to join or not to join?

[chideltjen]

hey all,

i am going to be graduating soon and have always had academics be a top priority in my life. I received some information on an Honor Society, Phi Kappa Phi, in the mail and had some questions...

Is it really worth it to be involved with an honorary greek org? I am a design major and don't plan on attending grad school, so scholarships for that purpose are pretty pointless.
Is anyone involved in one currently that maybe can give me some better benefits than the lil brochure can?

[MoxieGrrl]

It looks good on a resume!

[kddani]

Honestly, as a person who was a member of:
Phi Eta Sigma, Golden Key, Order of Omega, Mortar Board, ODK, etc. - most really aren't worth it. I joined a lot of them to look good on my law school transcripts. I could've joined about 20 more, after sophomore year I was really particular with with I joined.

The departmental honoraries basically mean jack, unless you'd be applying to a grad school, which you're not.

The only one that will pay off for me possibily is ODK, which is a leadership honor society and is pretty highly respected. When I look up attorneys in Martindale-Hubble, it will list ODK with their professional memberships.

My advice would be to see if they're going to offer any activities which would be beneficial to you.

I have joined a law school fraternity- Phi Alpha Delta, because they have offered a lot of activities that have been beneficial to me- guest speakers, alumni networking, advice for exams, etc. I'm also now an officer

But if you don't think membership is going to be worth it, take that $60 (or whatever) membership fee and go buy yourself a pair of shoes or something!

[Kevin]

Name recognition should play into your decision somewhat. Phi Beta Kappa is a good Idea... Pi Eta Sigma (I think that's a Communication honor fraternity) probably wouldn't help you much.

[RockChalk]

I agree with kddani. There are two reasons to join a departmental honorary:

1. To meet more people in your major.

2. To pad a grad school app.

Since there were over 1000 people in my major and I wanted to go to grad school, I went ahead and joined my department's honorary. Had neither #1 nor #2 applied, I doubt I'd have bothered, since most of the stuff my honorary did was grad-school-related

[breathesgelatin]

I'd say ODK and Phi Beta Kappa would be the ones to join, if you are selected. They seem to actually mean more.

ODK was founded at Washington and Lee!!

[AOIIsilver]

I have a different perspective about the value of Greek-letter Honor societies.

My membership in several honor societies, inluding those specific to the freshman year, has been the deciding factor in being accepted and financing my graduate programs. I would encourage you to consider membership. You never know when a freshman honor society is the source of funding for a graduate degree...over a decade after your initiation.....

Silver

[Little E]

what is ODK?

[breathesgelatin]

ODK is Omicron Delta Kappa. It is a national honorary fraternity recognizing outstanding leadership and scholarship.

[Little E]

do schools have chapters on their campus or how does it work? we just got rho lambda and order of omega...

[breathesgelatin]

Yes, schools have chapters. ODK differs from Rho Lambda and Order of Omega (we have O of O here too) because it is an honorary society for any qualified student, social greek or not.

I *think* that ODK may be somewhat like Phi Beta Kappa in that it is primarily at more academically recognized schools. Could be wrong, though.

I am a member of Phi Eta Sigma, a freshmen honorary. It's kinda fun.

[Little E]

wow, beloit is supposed to be all academic like and what not, (ok so we're not harvard, but we're competitive) who knows. Thanks for answering my questions though! We are so small, that is probably why, everyone is over committed

[breathesgelatin]

www.odk.org has a listing of all the chapters by state, as well as the selection requirements...