Golden Key

[The Dark Lord]

So, I was given an invitation to Golden Key from my university. Apparently it's an honors society that takes in the top 15% of students based on academic performance, and it's invite-only. They also want $80 for a lifetime membership fee, and it's impossible for me to lose my membership afterwards (e.g. I can get the membership and then flunk out and still keep it). I'm a pre-med student, and it is recommended that I join a certain pre-med honors society because it looks good for when I apply for medical school. The pre-med honors society is not Golden Key, by the way.

 

My question to you guys is this: Is membership in Golden Key even worth it? Will it impress any selection committees for med schools in the U.S.?

 

Or is this just horseshit?

[stevepole]

Of course it would look impressive to future employers as it signifies you've done better then 85% of your school academically but my question to you would be, why not join both the Golden Key and a pre-med honor society?

[i_love_burritos]

Golden Key is the world's largest collegiate honor society. Membership into Golden Key is by invitation only, to the top 15% of college/university 2nd, 3rd and 4th year students and top performing US graduate students in all fields of study, based solely on the criteria of their academic achievements.

 

- from wikipedia. I'm not an American so I don't know fully about this. But it seems legit. A little less impressive than other collegiate socs I imagine but still if it's 80 bucks it's worth rubber stamping onto your resume/cv/ various app forms. So I'd say go for it.

 

reminded me of this.

 

[hide]

 

Homer: Mail call! Gather 'round, everyone! All right, one for ...

resident.

Marge: That's me!

 

Homer: Well, that's it.

 

Bart: One stinkin' letter? Why'd you make us gather 'round like

that?

 

Homer: I needed my power fix. [sighs contentedly]

 

Marge: Hey, listen to this! [reading letter] Congratulations, your

child, or children, have been selected in "Who's Who Among

American Elementary School Students."

 

Marge: Please submit their names, along with ninety-five dollars,

for each handsome volume you wish to order! Oh, I've never

been so proud! [kisses both of them] You both deserve a

big, big reward!

 

Lisa: Mom, they put every kid in America in that book, just so

gullible parents will buy it. It's all a big scam.

 

Bart: [sotto voce] Shut up ...

 

Marge: Are you sure? I can usually smell a scam from two towns

over.

 

Bart: Yeah, Lis', she is a smart, sophisticated woman. [winks at

Lisa] Now, let's hear more about that big, big reward.

 

Homer: Yeah, quit stalling, Marge, we want our reward.[/hide]

 

I got a similar thing when I was in grade 4 and a poem of mine was going to be published in some book, but I guess I just lost $30

[stevepole]

I got a similar thing when I was in grade 4 and a poem of mine was going to be published in some book, but I guess I just lost $30

 

We had that too, don't remember if I did it not though.

[Will H]

I'd say go for it. Being in an honours society based on your academic performance surely must look good on a CV.

[fastortoise]

I was invited too... when I saw the ~90$ entrance fee I immediately trashed it. Can't be more of a scam tbh.

[Ginger_Warrior]

If I was an admissions tutor for a medical school, I'd be more interested in what experience you have of being in a "caring" role, what voluntary work you've done to prove you're not just motivated by money, and what interests you have to sustain a very long, difficult and stressful university experience, not to mention the two years of post-grad rotations. But if they're more bothered about whether you like wearing twee jackets and attending dinner parties, then I guess you should pay the $80.

 

Honestly, I think the question is this: Do you want to join this society?

[Will H]

If I was an admissions tutor for a medical school, I'd be more interested in what experience you have of being in a "caring" role, what voluntary work you've done to prove you're not just motivated by money, and what interests you have to sustain a very long, difficult and stressful university experience, not to mention the two years of post-grad rotations. But if they're more bothered about whether you like wearing twee jackets and attending dinner parties, then I guess you should pay the $80.

 

Honestly, I think the question is this: Do you want to join this society?

 

I just realised that I'm exactly the kind of person who would want to wear the twee jackets and attend the dinner parties, so I'm probably projecting myself onto the OP's situation. Ignore my advice.

