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Join honor society?


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I did a search and didn't find what I'm looking for. So, I apologize if this is asked a lot.

 

I was invited to join Phi Theta Kappa honor society for 2-year colleges. Membership is $85/year so I'd like to find out if it's worth it.

 

Thoughts on joining? I'm not sure how active the group is on my campus. So, with little involvement, is it worth it just to be able to list the membership on applications?

 

Thanks!

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Eh. I feel that it depends what experience your looking for. I found myself in this same crossroads. I did the Eta Sigma Gama ( Health Education honors soc.) for semester. Besides the cost, I also didn't like the type of community service we did.  I genuinely like community outreach but the volunteering we did was for organized events and felt like just a form of free labor. Didn't impact anybody but besides with free labor-cost to someones pocket. So I did a semester and left. I found a different club on campus called "Flying Samaritan's"; they have several chapters in Colleges in California. Mission of club: Provide free-cost medical services to low-income people in Tecate, Mexico. We have our own clinic (extremely rural area) in which we fully operate/purchase/gather all equipment/provide all medical staff once a month.I feel that this type of volunteer work is more align with my personal interest and found it to be a completely better experience. Besides experience, It's great on your resume and for application.

The meaning of this rant: Explore other clubs and organizations around your school or community. Find one that aligns with your personal values/interest. Preferably something that is community based, or medically aligned so it can supplement your application in forms of; community service hours, experience that can be reflected as part in your P.S. , etc. 
 
Hope this helps. 

 

Cheers. 

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Heh.  I joined PTK when I was doing my leveling for PA school.  I already had five degrees at that point, but I went ahead and got another associates just so I could put 'with highest honors' on my CV.  I don't have PTK listed there, but I did list it in my CASPA application.

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I'm currently taking a couple of pre-reqs I didn't hit while in undergrad at a 2-year right now and was recently invited to join PTK. I declined because I know it won't make much of a difference aside from another bullet point on my resume. Admissions committees care more about your involvement rather than how many honor societies or clubs you're a part of. Say we have one applicant who's in 10 clubs, but another applicant that started a club/honor society at their university from the ground up. Maybe even say it's a pre-health oriented club/honor society. I believe admissions committees would rather see the second scenario than the first. Get involved in opportunities that will focus on involvement within your community, volunteering, and pre-health oriented activities/clubs. PTK's biggest benefit is the scholarship opportunities it can offer as you transfer to a 4-year university. Other than that it's not much of a speaking point when you're in a PA school interview in my opinion. If your resume is pretty barren at the moment then maybe it's worth joining just to buff your application, or if you're gunning for the scholarship opportunities it offers. Otherwise I wouldn't bother. Your time is better spent doing things that will make you stand out more.

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Thanks, Ollivander! I'm doing the same. I already have a bachelor's degree from 2006 but going to a community college to pick up some prerequisites.

No problem! Yeah you're probably better off declining the invitation then. You can use that time you'd be spending in their mandatory meetings and such towards more productive endeavors.

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