Honor Societies

[bookreader]

Is it worth it to join an honor society?

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.

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).

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

Thanks in advance.
Mary

[dntw8up]

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.

[jmmom]

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.

[lindz0722]

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.


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).

[TimeCruncher]

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.

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.

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.

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

[rocketman08]

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.

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.'

[bookreader]

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'.

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

Thanks in advance!

[TimeCruncher]

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.