Does mentioning being a Freemason help or hurt?

[Calizboosted76]

Hello all, I was wondering if mentioning being a Freemason will help or hurt an application? Has any Adcom ever interviewed a Freemason? @Goro @Faha @gyngyn

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[907914]

Hello all, I was wondering if mentioning being a Freemason will help or hurt an application? Has any Adcom ever interviewed a Freemason? @Goro @Faha @gyngyn

Aren't the Freemasons like fight club, the first rule of the lodge is not to talk about the lodge?


To give you the true true, I don't think it would be a negative, but it certainly wouldn't be a positive. It may make you more memorable, but that is not necessarily a good thing. It would be a little weird TBH as it is mostly non-contributory towards your application due to the 'secretive' nature of it all. In general, Americans only know of free masonry from conspiracy theory programs on the History channel and the movie National Treasure....

 

[Calizboosted76]

No, Freemasonry isn’t like fight club Lol. Dude you always make me laugh with your comments. There is a lot of good info on freemasonry in this link

FREEMASONS - A Fraternal Brotherhood of Builders

What do Freemasons do? It's not a Masonic secret.

www.masonic-lodge-of-education.com

Freemasons do an abundance of charity work.

 

[907914]

No, Freemasonry isn’t like fight club Lol. Dude you always make me laugh with your comments. There is a lot of good info on freemasonry in this link

FREEMASONS - A Fraternal Brotherhood of Builders

What do Freemasons do? It's not a Masonic secret.

www.masonic-lodge-of-education.com

Freemasons do an abundance of charity work.

Right on - If you participated in the charity work then it is most certainly worthwhile to mention the charity work as a member. Merely mentioning it is what I was assuming for some reason (it is 11PM and I have been doing secondaries all day - give my brain the benefit of the doubt lol) However, you are assuming that ADCOM members will google it and you may not have sufficient character space to talk about your involvement. I wouldn't mind taking a look at the activity description, sounds interesting.

 

[Calizboosted76]

Right on - If you participated in the charity work then it is most certainly worthwhile to mention the charity work as a member. Merely mentioning it is what I was assuming for some reason (it is 11PM and I have been doing secondaries all day - give my brain the benefit of the doubt lol) However, you are assuming that ADCOM members will google it and you may not have sufficient character space to talk about your involvement. I wouldn't mind taking a look at the activity description, sounds interesting.

Haha I feel you man! I should have worded my question better. It’s 2 am over here haha. I will definitely shoot it over to you once I have it all written up.

 

[LizzyM]

I've been reviewing applications for 20 years and I can't recall ever seeing someone list himself as a freemason. It would be a curiosity most likely not bad but not good, either. There has been an ongoing loss of members over many decades (and the Masons are not alone, Americans are not joining organizations as they once did).

 

[Calizboosted76]

I've been reviewing applications for 20 years and I can't recall ever seeing someone list himself as a freemason. It would be a curiosity most likely not bad but not good, either. There has been an ongoing loss of members over many decades (and the Masons are not alone, Americans are not joining organizations as they once did).

Okay, thank you for your input! I genuinely appreciate it!

 

[Goro]

Hello all, I was wondering if mentioning being a Freemason will help or hurt an application? Has any Adcom ever interviewed a Freemason? @Goro @Faha @gyngyn

That would be a first for me on an app.

My second thought would be:
Aren't those the guys with secret handshakes and funny hats?

Full disclosure: My wife used to be in Kiwanis

 

[Calizboosted76]

That would be a first for me on an app.

My second thought would be:
Aren't those the guys with secret handshakes and funny hats?

Full disclosure: My wife used to be in Kiwanis

Thats awesome, you say used to be, I assumed you guys moved away and she was unable to continue in your new area? And LOL funny handshakes and hats. Ill do some more thinking about whether or not it needs to be includes

 

[Calizboosted76]

So at Mayo Arizona, one of my interviewers was an older gentleman who I noticed was wearing a BPOE pin. I subsequently learned that he just come from an Elks' luncheon and had forgotten to remove the pin.

During our handshake, he noticed that I had noticed his pin. I immediately said "Hello Bill". Hello Bill is a common greeting among Elks. He "Hello Bill'd" me back, then proceeded to give the secret Elks grip.

Imagine how strange this all was. There in a 21st century facility, set on a landscape as desolate as the moon, was a 70+ year old man and a 25 year old, "Hello Billing" each other, locked in the Elks grip! The top of my head felt as it was going to blow off.

The entire interview was spent talking about the Elks and bocce. I learned that he was originally from Minnesota (where the Elks were founded) and aside from his long association with Mayo, his greatest social involvement had been with the Elks. Lots of charitable and service work.

I explained that I joined just out of college because I lived in a city that had an Elks Lodge, right next to a basement bar that served cheap draft beer. Many of the patrons, mostly older guys were Elks.

To me, they were good guys with interesting life stories. It was also in a heavily Italian neighborhood, and a lot of guys played bocce in the park across from the lodge. This was fun and a relaxing way to spend a Saturday or Sunday afternoon. A few beers and bocce with some cool older guys. What could be more fun?

So a friend and I joined. The other younger members are mostly tradesmen, plumbers electricians and the like. We do some charity work raising money for kids sports in tough neighborhood nearby. It's all been very good.

