sigma sigma phi

[drdrtoledo]

Can anyone comment on this for me. This club is called an "honorary service fraternity".... why do people act like it's an honor society like allopathic AOA?
I looked at some old posts and some schools had outrageous requirements like minimum 85% average.... Since OUCOM is pass/fail, all you need is to pass! Anyone can get in it as long as they haven't failed any tests. They want a few little extracurriculars and that's it. They accept at most, 25% of the class, but they hardly have that many apply. No one has been rejected since I've been here. I know FOR SURE that several of the top students are not in it. (We're pass/fail on transcripts, but get numerical grades on tests ) So do you guys treat sigma sigma phi as something special over there? Do residency directors know that anyone can get in at some schools? Just wondering.
ATnS.

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[DrQuinn]

Sigma Sigma Phi was a joke at my school. It didn't mean anything. The vast majority of our class met the minimum GPA requirements. Succinctly, you got into SSP if you were friends with the people who were already in it.

It is NO honor society at all. It is (or was) just a "clique" at my school. Not sure how it is run at all schools, but it was a damn joke. Most people are doing it just to build up their CVs, but in reality, it means so little!

Q, DO

 

[smgilles]

At LECOM you need a 3.0 or higher and take part in some clubs. How they decide on who they are going to take; they give you 1pt for each .1 you are above 3.0 and 1pt for each club you are in. If you have failed anything you are not allowed to apply. They only take 20-25 out 225 students as well. It doesn't appear to be a big deal at LECOM either. Seems like a CV filler to me.

 

[normalforce]

Sigma Sigma Phi is really a borderline honor society due to the laxity of some schools.

Psi Sigma Alpha is the organization you want to shoot for. It is for the top 15% of students in the class and is similar to the allopathic alpha omega alpha.

NF

 

[Wo1verine7DO]

At my school its nothing as well, they let anyone in...a lot of people in the top 10% didn't make it but the bottom 30% did

 

[fuegorama]

Sigma Sigma Phi is really a borderline honor society due to the laxity of some schools.

Psi Sigma Alpha is the organization you want to shoot for. It is for the top 15% of students in the class and is similar to the allopathic alpha omega alpha.

NF

Yep SSP is lame. (proud temporary member here)

However, I don't think you can straight up compare PSA and AOA.
AOA also has some selection criteria outside of numbers alone. I believe this varies from school to school. I have heard that frequently selection is made from a collection of faculty and student body.

PSA is a bar you cross simply by hitting those Hs.

 

[luckystar]

We don't have a PSA chapter at DMU. Only SSP (yes, it really is lame, and I'm a member ) To get accepted in the spring of first year, you need to be in the top 25% and have extracurriculars. Or you can get in fall of second year, but I believe the requirements are less stringent then. I don't know about other schools, but here, it's pretty much a bunch of students who have exhibited the tightest sphincter tones combined with the most extreme form of OCD you will ever witness. Except myself, of course

 

[drdrtoledo]

Sigma Sigma Phi is really a borderline honor society due to the laxity of some schools.

Psi Sigma Alpha is the organization you want to shoot for. It is for the top 15% of students in the class and is similar to the allopathic alpha omega alpha.

NF

You guys are awesome! Thanks for the info. I new it couldn't only be my school. So my question is... If some schools don't have PSA (OUCOM doesn't either), how do residency directors regard it and SSP in residency selection? I mean, they have to know SSP is not an honor society. Is PSA a standardized thing? If so, don't they have to be in all schools? Is AOA not in all allopathic institutions?

 

[DrQuinn]

Believe me, SSP and the other "society" have very little, if ANY, impact on residency selection. Unless you were like the founding member of SSP and in the first year as President you found the cure for cancer under SSP's research branch (insert smiley here), it won't make ANY difference. Little dinky things like that make (IMHO) no difference in regards to application for residency.

Q, DO

 

[DoctorInSpace]

At NSU, it is more about service than academics for SSP. Out of the 20 or so that applied this past March, only 11 were accepted, and the rejections were because they didn't do enough community service. The grade requirement is an overall average of 80, which i'm sure a lot of people in our class have, but the organization seems to be more about service than academic achievement or "honor society." The club does do some pretty cool community service stuff, but a lot of the top students didn't even apply.

PSA? Yeah, no chapter of that here. And I wouldn't want to stress myself out about being in PSA either. I'll do that best I can in med school and I will get a residency and be a fine doctor.

 

[Dr.Dicky]

We don't have a PSA chapter at DMU. Only SSP (yes, it really is lame, and I'm a member ) To get accepted in the spring of first year, you need to be in the top 25% and have extracurriculars. Or you can get in fall of second year, but I believe the requirements are less stringent then. I don't know about other schools, but here, it's pretty much a bunch of students who have exhibited the tightest sphincter tones combined with the most extreme form of OCD you will ever witness. Except myself, of course

I agree with lucky, which is the reason I'm not in it....or it could be because I was REJECTED( don't really remember.....)

And believe...lucky has the loosest sphincter of anyone I know

 

[luckystar]

I agree with lucky, which is the reason I'm not in it....or it could be because I was REJECTED( don't really remember.....)

And believe...lucky has the loosest sphincter of anyone I know

You're so funny Dr. Dicky. Maybe you haven't tried out cremaster's sphincter yet. DMAK really loosened him up for the rest of us, tee hee.

 

[apass]

I just wanted to say that I think alot of postings are ridiculous. Seriously guys - this club is not a bad thing and no It doesn't put you ahead but it is nice to have on your resume. What will put you ahead are good grades and extra curricular activities and board scores. I understand that board scores in medical school correlate well with your grades in medical school- according to a professor at our school that has researched this.

