If you’re going to college, you have already proven that you are dedicated to your education and growing your knowledge. And if academic excellence is your goal, joining an honor society is a great way to meet other brilliant students and build toward a prosperous future.
But with so many honor societies out there, it can be difficult to choose the right one for you. You need to find an honor society that is legitimate, fits your needs and offers great benefits to students and alumni.
In this article, we’ll go over how to choose the best honor society for you and tips you should use to find your honor society.
Find Legitimate Honor Societies
Your first step in choosing your honor society should be making sure that it is legitimate. Unfortunately, there are plenty of scam honor societies out there that are looking to take your money any way they can. There are steps you can take to ensure that these honor societies are legitimate.
Find an Honor Society With A Mission
Most collegiate honor societies will have a detailed mission available for your review. Using Google and the internet, you should be able to find the mission of the organization easily.
Check the Requirements
Reputable honor societies will always have requirements for their members. While these can range from where they land on the GPA scale, all the way through adhering to the core values or character traits that make them ideal members, these will often be listed somewhere on their website.
Check Their Website
You should always check out the website of an honor society to make sure they are legitimate. Reputable honor societies will always have additional information about them on their site, including headquarters locations, staff members, rules, policies, and membership fees.
You should also check their website to make sure they are a recognized non-profit company. Typically, if it is good society to join, they will have a Foundation or scholarship program available to their members and students.
Be Wary of Rumors
Listening to word-of-mouth commentary regarding honor societies is always good, but we recommend that students do their research before listening to what other people have to say. Check an honor society’s website, reviews, etc.
If you are invited to a legitimate honor society, they will send you an invitation once or twice. Most honor societies will rely on you to follow up if you wish to join. Sometimes, you may receive multiple invitations, particularly on yearly basis as you move up through your class status.
See if the Honor Society Is Affiliated with Your College
The final step in determining if the honor society is the right one for you is checking their affiliation with your college. Many honor societies are national organizations and may not be affiliated with your university. Sometimes, students may even have the opportunity to create a chapter on campus!
Check the honor societies website to see if they are affiliated with your university. You can also check their staff member page. Look for any advisors from your university or college. If you spot members that are advisors or professors at your college, or a nearby college, you can rest assured the society is a good one to join.
Research Honor Society Benefits
Once you’ve determined the legitimacy of potential honor societies, you need to do some research on the benefits they offer. It is important to choose an honor society that not only offers benefits to students but offers benefits to alumni as well.
Benefits for Students
The most important aspect of an honor society is the benefits it offers to students, and this should be your primary concern. Ideally, the honor society you choose should offer you the chance to grow academically through unique learning opportunities and give you social experience through group activities as well.
A good honor society should offer students a number of opportunities to grow as a person. This includes leadership opportunities, the chance to meet new people, attend social events, attend field-specific study groups, and much more.
You should also ensure that the honor society offers tangible, real-world benefits as well. These include discounts at certain companies, scholarship competitions, and study abroad opportunities. These honor societies also offer discounts on test prep for tests like the ACT and MCAT. They can also offer discounts on dining and health plans as well.
Benefits for Alumni
While honor societies are often designed to help students, many honor societies also have benefits for alumni. While these may not be as extensive as benefits for students, they can still be very helpful and have a big impact.
Benefits for alumni usually involve assistance with life after college. This usually takes the form of internship opportunities and benefits earned due to networking within the society. For example, applying for a job with a company whose CEO is part of your honor society will give you a big advantage.
The biggest benefit for alumni is their ability to put their membership on their resume. This shows potential employers that they were committed to academic excellence in their college career and earned good grades as well.
Choosing a prestigious, well-connected society that can help you after you graduate is very important to getting the most out of your honor society.
Final Considerations Before Joining
Before making your final decision to join an honor society, you should make some final considerations. Every honor society has a fee that you must pay to join the society. These fees are usually used to cover the cost of the benefits supplied to you.
You should review this fee and determine whether it is a lifetime fee, annual fee, or if the honor society charges chapter or national fees.
You should also review the time requirements of the society. Some societies require regular attendance and participation in their events. If you don’t have the time to actively participate in an honor society, you may need to keep looking.
Join the Best Honor Society for You
Now that you know more about choosing an honor society, you can find the best honor society for you at your campus.
If you have any questions about honor societies or choosing the right one for you, please visit our blog.
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