So I thought this very fraternal conversation might help me at Mayo (Mayo itself being a bit cultish itself). It did not. I've wondered what the guy wrote up about our conversation. Probably pretty embarrassed that he spent an entire interviewing taking about the Elks and listening to me was on about the nuances of bocce.

I did not cite my Elks membership in my application nor did I speak about it elsewhere during my interviews. I suggest that OP do the same. But for one brief shining time in Arizona, my Elks association made for an interesting and forever memorable conversation.

That is awesome! Yea I am leaning towards just leaving it off. Bocce is awesome as well!

 

[Calizboosted76]

You only mention being a freemason for the sake of the widow's son

You surprise me with your extensive knowledge every time that you comment on a post.

 

[Goro]

Thats awesome, you say used to be, I assumed you guys moved away and she was unable to continue in your new area? And LOL funny handshakes and hats. Ill do some more thinking about whether or not it needs to be includes

We moved for my faculty job and she just wasn't interested once we got here.

 

[MyOdyssey]

No, Freemasonry isn’t like fight club Lol. Dude you always make me laugh with your comments. There is a lot of good info on freemasonry in this link

FREEMASONS - A Fraternal Brotherhood of Builders

What do Freemasons do? It's not a Masonic secret.

www.masonic-lodge-of-education.com

Freemasons do an abundance of charity work.

Nicolas Cage and the Knights Templar come to mind when I think of the Free Masons.

 

[grapples43]

I was once a member of a Masonic organization and asked myself a similar question when I applied to medical school. I was encouraged to include it though and ultimately did. You never know when someone you run into may also be a part of the Masonic family and is aware of what a good organization it is. I mean, if I was reading your application, it would be a positive, mostly because I know of the good the organization does and the moral compass members tend to possess. Have I met Mason’s I didn’t like? Sure. But 90% of the Mason’s I’ve met I would trust with most anything. That’s a higher rate than all of the doctors I’ve met. I did frequently meet people on the interview trail who had a family member or loved one that was also once a member of the organization or a related one. People are usually fond of their family and friends, so the connection to someone they respect may be a plus. These people also tend to have a better understanding of Freemasonry then the people who just think of National Treasure.

Still up for debate, sure, and I think you’ve gotten some solid advice from people who actually work on admission committees, but I thought I’d throw in my two cents.

 

[Calizboosted76]

I was once a member of a Masonic organization and asked myself a similar question when I applied to medical school. I was encouraged to include it though and ultimately did. You never know when someone you run into may also be a part of the Masonic family and is aware of what a good organization it is. I mean, if I was reading your application, it would be a positive, mostly because I know of the good the organization does and the moral compass members tend to possess. Have I met Mason’s I didn’t like? Sure. But 90% of the Mason’s I’ve met I would trust with most anything. That’s a higher rate than all of the doctors I’ve met. I did frequently meet people on the interview trail who had a family member or loved one that was also once a member of the organization or a related one. People are usually fond of their family and friends, so the connection to someone they respect may be a plus. These people also tend to have a better understanding of Freemasonry then the people who just think of National Treasure.

Still up for debate, sure, and I think you’ve gotten some solid advice from people who actually work on admission committees, but I thought I’d throw in my two cents.

This is how I figured most would feel but I do understand the “thoughts” that run through the people’s minds who are uninformed. May I ask why you aren’t in anymore?

 

[deleted804295]

Hello all, I was wondering if mentioning being a Freemason will help or hurt an application? Has any Adcom ever interviewed a Freemason? @Goro @Faha @gyngyn

I'm sure a small fraction of Catholics would feel uncomfortable with this but beyond that not sure who else.

 

[Calizboosted76]

I'm sure a small fraction of Catholics would feel uncomfortable with this but beyond that not sure who else.

What do you feel the issue would be:?

 

[deleted804295]

What do you feel the issue would be:?

Google catholic + freemason.

 

[grapples43]

This is how I figured most would feel but I do understand the “thoughts” that run through the people’s minds who are uninformed. May I ask why you aren’t in anymore?

I was a member of one of the youth organizations. I am no longer a youth unfortunately. I do still volunteer with them though and that will be on my residency application.

 

[Calizboosted76]

Google catholic + freemason.

I get what the internet says but there are freemasons in my area that are catholic.... But I am getting to personal now. I just didn't know if you had personal experience somewhere with that subject.

 

[deleted939001]

For the record I had literally never heard of a freemason until this post and my best guess was that it was an interest related to tile work, don't think anyone will care if you list it.

 

[The Deep]

Hello all, I was wondering if mentioning being a Freemason will help or hurt an application? Has any Adcom ever interviewed a Freemason? @Goro @Faha @gyngyn

Can you comment on the apparent “rituals” that are said to go on?

 

[LizzyM]

I get what the internet says but there are freemasons in my area that are catholic.... But I am getting to personal now. I just didn't know if you had personal experience somewhere with that subject.

The Catholic Church forbids membership in the Masons but, like many things forbidden by the Church, you will find Catholics who break that rule.

 

[Calizboosted76]

The Catholic Church forbids membership in the Masons but, like many things forbidden by the Church, you will find Catholics who break that rule.

I am not the most hardcore religious person so I don't really follow the different branches all to well. I believe in God. However I do not feel that one must go to church in order to have a good relationship with him. Thank you for throwing that piece of info out there for us.