[The Dark Lord]

If I was an admissions tutor for a medical school, I'd be more interested in what experience you have of being in a "caring" role, what voluntary work you've done to prove you're not just motivated by money, and what interests you have to sustain a very long, difficult and stressful university experience, not to mention the two years of post-grad rotations. But if they're more bothered about whether you like wearing twee jackets and attending dinner parties, then I guess you should pay the $80.

 

Honestly, I think the question is this: Do you want to join this society?

 

Honestly, I don't care much about them. When I think about it, being in the top 15% doesn't mean much. Someone at the 15% range may have, say, a 3.0 GPA or less. There is no specific GPA requirement for this organization. In the United States, many medical schools do want you to get national membership in Alpha Epsilon Delta. Our advisers tell us that it used to be a pre-requisite for even getting considered for medical school, and now it's just an expectation. Alpha Epsilon Delta is a pre-medical honors society with a minimum math/science GPA of 3.2, and this is one of the reasons why people on admissions committees like seeing this. With that said, if you do not have at least a 3.6 GPA, you'd never get into medical school.

 

For what it's worth, I believe that the medical schools are primarily interested in MCAT scores and GPA in addition to clinical experience and volunteer work in both a medical area and a non-medical area. Golden Key's website claims that they are mainly about helping the community and doing volunteer work, but from what I've heard (I did a little research about this organization last night), it seems that Golden Key tries to stroke students' egos and is led by corporate fatcat-type individuals. From my point of view, this is in direct opposition to the values that we are supposed to have as doctors, hence I feel uncomfortable.

 

I just wanted to see if people had any experience with this organization and whether or not medical schools may frown upon it. If nothing else, I can perhaps at least just mention in my resume that I was invited to join Golden Key, and I can just save 80 dollars and use it towards my national Alpha Epsilon Delta membership.

[Ginger_Warrior]

I just realised that I'm exactly the kind of person who would want to wear the twee jackets and attend the dinner parties, so I'm probably projecting myself onto the OP's situation. Ignore my advice.

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic, but I honestly didn't mean to offend those who would want that. I'm not going to lie, I hate dinner parties, though it should be noted that such events are a reality in a trainee doctor's life. It's just I think there's many, more relevent ways to show you're interested in medicine.

 

Organisations stroking egos is something you'll kind of have to get used to. Take it from someone who's been to medical school, and knows people who carried on with it (I left to enter social care and pursue a career in nursing instead). We got our own special bank accounts from Natwest, including personal contact with the area manager, just for being medical students. They called it an "investment" in our future and that we'd never have enough money to get by without their help, given medical textbooks and stephoscopes etc. cost more for us than other students. I'm sure you can work out the conclusions for yourself; they were basically buttering us up because they know that in ten years time, we'd all be on £30K salaries and wanting real estate, and since we were students just like everyone else at university, we'd grab all the money being made available to us.

 

One thing you could look at is what voluntary experience is made available through this organisation. If it's an overseas trip to a third world African country helping to deliver aid, I'd grab it and bite their arm off, the $80 really pays for itself there. If it's helping out at a sharps amnesty, where drug users can give their paraphernalia to healthcare professionals without fear of the police chasing them for it, you can probably find that opportunity through your local health authorities if you talk to the right people. Of course, there's the old and tested ways: retirement homes, community first aid, shadowing doctors on hospital wards, medical conventions. See if the voluntary work in GK is really worth more than what you've got in front of you for free.

 

As you say, worst case scenario is fall back and say you were invited to join GK. Academically. it still means the same. Not like they can sue you for it, just keep the letter and a it's a matter of fact.

[Will H]

I just realised that I'm exactly the kind of person who would want to wear the twee jackets and attend the dinner parties, so I'm probably projecting myself onto the OP's situation. Ignore my advice.

I can't tell if you're being sarcastic, but I honestly didn't mean to offend those who would want that. I'm not going to lie, I hate dinner parties, though it should be noted that such events are a reality in a trainee doctor's life. It's just I think there's many, more relevent ways to show you're interested in medicine.

