It’s a huge achievement to perform well academically in college. It requires a tremendous amount of self-discipline and dedication to maintain a high GPA, due to the fast pace and extensive amount of material covered in every class. There’s no denying that achieving good grades in college is a great accomplishment, and that is why a lot of high-achieving students are going to end up attracting the attention of online and campus-based honor societies.
There are several reasons why it is a good idea to join an honor society, and it’s a dream for many students. If you’ve been given a membership to join an honor society, here are some of the main reasons why you must grab this chance with both hands.
1. Meet New People
One of the main reasons why you should join an honor society is because you’re given the chance to meet a lot of new people. You will be meeting with other students that are dedicated as much as you and will also share similar academic goals to yours. You’ll get the chance to form lots of friendships, while you will also be introduced to people, who will motivate you to keep performing to the best of your abilities in your academics.
2. Give Your Resume a Boost
Scoring a high GPA speaks for itself, but you can give your resume a bigger boost by joining an honor society. Employers tend to search for job applicants, who have been involved in extracurricular activities in college, and your employment appeal is boosted if you’re a part of an honor society.
However, you shouldn’t join an honor society, only because you want your resume to look good since employers are also going to want proof that you were an active member of society. Your honor society membership is going to appear less impressive if you didn’t participate actively in it.
3. Obtain Member Benefits
Most honor societies will provide exclusive benefits to all members in exchange for a membership fee, which may include opportunities to study abroad, access to job banks, and scholarships. Some honor societies also give out lifetime memberships, with permanent access to job banks, and a host of different membership benefits.
4. Connect with Leaders
When you’re starting your job search, you can give yourself a great head start by networking with national, local, and international leaders. Most colleges provide networking opportunities and job fairs to all students, but honor societies give additional opportunities for networking to all members. A lot of honor societies hold networking events that members can attend, which will allow employers and leaders to recognize how committed you are as a student before they even look at your resume.
5. Celebrate Your Accomplishments
When you’ve put in the effort and the time to earn a high GPA, you should become a member of an honor society to recognize your accomplishments. You’ll get the chance to enjoy a memorable and rewarding experience, which you’ll remember for life when you finally receive your membership certificate and acceptance letter from an honor society.
What You Should Consider Before Joining an Honor Society
There are several things you must consider when you’re thinking about joining an honor society. You’ll have no shortage of invitations to different societies that will be promising connections and lifelong achievements to you. There are so many different options available to you that it may confuse you to make the right choice. Luckily for you, we have done the research and found compiled a list of the qualities you should be looking for before you join an honor society. Here’s what you should consider:
· The GPA
The most prestigious honor societies will have a minimum GPA of 3.5, and you should be skeptical of a society’s merit if it says ‘rolling-enrollment’ or ‘open-enrollment’.
· Clear Purpose
You want to ensure that you’ll be making an impact when you’re joining an honor society. It’s not going to be worth joining the society if it’s only focused on socializing and people coming together.
· The History
Reputable and impactful honor societies have been around for decades and what makes them stand apart is their legacy. You can easily learn about the history of an honor society with an online search, but if you’re can’t find any information online regarding the society, you should be wary.
· Reputable Advisors
If you manage to recognize the advisor’s name, it’s a good sign, because it means that they’re a part of your college and don’t come from an external organization. You can conduct a basic search to find out more information about the advisor if you don’t recognize their name.
· Desperation
It may appear strange to you, but if an honor society keeps sending invitations frequently every year, it could be a sign that they don’t have validity. A prestigious honor society won’t go out of their way to try and recruit you. They’ll send an invite to you about the opportunity and following up is going to be your responsibility.
· Patience
You should be skeptical about an honor society that requests that you should join them immediately when you complete your first semester. You can’t demonstrate your potential accurately in only one semester, since honor societies, which send invitations early are only trying to take advantage of the enthusiasm of freshmen. Most of the times students don’t even know what they’re getting into when they join an honor society.
Anyone that is thinking about joining an honor society should know that there are a lot of options available to them. You need to be smart about selecting the right honor society to join since it will reflect on your resume and your chances to connect with others. You should take your time when reviewing different honor societies since it is a fantastic opportunity and an experience that you’ll remember for the rest of your life.
So, don’t rush joining an honor society and think about all the different factors why it makes sense to join one as that will allow you to make a decision that will be in your best interests.