I have a somewhat odd question...

I recently got an invitation from Alpha Lambda Delta, a national honor society for first year college students. Does anyone have any experience with this organization, or insight into whether the costs for joining (time/modest entry fee) outweigh the benefits?

My student advisor is currently out of the country with a study abroad program, and while I could certainly get in-touch with the student affairs office, or the organization itself, I thought someone in the community might be able to provide a more unbiased outside perspective.

Any insight at all would be greatly appreciated! ^_^

First off - congrats - always nice to be recognized and wanted!

I'll do a little research into this specific group but I'd be curious to hear - what do they say you're going to get out of it?

I remember the old "Who's Who in Texas High School" whatever. Essentially you pay to be part of a thing that's only actual status is saying you're in the thing. A great money maker for the guy who owns "Who's Who" but not of any actual tangible value to the people that pay $35 to be listed.

There's a thing called the "Telly" award in TV -- $395 award packet fee if you win but you get to put "Telly Award Winner" on your resume. I'm sure they give 1000 of those awards a year nice work if you can get it.

Let me stress, I DO NOT know the Alpha Lambda Delta organization - there are plenty of solid fraternal organizations that offer excellent networking opportunities. I'd do the leg work on who their alums are and what you get out of it. In the mean time, I'll see what I can dig up.

Did some reading - lots of people asking essentially the same question - is this a scam? Some people say "yeah, waste of money", some say "it's hard to get into"

How much is membership?

Thanks for the quick reply! Membership for the ALD at my college is $35 - so quite cheap... but then again, it seems almost too inexpensive. I suppose it may be worth it for networking like you mentioned, but I'm having a hard time discerning what they actually do for me in return.

http://www.nationalald.org/index.cfm/ab ... uirements/

So looks like it's an organization for the top 20% of freshmen.

This definitely appears to be one of those things where the only real benefit is saying you're a member and the camaraderie with fellow members. I enjoyed being in the National Honor Society in High School, but there were no fees for that.

From Wiki:

ALD initiates between 25,000 and 30,000 new members each year.

So, about a million a year in revenue. But they may hit you up for more contributions once you're in.

Maybe this is a gateway organization for the Skull and Bones club.

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I'm still a card carrying member of Lambda Lambda Lambda...

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