The McMaster Chapter of the Golden Key International Honour Society will be having its annual induction ceremony tonight at 7PM in MDCL 1305. This year over 500 new student members and 3 honourary members -- Mike Des Jardins, Dr. Gary Warner, and Dr. Philip Savage -- will be inducted.

As well, we have launched our newly designed website. Feel free to check it out. Thanks goes out to the two McMaster students (Communication Studies and Multimedia Department) that worked on this -- Qianxing Lu & Michael Kretz. You guys did a fantastic job!

Here I was thinking this was a new masons type thing. Secret elitist group and whatnot. Then I found out all they do is fundraise for others( ie united way) . That's not bad but now I'm not as excited about being "inducted"

Originally Posted by adrian

Here I was thinking this was a new masons type thing. Secret elitist group and whatnot. Then I found out all they do is fundraise for others( ie united way) . That's not bad but now I'm not as excited about being "inducted"

There really isn't any type of elitism. It is no different than any of the clubs on campus focusing on particular ethnicities, religions, or interests. Our interest just so happens to be volunteer service and academic excellence.

If it helps, the United Way is often the charity of choice for the Freemasons (not that it had any sway in becoming our main partner for volunteer services).

Congrats on being inducted.

I looked into the Golden Key thing and it seemed like it was just a way of duping students into thinking they were joining a support structure when really only a few students would benefit from the scholarships (as usual, probably students who didnt need them). Now that was just my impression. I am always looking for financial help or advantages because I am in a fairly shatty situation.

I dont know how to put it properly, but when I was looking into the Golden Key thing it gave me the same creeps as when I see business students get excited about networking.

If anyone out there would like to enlighten me without flaming me, I would be glad to listen.

Originally Posted by Rossclot

I looked into the Golden Key thing and it seemed like it was just a way of duping students into thinking they were joining a support structure when really only a few students would benefit from the scholarships (as usual, probably students who didnt need them). Now that was just my impression. I am always looking for financial help or advantages because I am in a fairly shatty situation.

I dont know how to put it properly, but when I was looking into the Golden Key thing it gave me the same creeps as when I see business students get excited about networking.

If anyone out there would like to enlighten me without flaming me, I would be glad to listen.

saaamee

Both of you, and everyone else, should come out to some of our events and visit our tables at bake sales. Unfortunately this semester's events are over, though we may have a bake sale next week if I am correct (not sure). The best way to be informed is to come and check it out for yourself.

I will say this though, this year we are going to implement a point system for scholarship distribution that will take into account volunteer service, general chapter involvement, and academic rank. Previously scholarships were distributed based on a few personal statements, this will no longer be the case.

Golden Key has undergone extensive restructuring this year to make it relevant to its members. The website and forum, the scholarship point system, and greater input from members through the new member survey, committees, etc., exhibits this.

Lastly, the benefits of Golden Key extend beyond scholarships (which are given internationally, regionally, and locally). For example, our Academic Director is working on setting up workshops for stress relief, time management, and test taking skills. Naturally, these will be open to all students, though Golden Key members will get special rates due to their membership.

I hope this answers your questions and concerns.

Sigh, I was going to join but the 90 dollar fee is what threw me off. I don't think it was worth it... but I do hope the event goes well. :]

Originally Posted by feonateresa

Sigh, I was going to join but the 90 dollar fee is what threw me off. I don't think it was worth it... but I do hope the event goes well. :]

You can come out to our events and sign up later if you so choose. Although the deadline was in October, membership invitations are open for a full school year. The ceremony is just an incentive for early sign-up so that you can celebrate with family and friends. I actually signed up early last year but didn't end up going to my own induction, so you can definitely still try before you buy.

I always have mixed feelings about scholarships being given as rewards for academic success.

On one side it makes sense, it rewards students for good academics and allows them to continue to put a lot of effort into academic pursuits.

On the other hand, I see the large group of people who can get good marks, but because they have to work dont have the time to put into their school work. Once you get into the scholarship system with marks then you can continue that way, but how are you supposed to get the initial set of good marks if you are slaving away trying not to starve to death.

Now there are more than enough students who drink money away or piss away support systems available to them, but for those who genuinely struggle, it seems like there is no support system. There is no way of telling the two groups apart.

One thing is on campus living, if you live on campus and have meals prepared for you, you can save so much time. More time=better marks. With the prices of residence and food on campus it is ridiculous. I really wish they had residence and a meal hall for students with no money. Like nothing fancy, standard healthy boring meals, no burgers n' fries. Just what you need to live. Have the only requirement to get in be showing significant financial need/lack of financial support and the maintenance of a certain GPA.

It just seems like the university is getting ahead of themselves with turning the university into a financially hemorrhaging resort instead of an academic institution.



The fee to be part of Golden Key was my deterrent. It just reminds me of the seminars for how to be a millionaire, and it only costs $300 to attend. If I want to do charity work, I can do that for free at a lot of places. If I want to raise money for something most organizations will let you do it for free. Frankly, I can get looked over for scholarships without paying any money. Hell, McMaster already does that to me for free. The website and posters make it looks like the "skulls" or some other secret organization that has infiltrated every industry and government, and will automatically let in its members over others. I guess it is quite different then what I perceived.

