Question of the Week

"What’s the deal with all the mailings I’m getting about joining honor societies and  leadership groups? Are they scams or legitimate?"

 Honor Societies and Leadership Programs:  About this time of year, high school students will receive information in the mail from various honor societies and youth leadership organizations, inviting them to join or  participate in a summer program. The programs usually run for about ten days and are located throughout the United States, including Washington, D.C. People to People, the National Youth Leadership Forum, and the Congressional Youth Leadership Council are just a few of the organizations that conduct summer programs. All charge a fee, usually between $2,000 to $3,000. The honor societies are also usually fee based.

     It is possible that Severn students may find their names on an organization’s mailing list either because they have been nominated by a teacher or because they have been identified through a search of data collected and sold by a national testing agency, such as the College Board. Severn students in the past have participated in one or more of these summer programs, and their experiences have usually been very positive. Nonetheless, because these organizations are run for a profit and charge a fee, Severn cannot endorse any one of them. For the same reason, colleges and universities do not consider mere participation in these programs as anything special. They view them as a “paid-for” experience, which is not to say that participation may not be worthwhile.