I'm graduating, have a full time offer and am interested in going to a top business school in several years. I have already joined Phi Kappa Phi (top 10 percent of class) and Golden Key (top 15 percent of class). I have many other undergrad extracurriculars.
I just received an invite to Beta Gama Sigma (top 10 percent of business students). This seems useless to me to join another honor society, but money isn't a factor, will this help at all? Or is this even something you would list on your b-school app.? Thanks for any responses.
Which Honors Societies Are Worth It?
Our users generally believe that the only honors societies that are worth buying into are Pi Beta Kappa, Tau Beta Pi, Beta Gamma Sigma, and Golden Key.
PBK - liberal arts; Tau Beta Pi - engineering; Beta Gamma Sigma -- businessOthers are useless, the above indicate top of respective field, and are well-known.
User @PiperJaffrayChiang" noted that the Golden Key Society is worthwhile as well.
Wow definitely go with golden key, you have to be elite in college to get their invitation. I didn't even receive an invitation, but I know so many baller people who did! That combined with MBB offer is pretty much a sure shot at b-school. You'll find lots of people in gk at MBB and they even have a subgroup like they have with womens and diversity groups. Just remember to smile and say "golden key" with a wink and they'll nod with fond nostalgia.
College Honor Societies and Applying to Business School
Some users feel that none of these honor societies will be significant when applying to business school, especially if you have had a top consulting or banking experience.
One big freakin' scam if you ask me. There might be a couple of ivy-level honor societies that are worth it for networking purposes, but other than that save your $70 annual fee and invest it in a GMAT book - that'll help your b-school chances more than some lame title.
User @wintonheights" shared that they denoted it on their application:
In filling out my bschool apps i recall HBS and SGSB asking for awards and honors. so i guess youll have something for those sections if you cough up the dough. i used PBK and BGS there and had some other scholarships to fill in the difference, shrug. see if you can get your parents to pay and then send home the certificates for them to hang up at home. after that the option to use or not use them is up to you, but i really dont think its a make or break MBA data point.
User @rufiolove", an investment banking vice president, shared that it is not worthwhile:
Those societies are largely bullshit and they are just a means to extract money from high achieving students who don't get much benefit from them apart from a resume line. If I were you I would just put XYZ Honor Society Nominee. It's factually correct and not misleading because you are stating that you were nominated for the honor but you are not claiming membership. If someone asks you about it just say something like "I was nominated to join an organization reserved for the top x% of my graduating class."
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Also interested in this.
Only honor societies worth joining are Phi Beta Kappa or Beta Gamma Sigma.
Edited: The other one was Beta Gama Sigma, hard to keep em straight.
anything other than PBK is a waste of space.
PBK is only for liberal arts majors... as a Finance major it is out of my scope.
PBK - liberal arts; Tau beta pi - engineering; beta gamma sigma -- business
Others are useless, the above indicate top of respective field, and are well-known.
Agreed with the above. Less is more here.
I find it disconcerting that there are so many honor societies out there.
Beta Gamma Sigma is the equivalent of Phi Beta Kappa for liberal arts students. Many others you will get invited to are either school-specific or unknown nationally.
Beta Gamma Sigma is known very well, however. It applies at both the undergrad and graduate level.
Phi Beta Kappa (Lib Arts) Beta Gamma Sigma (business) Omicron Delta Kappa (Leadership) Phi Kappa Phi (top 10%)
probably the only 4 you could every want.
Are Honor Societies worth it? (Originally Posted: 03/15/2010)
I'm a college senior and I have the opportunity to join "Golden Key" which is an honor society that invited the top 15% of a class to join. I don't think my GPA is high enough for Phi Beta Kappa.
I already have a job with MBB, but I want to know if this will help with getting into a top MBA program.
Any thoughts? Is it PBK or go home or is any honor society you can put down worth the fee?
Same question, same situation, but Omicron Delta Epsilon...something for Econ majors...I turned it down, because no one really cares, right?
wow definitely go with golden key, you have to be elite in college to get their invitation. I didn't even receive an invitation, but I know so many baller people who did! That combined with MBB offer is pretty much a sure shot at b-school. You'll find lots of people in gk at MBB and they even have a subgroup like they have with womens and diversity groups. Just remember to smile and say "golden key" with a wink and they'll nod with fond nostalgia.
the usefulness of honor societies drops to zero after PBK imo. everyone knows that one. i think your gpa speaks for itself otherwise. i was suckered into NSCS, BGS and ODE before i realized this and asked myself whats the point? after that i told everyone else to shove it - including golden key.
i mean they send stuff on email from time to time so i guess if you work it you can network with the other alumni at the events they set up, and maybe if its an honor society in your major that helps highlight you excellence there, but to be honest i dont even list those other three on my resume anymore.
