Congratulations, freshmen and sophomores! Did you wander into Frist today hoping for your paycheck, only to find a thick envelope stuffed with fancy embossed paper telling you that your stellar grades “may have earned you a nomination for membership in The National Society of Collegiate Scholars?”
Yeah, you and a few hundred other people.
For $75, you can join the Princeton chapter! And, you know, put that on your resume? I guess? You’ll also get a “personalized diploma” (Is there any other kind?) from the society. Which is, cool? …Yeah, it better be MADE OF GOLD.
If you’re going to fork over the money, here’s the only reason you have: discounts!
Among the fancy sheets of paper you might have thrown into your recycling bin is a listing of a few “Scholar Exclusive Discounts.”
- 25 percent off textbooks from Pearson Textbooks. OK, that’s pretty sweet. I mean, if you don’t already get your books from Amazon, for half the price.
- 5 percent off at Barnes & Noble (with a super double-discount of 10 percent that you can get three times throughout the year!) Or you could, you know, become a B&N member and get 10 percent off…all the time. (And 40 percent off bestsellers! No, seriously! Get in on that!)
- 10 percent off participating Motel 6 establishments in the U.S. I don’t really have anything to add to that one.
I think NSCS is what you make of it… I know tons of people in my chapter (UA) that never do anything and probably wasted $75, but I also know tons of people who have made it a great experience – people who took the first step and used NSCS as a platform to serve the community and get involved in leadership positions. It’s like anything… if you want to make it beneficial, you can – and if you don’t like the system, step in and change it!
Ah, but what Angela Wu fails to mention is that she’s not even a member of NSCS! So let’s take this discourse with a grain of salt. Any honor society is going to have a membership fee (Golden Key charges an $80 membership fee, so where’s their snarky article?). NSCS and Golden Key are accredited by the same body and are all legitimate societies and recognized on campus.
Beyond just a footnote on your resume, NSCS gives out over $250,000 in scholarships that members and officers can take advantage of: http://www.nscs.org/scholarships. Last year, a Princeton member received $1000 merit award from NSCS.
So visit the website, talk to the Princeton chapter, come out for an event and get informed before you make up your mind about an organization.
I have been a member of NSCS since my freshman year in college and can say that I’ve gotten far more out of it than $75 is worth out in the world today.
Of course, as an incoming student you ARE bombarded with offers for various honors societies, and if you keep up your grades you will continue to be. However it IS whatever you make of it. If you take the position of simply accepting and let your membership sit there, then that’s exactly what it will do- it will sit there until you need to cite it on a resume. On the other hand, if you want to be an active member you absolutely will gain more from the society; so much so that you will never even question the $75 you spent (which by the way ALL goes into scholarships you can apply for).
I cannot quantify the benefits I’ve receive from the society; being an active member has helped me become a more well rounded student, leader on campus and competitive candidate in the job market. This society was integral to my college career and I will take my experiences with me when I leave. Once a member, always a member. Thanks NSCS!
NSCS is so much more than a bunch of discounts!!! Yes there are those people that join NSCS for the discounts, but those are the people that are missing out on the amazing oppurtunities that NSCS has to offer. Students have participated in countless community service events, developed as leaders, and so much more. The members of NSCS not only help the people on their campus, but help students and residents in the area surronding their school. Just like every organization a student joins, what you get out of NSCS is what you put in. If you only choose to pay the 75 dollars and never go to a single meeting, or participate in a community service event or NSCS program, then you will get nothing out of NSCS. However, those students that are involved have changed their lives and the lives of people around them.
Reiterating what some of my fellow NSCS members have already said: it’s much, much more than discounts. It’s full of leadership opportunities, both at the local (chapter/university) level and at the national level. You can provide service to your community through volunteerism and be active on your campus. You can study abroad or in another state, with opportunities in programs and universities that are normally never extended to outside groups. You can travel, meet hundreds of incredible people, and learn a lot about what it takes to have integrity, be inspiring end engaging when working with others, succeed in the real world, and so much more.
Thanks to NSCS, I’ve been to Philadelphia, Orlando, and Washington DC (places I never would have had the chance to travel to otherwise). I’ve met dedicated students, incredible leaders, profound speakers, and successful celebrities. I’ve made some great friends, tried new things, and been able to walk away proud of my experience, knowing that I can continue to apply what I’ve learned for years to come. Not a whole lot of other organizations can lay claim to all of that.
But NSCS can only give out what the member puts in: if the member joins and never shows up to a meeting, it’s their loss. But the member that makes an effort to get involved will reap rewards far beyond the mere $75 they’ve put in.
