Honor Societies Are Part Of Greek Life, Too, And It's An Honor To Be In Them

There's a strong connection between Greek life and sororities and fraternities, but many people forget about honor societies —which, in my opinion, are more of an honor.

Unlike sororities and fraternities, honor societies invite students based on their grades and are typically open to any person meeting the GPA requirements.

What does this mean for students? It means that the Greek community of an honor society is more exclusive based on grades, making it an honor to be accepted. However, unlike sororities and fraternities, honor societies are more inclusive based on gender, financial status, race and other factors.

I'm not saying that it's bad to be part of a sorority or fraternity, but don't exclude honor societies when thinking about Greek life.

As a solely online student, I didn't think I would join Greek life, since I'm not on campus. Thankfully, many honor societies do not require members to reside in specific housing. This is an advantage for non-traditional students who cannot or do not want to live on campus.

This doesn't mean you can't join a sorority or fraternity along with an honor society to receive housing benefits, but it does create more opportunities for students to become involved.

I'm able to enjoy Greek life without having to live on campus, all thanks to Phi Theta Kappa.

Because many community colleges do not have sororities or fraternities, PTK allows community college students to still experience Greek life. This is especially important if students do not plan on transferring to a university but still want to experience Greek life.

Honor societies provide an opportunity for all students to enjoy Greek life.

Sororities, fraternities and honor societies all provide opportunities for leadership, fellowship and service. What makes honor societies different is that they also focus on recognizing scholarship and providing opportunities for scholars to grow. Isn't that why students are going to college anyway — to grow academically?

Sororities and fraternities offer a social Greek life, while honor societies offer a social and academic Greek life.

Since most honor societies do not require members to live on campus, how can they offer socialization like sororities and fraternities? They do this through the same meetings, events, conferences, fundraisers and service projects as sororities and fraternities, but with a focus on scholarly achievement.

With so much focus on scholarly achievement, honor societies don't include students with a lower GPA that want to improve, right? Wrong.

Honor societies are typically invitation only; however, many offer provisional membership for students that do not meet the minimum GPA requirement. Most honor societies want students to excel and encourage involvement regardless of GPA.

Being involved with an honor society is often more notable on a resume, regardless of your GPA.

You can be involved in Greek life without having to be a member. Look for service project announcements and ask how you can participate. Simply participating in a service project hosted by an honor society will help others and your resume.

I'm honored to belong to an honor society and Greek life.