I don't think it is a joke. Approximately 65 people were invited to join - at this point you are equal because you already made the grade cut. The rest is on community service and what you do outside of school. Just because you do well does not mean you are socially capable of interacting with others. Anyways of the 65 people about 35 applied and 21 were accepted.

So what is sooooo bad about good grades and service and why is this such a joke?

 

[luckystar]

I just wanted to say that I think alot of postings are ridiculous. Seriously guys - this club is not a bad thing and no It doesn't put you ahead but it is nice to have on your resume. What will put you ahead are good grades and extra curricular activities and board scores. I understand that board scores in medical school correlate well with your grades in medical school- according to a professor at our school that has researched this.

I don't think it is a joke. Approximately 65 people were invited to join - at this point you are equal because you already made the grade cut. The rest is on community service and what you do outside of school. Just because you do well does not mean you are socially capable of interacting with others. Anyways of the 65 people about 35 applied and 21 were accepted.

So what is sooooo bad about good grades and service and why is this such a joke?

You're right, it's not a total joke. However, just because people have extracurriculars and community service still does NOT mean they are personable people. Anyway, the point is, some people make a huge deal about it and act like it's some big honor to be a member, which is what I believe to be the reason behind the posting of this thread.

 

[JP2005]

we have PSA at nycom......i think that is the bigshot honor society in the osteopathic bubble....

 

[DrQuinn]

Here's the deal. This year I helped out screen applicants at my program (an EM residency at an MD institution). Believe me, you could have been SSP or PSA or GC/Chlamydia group, those things don't make that much of a difference. Now, if you had started the Emergency Medicine Interest Group at your school, or was the President for two years, that can make a LITTLE difference (i.e. 1% change)... but adding things like member of AMSA and member of PSA or SSP (even though they're supposed "honor" societies) will do nothing to aid your application to residency.

Its funny because I knew a lot of people who said to me "I'm a member of SSP..." My attendings would just say "What the heck is that?!?!?" And when I todl them, they shrugged their shoulders. Its not a recognized society! Neither is the other PSA or whatever it is. The only recognized honor society is the allopathic AOA.

Q, DO

 

[Dr.Dicky]

Just because you do well does not mean you are socially capable of interacting with others. Anyways of the 65 people about 35 applied and 21 were accepted.

That makes me a social leper........hurray!

 

[apass]

You're right, it's not a total joke. However, just because people have extracurriculars and community service still does NOT mean they are personable people. Anyway, the point is, some people make a huge deal about it and act like it's some big honor to be a member, which is what I believe to be the reason behind the posting of this thread.

off the subject about sigma sigma phi - I think you are taking some things to the next level. I think you probably understand what I mean when I say that most employers like to see students involved in extracurricular actitivities. I didn't mean that all students that just study suck at everything else. I think if two people were equal in grades but one of the students was involved in other activities that is an advantage - that is all I am saying.

As far as sigma sigma phi is concerned it is ashame that a few bad apples seem to give an organization a bad name. I think they are not representing the entire organization.

 

[luckystar]

off the subject about sigma sigma phi - I think you are taking some things to the next level. I think you probably understand what I mean when I say that most employers like to see students involved in extracurricular actitivities. I didn't mean that all students that just study suck at everything else. I think if two people were equal in grades but one of the students was involved in other activities that is an advantage - that is all I am saying.

As far as sigma sigma phi is concerned it is ashame that a few bad apples seem to give an organization a bad name. I think they are not representing the entire organization.

I agree with all that you have said. But from what others have been saying about the SSP chapters at their school, it just seems like a pointless organization to have. If the requirements differ so much between schools, how much weight can it possibly carry? Using your example, what then is the difference between a student who has good grades and activities versus one with a similar record, but is also a member of SSP? The thing that annoys me about SSP is that many people have used it as a qualifier, when it really means next to nothing, except maybe as an ego booster to some.

 

[apass]

I agree with all that you have said. But from what others have been saying about the SSP chapters at their school, it just seems like a pointless organization to have. If the requirements differ so much between schools, how much weight can it possibly carry? Using your example, what then is the difference between a student who has good grades and activities versus one with a similar record, but is also a member of SSP? The thing that annoys me about SSP is that many people have used it as a qualifier, when it really means next to nothing, except maybe as an ego booster to some.

I can't say how chapters vary at the different schools. I assume it is just like everything else - ie Greeks, Newman Center, APO in an undergrad situation. I do think it is silly to use it as a qualifier. It was my understanding that activities each applicant is involved in are ranked and your identity in unknown but this may vary at different schools. It is an ego booster - I agree - but people should not throw it in others faces that is screwed up and silly. It is just another organization to put down on your list. I don't think it is a big deal and I don't think it carries much weight if any. I do think at my campus the organization does good things and it is nice to be involved in it.

But no big deal - I just felt like people were trashing the organization and well why does it matter. I bet the people who are acting like it carries alot of weight are not much fun to be around in general anyways.

it has been fun - thanks

 

[PACtoDOC]

Just do a search from a couple of years ago and you will see how much I care for SSP. At our school it is the only thing some of the more educationally challenged students have to put on their resume. It was basically a "who you know" type of deal here and nothing about real service. There were many of us with real worthy service and top 5% in the class, but we were not in the "clique" Thats okay though, because Q-DO put it best when he said that this club is meaningless. Let them have those extra 3 letters to put on their CV, because their 3 digit scores won't even be in the ballpark. I think back to that show "In Living Color" with the character "HandyMan". I seem to remember he had the letters SSP on his chest!!! LOL Sorry Michele, nothing personal....more about the idiot who came before you!!!

 

[apass]

I think all of this is relative - Look at those elected as class officers or whatever. All of that is an ego booster too but what weight does it carry? It is just another opportunity to get involved and maybe lead to better things.

later