. (To me very different from questionable things such as “Who is Who in American High Schools”). </p>
<p>It would vary from school to school. But when I joined 30 years ago the only down side was the cost of the dues. At our college there was an option in cases of hardship to defer dues until after graduation. </p>
<p>I joined. Although I cannot cite any definite advantage, I have no regrets. They still send me the magazine, and before we started paying college bills I occasionally donated. </p>
<p>Ah yes @colorado_mom reminded me, TBP also offers scholarships for undergrad seniors and fellowships for grad school (example bios: <a href=“http://www.tbp.org/memb/FellowsBios/2014-15.pdf”>http://www.tbp.org/memb/FellowsBios/2014-15.pdf</a>)</p>
<p>I joined TBP back in the dark ages when I was an undergrad. I even became an officer of the group, and helped organize activities. It was something to put on my resume when I was job hunting for the first time. I see no reason not to do it, unless the fees are a real problem. </p>
<p>My dad was so proud of belonging to TBP that he put the Greek letters on his class ring that he always wore. When I was a kid, I thought that was so cool! When I decided to go into engineering, I decided I was going to do the same thing. And I did! 
If you get in as a junior, that is even more impressive, and you should include that fact on your resume. </p>
<p>Thank you all for clarifying. I’m not sure whether he will join, cost isn’t the limiting factor but time may be. He at least has a heads up to pay attention to this one.</p>
<p>Mainelonghorn, I was going to send you a PM but I can’t figure out how to do it .</p>
<p>At my school, TBP took minimal time (except for students that opted to run for the leadership positions). I think maybe two evening meetings (business attire) per semester.</p>
<p>I don’t know what is typical and what is required once you join but at S’s school there is a “pledge” protocol. This includes attending 4 events within the pledge period (I don’t know how long that is), polishing a “personal bent”, going through an interview, and passing an exam. I don’t know how much of that is a formality or if a student might do all that and get denied. Either way it sounds like a significant time investment especially when combined with a tough course load and other committments. S has decided to attend the informational meeting. </p>
<p>Oh… I forgot about polishing the TBP bent (metal emblem). Some people did spend a lot of time on that. I did not. </p>
<p>So are these things formalities or in your experience do they reject kids even if they jump through all of the hoops? Nice to know you don’t have to go too crazy with the bent. There is a fairly detailed PDF about materials needed and how to do it.</p>
<p>I don’t remember spending a lot of time and whatever happened to the metal emblem. So I think it must not be time consuming.</p>
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<p>From what I remember of the honor societies, all students who met the academic criteria to be invited and completed the “hoops” (minor service projects and the like – nothing that can even remotely be seen as hazing) became members.</p>
<p>At my school there were two people last semester who had made it all the way to the exam and were not elected. That said, it really isn’t that hard. I think I committed 15 hours over a period of two months outside my normal school schedule, and that was more than what was required.</p>