Once you’re in, you’re on a permanent mailing list and they send you newsletters every now and then about scholarships and so on that you can apply for. I joined in my second year after much debate and conferring with my parents as to whether this was worth a $90 risk. I wouldn’t want anyone to get scammed out of $90, and I also wouldn’t want people to miss out of valuable experiences because of this!Īs far as societies go, I suppose that Golden Key is legit. Make sure you do some research on this group before you decide to join. I’m not saying whether you should or should not join this society, however, I’d just tell you to be careful. If that was the case, I could hardly expect any impartial views. When I saw their booth at Imagine Day, I wanted to ask some questions about how it would actually add value to my resume, but the girl manning the booth wasn’t even a part of the society! I found that a bit strange, and to be honest I wondered if she was only there to gain acceptance into the society. The Honour Key Society does have a UBC chapter though, so that adds an amount of credibility to it’s name. This fee is not mentioned anywhere in the welcome letter, and I was surprised when I saw the amount mentioned. It’s unclear what this money is put toward, except for the vague notion that “scholarships” are given out by this society.

However the fact that made me extremely skeptical of this society was the fact that you have to pay $90 to enter. The society now claims to spend approximately $1,000,000 annually on scholarships and awards, though it is unclear whether this allocation has remained proportional since then. A second article found that Golden Key spent just $289,461 (US dollars) on scholarships, less than 5 per cent of their total expenditures for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1997. Although the society claimed to “return 75 per cent of each membership as benefits and services to local chapters and their members other 25 per cent is used for administrative expenses,” the Ubyssey found that in 1997 salaries, management and general expenses totalled $2,997,827, almost 47 per cent of the $6,430,054 in total expenditures.

Articles in the University of British Columbia student newspaper the Ubyssey claimed to have examined the society’s finances and scholarship practices. “Concerns were raised over a decade ago about the apparently large gap between the amount of money spent on salaries and the amount spent on giving out scholarships. The Wikipedia article has a section entitled “Controversy,” where it describes some shady dealings: Moreover, a quick google search showed me that this group has had money issues in the past. Most legitimate academic societies reevaluate your eligibility every year. Basically, if you do well in your first year of University, you could fail the rest of your courses you would still have membership to this society. To my knowledge, there are no yearly fees and no other parameters. There were a couple red flags that made me skeptical of the authenticity of this society.įirst of all, they require you to achieve grades that put you in the top 15% of your faculty, but joining once means you are in for life.

At first it seemed like a pretty legitimate group, but the more I read the more I felt like it was a bit of a scam. Members are eligible for scholarships.įor further information about the Golden Key Chapter at McGill, info (e-mail) us.So, this summer I got a letter in the mail from this Golden Key Honour Society asking me to join.

Each year, in November, invitations are extended to these students, offering them the opportunity to join Golden Key. Students in the top 15% of their faculty at the end of each academic year (based on CGPA) are eligibile to become members of Golden Key. As a courtesy to the Chapter, the Office of the Dean of Students receives applications annually and then forwards them to the national Chapter. The Office of the Dean of Students serves in an advisory capacity to the student executive and members of the Golden Key Chapter at McGill. Golden Key continually works toward increasing its scholarships and awards programs with 17 active programs last year, the Society honored more than 700 members with exclusive scholarships totaling more than US$500,000. Leaders in higher education, business and public service are members of Golden Key and support the Society. Golden Key International Honour Society is an international, nonprofit organization with 270 collegiate chapters at major colleges and universities in Canada, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Australia, Malaysia and the United States.

Goldenkey honors society