One big freakin' scam if you ask me. There might be a couple of ivy-level honor societies that are worth it for networking purposes, but other than that save your $70 annual fee and invest it in a GMAT book - that'll help your b-school chances more than some lame title.
Definitely worth it. They gave me a piece of paper saying I'm a member, which my mom put in a frame and put on my old bedroom wall, right next to all my old Honor Roll Certificates, Certificates of Participation in tennis & band, and the Who's Who book of High School Class of '03.
Plus everybody gets together and takes a group photo that you can buy a copy of!
i got so fired up i didnt see your other question.
in filling out my bschool apps i recall HBS and SGSB asking for awards and honors. so i guess youll have something for those sections if you cough up the dough. i used PBK and BGS there and had some other scholarships to fill in the difference, shrug. see if you can get your parents to pay and then send home the certificates for them to hang up at home. after that the option to use or not use them is up to you, but i really dont think its a make or break MBA data point.
Waste of time and money in my humble opinion
even phi beta kappa?
i think it will matter in the long run when you apply to B-schools, because they look for something more academic, beyond banking...
Honor Societies (Originally Posted: 02/21/2012)
Can you only list them if you join? Can you put invited to ___________?
Don't know if i wanna cough up this membership fee...
Those societies are largely bullshit and they are just a means to extract money from high achieving students who don't get much benefit from them apart from a resume line. If I were you I would just put XYZ Honor Society Nominee. It's factually correct and not misleading because you are stating that you were nominated for the honor but you are not claiming membership. If someone asks you about it just say something like "I was nominated to join an organization reserved for the top x% of my graduating class."
Thanks. I am only a freshman so we are not talking about Phi Beta Kappa or Beta Gamma Sigma - it is relatively unknown. I think they sent one to everybody who made the dean's list.
Just looking for anything to add to this white space on my resume..
The ones that contact you from outside your university are generally scams. If you're looking for things to include, jump in with some clubs and definitely try to arrange for a part time internship, either for credit or even just unpaid - this sort of thing goes a really long way towards demonstrating interest in the field.
I paid membership dues to Phi Beta Kappa, because why the hell not? Any "honor society" that sends you a letter after your first semester is probably 90% scam, 10% small scholarships.
I did Beta Gamma Sigma, declined Golden Key. No idea if either have been/would have been worth it.
i think phi beta kappa is the only legit one.
The campus secret/senior/honor societies usually are much more beneficial than the generic national ones. I did Phi Eta Sigma, the freshmen honor society, and it was pretty much useless... I had forgot I was in it until I found the pin in my closet last week.
Honor Society Opinions (Originally Posted: 05/18/2016)
Since there hasn't been a recent discussion about honor societies...I will take the liberty to create one. Are all honor societies a scam? If not, what honor societies are worth the money? How are honor societies viewed when listed on a resume? Wouldn't a solid GPA just confirm that a candidate received a dozen or so invites to these honor societies?
Thanks in advance.
a thread hasn't be written about this as the answer is obvious
All of those "Greek" letter societies that solicit new members throughout the year are a total waste in my opinion. When we see resumes that have a few of those listed off we typically think "what a tool."
The only one that deserves a place on your resume is Phi Beta Kappa (in addition to including any latin honors you graduate with). To me, PBK is the only universal symbol (at American universities) that eloquently signals you 1) crushed your classes and 2) actually did some interesting/challenging coursework. Unfortunately, based on my own college experience, you don't get the invite until right before graduation, so it won't help you for SA recruiting during junior year or FT recruiting after your internship. It can always help later on though -- a principal at the PE shop I am heading to was PBK at my university and actually brought it up during my final-round interview.
Cautionary note: if you're joining one of those honor societies because they are community service focused and community service is very important to you, then I would make an exception. Just make sure to include a bullet or two on that (i.e., signal you are part of the organization because you got to coordinate/volunteer at X, Y, and Z events) rather than just listing the honor society's name in your "Activities" line assuming the reviewer has any clue what that organization is.
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