Golden Key, good or bad?

[Yes Sir]

I've been invited to the Golden key society over the past year. I was wondering if this is helpful in med school apps. It seems like a waste of money to me, just wondering what everyone else thought?

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[ndychase]

It's useless. I was invited too. They just want your money.

 

[Droopy Snoopy]

It's useless. I was invited too. They just want your money.

Treat Golden Key and every other unsolicited "honor society" form letter you get in your mailbox the same way you do your credit card offers and trash them.

 

[lacrossefiend73]

It's useless. I was invited too. They just want your money.

It totally depends on your undergrad... mine has an established chapter for it and we actually do service activities.

 

[Zendoc]

I did it and we actually planned service activities as well and had some good speakers come to talk. Investigate your local chapter to see if it's worthwhile. That's my 2cents!

 

[XerxesMD]

It's useless. I was invited too. They just want your money.

I agree. I received the invitation several times and it seems to be a money making proposition.

IMO, the only honors society that actually matters is Phi Beta Kappa. At my school, it is hard to qualify for PBK (3.8 and above) and you have to have two faculty sponsors write LORs for you on top of submitting a personal essay and your CV. The other thing that told me PBK was legit was the fact that they didn't charge any fees, just $25 for a very fancy ballroom ceremony and gourmet dinner.

I could be wrong, but I think the other ones are pretty meaningless.

 

[jdf46]

Golden Key is most likely a scam. I got another email from them today begging me to join, even though it is allegedly past their "deadline" (It's not too late!). That makes 7 emails and 2 physical letters they've sent me in the past three months (I believe they sent a letter to my parents as well). I think they spend all the membership fees on mass mailings.

 

[cliquesh]

It depends on the chapter i suppose. at my school, a pretty famous professor is the on-campus organizer, so Golden key does some stuff. But, i think its a scam for the most part.

Additionally, how do they even know what my is GPA? i think they just send it to everyone, otherwise i should sue my school or something for releasing my private info.

 

[howdy2u]

It's an honor to be recognized as a member of Golden Key. You should definitely take advantage of the opportunity.

Many doctors put Golden Key on their professional CVs.

 

[artaxerxes]

at my school Pbk is 3.9+ I believe, I put Golden key on my med apps, no body seems to care one way or the other.

 

[calcow]

I personally believe that if you do well in school, you should be GIVEN money, not GIVING money to be in the program. It is like someone saying, Gosh, congrats for having such a high GPA, now give us some money, and you can be in our special program. That's just dumb, and I don't think med school would care about it further than evaluating your GPA.

 

[lord_jeebus]

the only honors society that actually matters is Phi Beta Kappa.

Yes.

(and Tau Beta Pi for engineers)

 

[Bartelby]

Golden Key takes anyone in the top 15% of the class, so it at least lets you put under academic awards that you joined an honor society reserved for the top 15% of your class.

 

[LizzyM]

Golden Key: Good or Bad?
Golden Key's a waste of cash!

 

[tastybeef]

How do med schools even check if you're part of Golden Key? Is there some sort of a membership list somewhere?

If not, can't you potentially just list yourself as part of Golden Key (if you were invited), but never pay the membership fee?

 

[searun]

Yes.

(and Tau Beta Pi for engineers)

Absolutely correct. Phi Beta Kappa is well regarded in the academic world. By the way, Peyton Manning is the only NFL player who is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. Tom Brady could not cut it in the classroom like Peyton.

Also, Phi Beta Kappa was founded in 1776 during the Revolutionary War at William and Mary, so it is not some Johnny Come Lately honor society. Only one percent of the graduating seniors are admitted nationally, so it is a legitimate honor. Only about 10 percent of the nation's colleges and universities have been granted a Phi Beta Kappa chapter, the requirements are pretty strenuous. I think that Harvard and Yale were granted the second and third chapters shortly after the end of the Revolutionary War. Phi Beta Kappa has an interesting history.