So, last year I got a letter from the Golden Key Society, inviting me to join. It wasn't the first time I'd heard of them--I'd seen their table at clubsfest--but I wasn't really sure if it was worth the $90 membership fee, so I didn't join. Yesterday, I got another invitation to join, and I am now faced with the same question...is it actually worth the money? They say there are a bunch of scholarships offered, but what exactly do you have to do to get these scholarships? Are they easy or difficult to get? Are there any other solid advantages? When they're talking about all of the advantages in the letter, it seems pretty vague.

Anything anyone can tell me would be much appreciated! I'm just trying to figure out if it's worth my money

I also got an invitation and I'm debating if I should join. So far I have come up with this:

Pro: Sounds like a good resume entry
Con: It's 90$

Yeah, I didn't think about it much... Lol

Considering membership is based on academics, its probably not worth it other than for a resume. The scholarships are going to be extremely competitive.

Wasn't there a thread a while back? It was entertaining.

Honestly don't bother. I got a couple free desserts out of the like, ceremony for new members. That's it.

Im trying to get internship next year so Im thinking of doing it just because itll look good. :-[

I got the same thing both years. This year my letter came with a separate invitation from Patrick Dean congratulating me on coming in the top 15% and encouraging me to join. I was also a little thrown by the 90 dollar fee and it seemed a little hoaxish to me last year. This year I was a little more curious because of the accompaniment of presidential endorsement. I still don't really know what to think of it. Very vague.

Dunno about you guys, but i just put invited to golden key society on my resume, but didn't actuall join. best of both worlds.

Originally Posted by BlakeM

Dunno about you guys, but i just put invited to golden key society on my resume, but didn't actuall join. best of both worlds.

I didn't get invited and still did this. Awesome.

Originally Posted by Souldier

I didn't get invited and still did this. Awesome.

You could be asked to provide supporting documentation.

I believe I was in the 700s last year for the invite, this year I was in the 1600s!

Massive grade inflation!

Also, I would never pay like 90$ for this.

Originally Posted by macsci

I believe I was in the 700s last year for the invite, this year I was in the 1600s!

Massive grade inflation!

Also, I would never pay like 90$ for this.

LOL?
It invites the to 15% of the students, not students above a certain grade point average. It doesn't imply grade inflation at all.

That the number is in the 1600s would mean that Mac's population grew that much or the standards had fallen (maybe it was top 10% or something last year), but that's some bad logic.

Originally Posted by hellohello

LOL?
It invites the to 15% of the students, not students above a certain grade point average. It doesn't imply grade inflation at all.

That the number is in the 1600s would mean that Mac's population grew that much or the standards had fallen (maybe it was top 10% or something last year), but that's some bad logic.

Well, if the poster's average was the same for both years or even higher the second year then it would imply some sort of grade "inflation". Although it's not inflation in general, it's inflation relative to the poster. But I don't think that's what the poster meant.

Originally Posted by hellohello

LOL?
It invites the to 15% of the students, not students above a certain grade point average. It doesn't imply grade inflation at all.

That the number is in the 1600s would mean that Mac's population grew that much or the standards had fallen (maybe it was top 10% or something last year), but that's some bad logic.

Sorry, I was under the impression that invites are sent to people on the Dean's List.

In any case, I was surprised to see that they are sending way more invites this year.

Originally Posted by macsci

Sorry, I was under the impression that invites are sent to people on the Dean's List.

In any case, I was surprised to see that they are sending way more invites this year.

It's not necessarily more invites...you could just be further down on the list. We're not really sure how they are numbered, except that it's likely not alphabetical. Upper years might be lower on the list, or it could be based on academic standing or something.