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Hey everyone. Just wondering how much, if at all honor societies really boost your application. I'm in two right now but have the opportunity to join the national society of collegiate scholars. Of course, there is always a price to join. So I just wanted to know if you guys thought it would be worth the $100 fee and joining another one and how many more I should consider joining...

no, waste of time, money, and resume space.

Phi Beta Kappa is legit (and several others I presume), but there are a lot of other questionable ones. If you see it on a bunch of law professors' cvs then it might be worthwhile.

do the ones that matter - the ones at your school -for example I was in Pi Sigma Alpha and it had monthly meetings, events, honor cords etc. The fee for that was a 20 dollar one time fee and require a specific GPA. The other ones that you pay a ton of money to be in but have no presence on your campus are a waste

zoomzoom88 wrote:do the ones that matter - the ones at your school -for example I was in Pi Sigma Alpha and it had monthly meetings, events, honor cords etc. The fee for that was a 20 dollar one time fee and require a specific GPA. The other ones that you pay a ton of money to be in but have no presence on your campus are a waste

Yea I'm in Phi Sigma Alpha and was an active member in Phi Theta Kappa my freshman and sophomore years.. So you guys think it doesn't really matter then? It's probably more impressive that I wrote an honors thesis, assisted my professor in writing a book, graduated suma cum laud and graduated with honors in my major (actually says so on my transcript) right?

There was a time when I was invited to join a honor society in exchange for $75. Unfortunately, they may as well have been asking me for a million dollars, so broke I was. Up to a month ago I wished I'd just ponied up and paid it somehow to make my resume look less naked. While I don't know if it impresses admission officers perhaps one day it might impress a recruiter. The long and short of it: pay for it if you can.

StarJammer wrote:While I don't know if it impresses admission officers perhaps one day it might impress a recruiter. The long and short of it: pay for it if you can.

No one will care about scam honor societies like National Society of Collegiate Scholars, ever. Do not pay to join ones like that.

mephistopheles wrote:no, waste of time, money, and resume space.

This.


And

Dany wrote: No one will care about scam honor societies like National Society of Collegiate Scholars, ever. Do not pay to join ones like that.

This.

Get a 170+. The rest (Letters of rec, internships, WE) are secondary. Trust me. I wasted so much time doing that stuff in undergrad when I should have been getting that 4.0 and studying for the LSAT. Don't make the same mistakes as I did. Keep that GPA high and prep for the most important exam of your legal career.

Stuff like this isn't even on the radar.

Appreciate the insight everyone. Looks like I just saved a $100... SCORE!!!

Phi Beta Kappa is generally said to be worth it. Can't speak to the others.

1. The only honor society worth spending $ on is PHI BETA KAPPA (maybe Phi Kappa Phi)

2. Join the honor society for your major


The rest don't matter and are a waste of $, time, and effort

You should be focusing on the LSAT

I know from experience that the National Society of Collegiate Scholars is quite legitimate and quite rewarding.

Being a member might not help you too much if it amounts only to a bullet point on your resume. But the organization offers many opportunities for leadership and community service that are good in themselves, and also make you a more robust law school applicant.

LexLeon wrote:I know from experience that the National Society of Collegiate Scholars is quite legitimate and quite rewarding.

Being a member might not help you too much if it amounts only to a bullet point on your resume. But the organization offers many opportunities for leadership and community service that are good in themselves, and also make you a more robust law school applicant.

LOL - this is a soft no one cares about. do it if you want. but its not going to help your law school admissions chances.

Honor Societies like Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi and major-related honor societies (Phi Theta Alpha for history, for example) are some of the only things you can probably put on your resume for your undergrad education, unless you have some sort of high-caliber publication. National Society of Collegiate Scholars, those "Who's Who" books, and other such honors aren't really on that same list.

Don't do phi alpha delta... was a waste of money... lol. Coulda saved that money if I knew of this website when I joined.

I never joined any society, club, etc. not because I didn't think they are in general worthless but because the ones at my school did nothing but parties I could attend anyway without paying any fees....

I thought it was kinda dumb at the time, but was talked into joining PBK. I'm pretty happy with that decision, would do it again.

I see it on some attorney bios along with Latin honors. Its probably not a big deal tho. Most ppl assume you did well enough in UG to get into your law school without the signalling. I've definitely spent $75 in worse ways.

The thing about PBK is if you get it, you almost certainly got Latin honors that will be more recognizable to the general public (everyone knows what "magna cum laude" means). But the cost is almost nonexistent and it is nice to add an extra line to the resume.

Well my undergrad university is so shitty, they don't even have a chapter of PBK.. I mean I'm sure graduating suma cum laude and winning first place at this university wide research symposium should fill in nicely. No?

Not to hijack the thread, but would it be worth it then too join the major-related societies and if so why?

I can join Phi Alpha Theta, but want to see if its worth it.

For business majors, Beta Gamma Sigma is also considered prestigious. B-school kids are not eligible for Phi Beta Kappa (unless you're a double major).

jrsbaseball5 wrote:Not to hijack the thread, but would it be worth it then too join the major-related societies and if so why?

IMO, being in the honor society for your major benefits you because:

1. you get to interact with your profs (since there usually are meetings/ceremonies);
2. profs usually take into account who is in that honor society. so if you're in one, they will see you in favorable eyes. THEREFORE, better LOR;
3. it makes you look like your interested/enjoy your major;
4. they usually have UG scholarly journals so you can publish shit;
5. sometimes the department pays the fee, so you don't have to spend a dime ;
6. you have a sense of elitism in comparison to your peers in your major.


those are the ones i can think of now.

stillwater wrote:

LexLeon wrote:I know from experience that the National Society of Collegiate Scholars is quite legitimate and quite rewarding.

Being a member might not help you too much if it amounts only to a bullet point on your resume. But the organization offers many opportunities for leadership and community service that are good in themselves, and also make you a more robust law school applicant.

LOL - this is a soft no one cares about. do it if you want. but its not going to help your law school admissions chances.

"[L]eadership and community service": "a soft no one cares about"

Right.

LexLeon wrote:

stillwater wrote:

LexLeon wrote:I know from experience that the National Society of Collegiate Scholars is quite legitimate and quite rewarding.

Being a member might not help you too much if it amounts only to a bullet point on your resume. But the organization offers many opportunities for leadership and community service that are good in themselves, and also make you a more robust law school applicant.

LOL - this is a soft no one cares about. do it if you want. but its not going to help your law school admissions chances.

"[L]eadership and community service": "a soft no one cares about"

Right.

Adcoms might care, but VERY VERY little

Look I mean I'm in the one for my major (poli sci) and another from my days at community college. That should be fine. I was also in College Democrats and student government if that matters