Distance Learning Education May Be Impressed With Those In Honor Societies!
One thing a high school student has to do when planning their college education is list all the reasons why they should be matriculated to the college of their choice, either traditional schools or schools online. This means listing more than just their grades. It actually should include exceptional extracurricular activities, ranging from sports to civic responsibility. Another good reference is belonging to an honor society. Still, one has to be careful about which societies one lists.
The same holds true for honor societies. For starters, a lot of social fraternities and sororities like to call themselves honor societies, when they are really nothing more than social clubs. Also, thanks to an incredible amount of fraud out there, their good names have been dragged through the mud.
They were initially conceived as a way to recognize the best in certain types of academics or civic leadership. One can only join if they invite you, not the other way around. To qualify one usually has maintained a very high grade point average (it used to be 3.0, but lately most have risen it to 3.2), have a blemish-free personal record, and have met a number of other standards.
The most critical thing is they are merit-based and but not prejudiced. Belonging to one of them means you are among the top 5% in a specialty. Race, religion or gender has nothing to do with them. Recognizing academic and personal excellence is their reason for being.
Yet, as said before, there are a number of groups out there that call themselves honor societies who really aren’t. The worst offenders are frauds just out to get a check of some spurious amount out of its target. The best way to differentiate the real deal from the fake it to go online and go to the following web sites: the Association of College Honor Societies, which includes members like Phi Beta Kappa; and the National Honor Society, who tracks high school societies. If they are listed in one of these two directories, they are totally legit.
As it is, belonging to one of these groups has its advantages. The first is they have more than just casual ties with many of best colleges and professional organizations. Depending on the society, they can also be the source of an incredible amount of financial aid. The National Honor Society’s groups hand out anywhere from $100 to $12,000 to worthy underclassmen, a not insignificant bit of financial aid.
The other advantage is connections. Honor societies can have some very heavy sponsors, ranging from banks such as Sun Trust to professional societies. These in turn can give you access to other scholarship sources. The other kind of connection is more of the old school ties, which can come in very handy when one is graduating college and starting to look for a job.
Most important of all, an honor society gives a sense of belonging to something bigger than one’s self. When you move onto campus or attend accredited online universities, you’ll have that experience. Still, it should be remembered that belonging to one is usually not enough to enroll in the top schools. Yet having one in one’s resume looks incredibly good when lined up with a number of similar accolades. From that first class to traditional or online graduate schools education, it’s something that will always be a part of your history. For more information about online college classes, check the internet.
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