Alpha Beta Kappa (bachelor's, degree, high school, scholarships)

[ditchlights]

I recently achieved Alpha Beta Kappa distinction upon graduation. Is there anyone else out there that has it, and, if so, has it helped your employment situation? What benefits have you experienced from this distinction?

Anyone is welcome to answer. Do you know anyone who has benifited from having this?

I meant to post this in the general education section, but I guess this forum will do too.

[Burghgirl17]

Honestly, I've never even heard of it, and I'm more familiar with that sort of thing than most people. It's not like Phi Beta Kappa, which is pretty well known.

I think that as much as these organizations would like to believe that they're a big deal, in reality, they mean little. And this is coming from someone who was a member in multiple honors organizations.

Unless there is an active alumni association (keyword is "active") where you plan on working, it probably won't mean much to you. If there is such an association in your area, use it for networking.

[Mascon]

I also am a recipient of the Alpha Beta Kappa award which I received at graduation from a two year college. I believe that my GPA was 3.95 and feel that it was the primary reason I received this award. Yes, it helped me get jobs but then I decided to work and attend Indiana State University for my bachelor's degree. The ABK was one of the factors being me being selected for the Mortar Board College Senior National Honor Society which is a very prestigious award. So congratualations on the ABK award and the straight A's!

[Isostasy]

I got an invitation in my CC from Phi Theta Kappa and I had to pay $75.00, it's offered to students who have a 3.5 GPA & above and they said that you would be able to search scholarships in their database. Well their website is pretty cr@ppy so you can't search for scholarships. It was a waste of $$. I don't even listed in my resume.

Now I also received an invitation from the National Honor Society from my university. But I'm not falling for that again. And it's weird, when someone asked in the college confidential forum about this organization new members popped up with like only 1 post saying how wonderful the organization is and how it helped them get jobs/attend a great university/get scholarships etc. I remembered this when I read the post above. I don't know I find this very strange...

[joe from dayton]

Unless you are applying for a job that has a very high GPA requirement, I don't see it being much use. Actually, I don't see it being much use then, because everyone is going to have a high GPA. IIRC I joined the History Honor Society for one year, but dropped it after that. It will probably help you get into grad school. Membership in Honors Societies are not given any weight in the hiring process at my place of employment.

[Albuquerque101]

I agree that Phi Beta Kappa is the only honors organization with real prestige. The others could get you somewhere with serious networking with alums, but that's unlikely.

[Pitt Chick]

hmmmm.. I never heard of it either.

I googled and found out it was created in 1977 because

"there was no national society for private proprietary and nonprofit postsecondary institutions until the National Alpha Beta Kappa Honor Society was officially established."

Their schools include DeVry, Kaplan and the Art Institute.

I don't see it as being prestigious at all, except for alumni networking as Albuquerque101 mentions.

The Alpha Beta Kappa Honors Society - History

[Mhcustomprinting]

I received abk award at Bradley academy for visual arts. They gave me the award and two others in our class. I graduated with 3.5 gpa and also received the who's who award among junior American colleges. I was grateful for the honors because I worked my butt off and it was nice to put on my resume. I landed a job right out of school in my field and I think those honors helped. It gave me a little extra confidence.

[slim04]

Originally Posted by Mhcustomprinting

I received abk award at Bradley academy for visual arts. They gave me the award and two others in our class. I graduated with 3.5 gpa and also received the who's who award among junior American colleges. I was grateful for the honors because I worked my butt off and it was nice to put on my resume. I landed a job right out of school in my field and I think those honors helped. It gave me a little extra confidence.

These fee-paid honor societies that are solely based on grades and that charge $50 to $200 fees are basically scams. They are selling you a sheet of paper, the right to claim some sort of prestige that no one really cares about, and the right to scholarships based on a fraction of what they take in.

Any decent student gets about a dozen of these in the mail by the time they graduate and they throw them in the trash.

Your school will offer its own honors and they are free (i.e. Dean's list). Employers know of the honor society scams and they don't care about them.

The honors that are important: 1) don't charge fees; 2) are based on very stringent criteria (i.e. to 1% or 3% of class); 3) have an application or nomination process that depends on high grades, leadership, philanthropy, character, etc. and reject the majority of the applicants or nominees; and/or 4) relate to your major and that has a local chapter that is active in projects related to your major and faculty sponsorship.

When I see a resume with Phi Eta Sigma (Freshman Honor Society); Lamba Sigma (Sophomore Honor Society); Golden Key (Junior Honor Society); Mortar Board (Senior Honor Society), and I just think they probably also bought the leather bound copy of Who's Who in College to put next to their leather bound copy of Who's Who in High School.

[Adhom]

If I see it on your resume, I may look it up but I'm sure I won't base my hiring decision on whether you have this distinction.