Association of College Honor Societies/NSCS Release Tips on How to Identify a Legitimate Honor Society

Washington, D.C.-This spring, thousands of students will receive invitations to join honor societies. But how many of these organizations are legitimate?  

The National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS), in collaboration with the Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS), is providing the following guidelines to help students identify legitimate honors organizations.

The guidelines, listed on the NSCS Web site and the ACHS Web site, were primarily drafted by ACHS, an accrediting body for honor societies.

The National Society of Collegiate Scholars, an honors organization for high-achieving first- and second-year students at 250   colleges and universities, is providing this information to all students to help them verify an organization’s legitimacy.

According to Steve Loflin, NSCS’ Executive Director, these guidelines are a vital tool for students. "For the past 15 years, we've invited high-achieving first- and second-year college students to join our organization," he said. "In our conversations with them, we've noticed that they're highly concerned about how to identify legitimate groups like ours, and separate them from organizations that are not offering students any benefits or opportunities. That’s why we wanted to provide this list, as a service to all students.”.  

ACHS Executive Director Dorothy I. Mitstifer echoes Loflin’s sentiment and relates how important it is for honors organization to be held accountable and represent themselves accurately.

“The Association of College Honor Societies was formed for two very important reasons,” said Mitstifer. “The first is to be the standard bearer for and authority on honor society legitimacy, excellence, and values. The second is to help member societies maintain excellence in benefits, service, programs, and governance.”

For more information on identifying legitimate honor societies, visit www.nscs.org/how-identify-legitimate-honor-society

About NSCS:

The National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS) is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies and is the nation’s only interdisciplinary honors organization to invite first- and second-year college students. Membership is by invitation only, based on grade point average and class standing. NSCS awards more scholarship dollars to undergraduates than any other honor society nationwide. NSCS offers members exclusive access to scholarships, career resources, leadership and networking opportunities. NSCS has more than 650,000 members and 240chapters in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.