It seems that your issues are more with the general system than with Golden Key.

Even so, a lot of your critiques against Golden Key are based on pre-judgements. Golden Key makes no claims about being able to transform people and make them success stories. It does, however, recognize previous success and offer resources to maintain and gain more success. For example, test prep courses and books are greatly discounted for members of Golden Key.

Nothing is ever handed to you and success is never guaranteed by joining any group, but the resources offered by some groups and your continued hard work can make you into a success. This applies to the MSU, Golden Key, Greek-letter societies, and other organizations. In all things the most important part is what YOU make of it.

On the other hand, I see the large group of people who can get good marks, but because they have to work dont have the time to put into their school work. Once you get into the scholarship system with marks then you can continue that way, but how are you supposed to get the initial set of good marks if you are slaving away trying not to starve to death.

The way that I see it, being a university student is a full-time job. Especially with my thesis where I'm pretty much in a lab Monday to Friday from 7 to 5 or later, with classes in between. As a student, my 'job' is to learn and do well. Considering my parents make too much money for me to qualify for financial aid - regardless of whether they help with my tuition or not, academic-based scholarships are a way of getting around some of OSAP's flaws.

I haven't actually participated in any Golden Key activities in the past since I volunteer a lot of time with organizations. But thanks to Golden Key, I get to travel to Kenya this summer. It's not the only way of getting to Kenya, but GK's connections with the placement makes it a lot safer than going alone and less expensive than a for-profit organization.

Originally Posted by Goce

Both of you, and everyone else, should come out to some of our events and visit our tables at bake sales. Unfortunately this semester's events are over, though we may have a bake sale next week if I am correct (not sure). The best way to be informed is to come and check it out for yourself.

I will say this though, this year we are going to implement a point system for scholarship distribution that will take into account volunteer service, general chapter involvement, and academic rank. Previously scholarships were distributed based on a few personal statements, this will no longer be the case.

Golden Key has undergone extensive restructuring this year to make it relevant to its members. The website and forum, the scholarship point system, and greater input from members through the new member survey, committees, etc., exhibits this.

Lastly, the benefits of Golden Key extend beyond scholarships (which are given internationally, regionally, and locally). For example, our Academic Director is working on setting up workshops for stress relief, time management, and test taking skills. Naturally, these will be open to all students, though Golden Key members will get special rates due to their membership.

I hope this answers your questions and concerns.

I'm a little confused. I'm not trying to be rude (sorry if it comes off that way), but reading your post shows that nothing is really being offered to Golden Key members. A website, a scholarship point system (which will still only apply to a few students) and surveys? Why would someone pay money to join this society, other than to get discounts on stress relief workshops? It sounds like these are all things offered to Mac students for free already.

Originally Posted by Kathy2

I'm a little confused. I'm not trying to be rude (sorry if it comes off that way), but reading your post shows that nothing is really being offered to Golden Key members. A website, a scholarship point system (which will still only apply to a few students) and surveys? Why would someone pay money to join this society, other than to get discounts on stress relief workshops? It sounds like these are all things offered to Mac students for free already.

I didn't plan on going into detail about what had to offer because it is so numerous. This isn't an advertisement for Golden Key. My intention was to post an event notice, and then I responded to some issues by giving examples of progressive things we are doing this year. That said, I will respond in greater depth here.

The website, scholarship point system, and member survey will help us to give our members what they want. In past years no one knew what our membership wanted and there was no way to get feedback. Not surprisingly, Golden Key developed a bad reputation for failing to serve its members. This is what lead me to get involved because I feel that Golden Key has great potential. As such, this year we have worked tirelessly to right these past wrongs through such initiatives.

As for what the one-time fee of $90 gets you, it includes:

Shopping Discounts
Sony Style - Save up to 40
Restaurant.com - $25 gift certificate for $5
Nike - Up to 70% off
My Jewelry Box - 20% off all orders
Target.com - Save 10%
Ann Taylor - 20% off
Hickory Farms - Save 10%

Networking
-Regional and international conferences (which can be subsidized by our McMaster chapter)
-Local chapter networking with honourary members such as Dr. Gary Warner, Dr. Peter George, Dr. Nick Bontis, Mayor Fred Eisenberger, and more.

Academic Benefits
2009/2010 Study abroad programs and scholarships to:
Argentina
China
Costa Rica
England
Italy
Mexico
Spain

Personally, I was invited to attend the international relations and diplomacy delegation to China.

-3 local chapter scholarships of $300 each for new members and we are working on offering more scholarships of greater amounts this year
-Graduate school events
-Golden Key members save $200 on any GMAT, GRE, LSAT, MCAT,
DAT, OAT, or USMLE prep course.

Professional and Personal Development


-Access to Vault career library
-Access to the Golden Key job board
-Internship placements with Google, Motorola, QS Network, Sears, and The Princeton Review

-We are working on local internship placements for our members

This list is by no means exhaustive, but I did want to go a little more in-depth.