Recently I received an invitation for Phi Kappa Phi honor society. I do not know too much about those organizations and I was wandering what are the benefits (or possible disadvantages) of joining?
I was searching online and people keep mentioning that it is good for your resume, networking etc. However, it seems to me that I just need to pay for membership and they will put me on the list, how could it be beneficial for me?
Could you please tell me if worth considering? And is it really beneficial to have those things on my resume? Do graduate schools or employers pay attention for those?
Answer
Do graduate schools pay attention to joining Phi Kappa Phi or other honor societies?
As I understand it, eligibility for membership in Phi Kappa Phi is entirely determined by grades and class rank. If so, it won't help with grad school applications, since the admissions committee already has access to far more information about grades than they would learn from knowing the applicant is a member.
Some fields may have honor societies for which membership conveys more information, but I do not think there is any widely known, field-independent example in the U.S.
In my experience on graduate admissions committees in mathematics, I've never heard anyone discuss honor societies at all.
I joined an honor society as an undergraduate, not because I saw personal benefits to it but because my parents would have been disappointed if I had declined membership. The only consequence for me has been that they occasionally send me a newsletter, but I'm told some people do find membership to be useful or meaningful.
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