 

Oh, I'm not being sarcastic, I generally try to avoid that on forums. I enjoy dinner parties. All I'm saying is that I've realised that I'm the kind of person who like societies like that, so I've probably got a bias for it.

 

EDIT: Your solution of "don't join it, but keep the letter" is very clever. I support it.

[fastortoise]

Its kinda of a dick move to not join the society but say you were invited.

[Giordano]

Its kinda of a dick move to not join the society but say you were invited.

It's basically sort of the same thing. Employers like smart society people - because they're smart. Getting invited to one is basically being equals.

 

Plus, there are no rules in the professional world. No rules. :wink:

[fastortoise]

No, getting invited to a society that comes with a joining stipulation fee does not mean you are smart. In fact, its the whole foundation of the argument to not join in the first place. Saying you were invited but declined makes you look like you're weak enough to show you cared about their invite but too cheap to join.

 

The main benefit to this scam society is to go to their meetings and make connections with people in your field, and if you haven't forked up the 80$ plus whatever else it costs to attend a dinner, then there's no point in joining or saying you were invited.

[Ginger_Warrior]

"I have performed well academically, achieving a X.XX GPA, for which I was offered to join an invite-only honours society at my university."

 

You could all do a better job of writing that a bit more creatively, but even so, I'm not sure how that statement is one of a "weak" candidate. Is Benjamin Zephaniah any less of a poet because he once wrote that he'd refused an OBE from the Queen? Don't be ridiculous.

[fastortoise]

If this Benjamin Zephaniah fella was using that statement to prove he's better than other poets then yeah, it kinda does make him less of a poet (and person). Can't you see the hypocrisy in statements like that?

[Ginger_Warrior]

Honestly? No, I can't see the hypocrisy in selling yourself. Are you telling me other candidates won't be sexing their CVs up slightly? Medicine is the most difficult subject of all to get a university place on, of course they will.

 

I hate to break it to you, but to get anywhere in medicine other than GP or Psych, you have to be a bit of a dick at times.

[The Dark Lord]

What's wrong with Psych?

[fastortoise]

It is hypocritical to not join a society because you think the title means nothing and then go on to say you would have had the title if only you had joined them. Maybe its one of those things that's too obvious that you can't see it at first.

 

As an aside: If you want the title, then join. You'll add a line to your CV for 80$, and some people will probably think that its a good deal. But if you're at the top 15% of your school you should be on either a) the honour roll or b) the deans list in the first place. You aren't going to shine through the other candidates just because you forked up some money when there are much better standards people will base you off of.

[Kimberly]

You'll want to accept. Until you get a worthwhile internship, these stupid honors societies and groups are all you have to distinguish yourself in the intern rat-race. Plus honor societies generally have good scholarship opportunities.

[i_love_burritos]

No, getting invited to a society that comes with a joining stipulation fee does not mean you are smart. In fact, its the whole foundation of the argument to not join in the first place. Saying you were invited but declined makes you look like you're weak enough to show you cared about their invite but too cheap to join.

 

The main benefit to this scam society is to go to their meetings and make connections with people in your field, and if you haven't forked up the 80$ plus whatever else it costs to attend a dinner, then there's no point in joining or saying you were invited.

[Ginger_Warrior]

What's wrong with Psych?

I didn't say there was anything wrong with Psych. GP and psych were the two disciplines I was looking at before deciding to leave, since they're more concerned about providing holistic care whereas other disciplines are focused on surgery, pathology and diseases, which I personally found very difficult to focus on without wanting to ask questions about a patient's lifestyle, sleeping patterns etc.. Even I'm not willing to argue, however, that GP/Psych is what most of my fellow students wanted to do--mostly, they wanted CT--hence why you don't need to be so much of a "dick" to get into them because there's less competition.

[xSxqPowerx]

It sounds like one of those scam honours societies that exist purely to gather membership fees, but don't actually exist or have any real accreditation.

 

But I didn't do any research on it, maybe it is legit.

[Saradomin_Mage]

 

:-k

[Kimberly]

An accredited campus wouldn't allow them to invite people and run as a group on their campus if it was a scam.