So I got an invitation to join, endorsed by my university in the mail yesterday.
I a) don’t know the benefits of an ‘honour society’ (being in Australia, I don’t think honour societies are as recognised than in the U.S.) and b) get a bit of a scam vibe from the promotional material, and joining fee of AU$ 95.00.
I admit I’m totally clueless though, so could anyone tell me about their experiences with this organisation? It appears to be involved with many tertiary education institutions in the U.S. Should I follow up on it or just throw out the letter and buy the Deadwood box set? (And of course continue to study hard )
For what it’s worth, Wikipedia suggests that you aren’t the only one with doubts about Golden Key. The whole thing sounds like a shabby knockoff of Phi Beta Kappa (founded 1776), which, as you may be aware, is known for its members’ habit of wearing gold Phi Beta Kappa keys.
I got those offers a few times while doing my last degree. I threw them all in the bin.
I asked some of our graduates here once what the attraction was in being a member. Basically the answer seemed to be that “it looked good on your resumé”.
I’m a US member, and while Golden Key is not a scam, it’s not very beneficial either. When I was an undergrad, I had a scholarship that among other things paid for honor society fees. So for me, the price wasn’t a factor.
Golden Key had a fairly strong presence on my college campus. It brought in speakers, held fund raisers, and sponsored several volunteer programs. You didn’t have to be a member to participate in most of those things, though. I volunteered a lot for one of their programs, but didn’t really attend any meetings. (Unlike some other honor societies, Golden Key doesn’t require you to attend a minimum number of meetings or volunteer a specific amount of time to remain a member.)
As a member, you get access to Golden Key Rewards, which is a shopping program. There are some pretty good discounts, but I’ve never taken advantage of them. You can also access CareerLink, which is a job message board. There are a bunch of scholarships too, but the likelihood of getting one is pretty small. Some other things include international conferences and study abroad programs (really fancy, but expensive).
Like Cunctator said, the major reason why people join honor societies is just to put something on the resume. It’s also good for networking, especially if you attend a lot of meetings or take on a leadership position. Otherwise, at least in my school, being a member did not make much of a difference.
I found some other articles online as well as other discussions that basically come to the same conclusions. I don’t think I’ll join up in any case. Thanks for your replies.
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