I completely agree with everyone who has commented above. NSCS is an organization that is driven by its members, and the experience depends on how much you are willing to commit to it. As with any other organization, there will be some people who view this as just another activity to put on their resume (as the author of this article suggests). However, those who apply and are accepted into NSCS realize that this organization gives its members more than just a “personalized diploma” and a “coupon book.” Once you join NSCS, you gain access to NSCS’s website, which contains more than $250,000 in scholarships annually. At first, the $75 membership fee seems expensive, but when you think about it, many club sport teams here at Princeton charge almost as much. After joining NSCS last year, I applied for and received a $1,000 Merit Award scholarship, which I think most people would agree more than offsets the membership fee cost. Maybe this could be considered as a tuition “discount”?
But besides the financial benefits of NSCS scholarships, members also have access to numerous job, internship, and travel opportunities, as well as connections to various graduate schools across the nation. And even more than that, members get the opportunity to connect with peers on and off campus who share the same passion for community service, academics, and leadership. The requirements to join NSCS aren’t meant to make this organization an exclusive group with only a select number of people; this is an inclusive club, where like-minded people can share experiences and grow as leaders together.
This seems a lot like those “Duke Talent Search” camps you could do in middle school and pay $6000 to go to summer camp for a week. I’m sure you can make what you want to from NSCS but a lot of other really legitimate societies don’t have membership costs like engineering societies (AIChE for example) and such and give you just as many scholarships and leadership oppurtunities. If NSCS really wanted to be inclusive they wouldn’t have a $75 membership fee because in college dollars, that’s a lot.
Hello there Ptown Skeptic,
I dont see the point in you degrading The National Society of Collegiae Scholars like that. It’s just uncalled for and pretty immature for, like you said, “a college student” to do. NSCS is a legit Honors Society according to the Association of College Honors Societies. Here’s the direct link to the site. http://www.achsnatl.org/standards_alert.asp. From there, you’ll see that membership fees are charged by most Honors Societies as a form of credibility.
I personally, have earned alot from being part of this organization. I earned he opportunity to become a leader, a motivator, and also someone who can advise other students who are as skeptic as you hat NSCS is the one society that cares for its members and offer these hardworking-members opporunities to develop themselves professionally, and offer these members tons of networking opportunities with business partners. Not only that, but through this society, I’ve been able to meet alot of amazing people who are willing to help others out and bring a change to their community. If you were to think of the $75 fee as too much, then I’m guessing you really dont know the meaning of the phrase “give to receive”. I’m as skeptic as you beccause you’re trying to bring this society down, but an NSCS member from your campus was just awarded a scholarship thats worth wayyy more than the $75 fee he/she paid.
Please let your potential NSCS members know that they are more than welcomed to sign up at koda.us/nscs, and I hope one day you’ll become a member and regret posting this. I guess you have too much time on your hands to post such a loooooong article as this. Have a great day my friend. 🙂
All national honor organizations have a one-time membership fee. NSCS, Golden Key and even Phi Beta Kappa. AIChE has an annual fee.
First of all, I find it hard to believe, as a college student (since that seems to be such an issue), that any college campus doesn’t have a wide variety of student run clubs and organizations that have nation-wide leadership opportunities and networking capabilities. Why would I pay to become a member of a group when I can find the same opportunities through clubs on campus that don’t require the need to “give to receive.” While I am sure networking comes in handy, an Honors society is definitely not the only way to come into contact with other people with similar interests. I would even argue that a more focused group with specific goals and interests would be a better place to foster your own interests and leaderships. Secondly, if NCHS is as popular and beneficial as you claim then you shouldn’t be worrying about an op-ed piece by a college student. Surely its reputation will precede it and the students here who would want to join will despite this article, and those who weren’t planning on it are already a lost cause.
My son got an invite as well. Seems legit, but don’t see any great value. Supposedly 20% of school gets invites. Also, they boost $250,000 in scholarships, but they also claim 800,000 members, they don’t say how many of these are still in college. But if over 150 chapters in big schools like UCLA, well…. do the math. If they gave $1000 scholarships, then that means only 250 awards. Not too good chances if several hundred thousand members. Discounts? Well, they talk about saving a$100 with Geico who also sponsors them. For social things, you may just want to join a club on campus. LEgit, but probably not worth it
It is legit but in the end not worth it. You don’t have to pay $75 to be able to be a leader or get the opportunity to be one. There are manh free ways out there. The discounts arent that great as most people buy books from resellers such as amazon.
I just won a $2500 scholarship from NSCS, so I think that was well worth my $75. They are not only generous, but encouraging and uplifting. Not sure why this article was written, but the organization certainly works for me.