If you’re in college and get good grades, your school may nominate you to become a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS). There are many honor society scams these days so you may wonder — is NSLS a pyramid scheme?
Our team of experts at Business2Community has combed through all of the information available about NSLS, to help you figure out if it’s a pyramid scheme. In doing so, we’ll discuss the company’s background, how it does business, and whether it’s a legitimate honor society or one to avoid.
Is NSLS a Pyramid Scheme? Key Facts
- NSLS is a US-based LLC founded in 2001 by Gary Tuerack. It is a for-profit organization, but it is not a pyramid scheme, and it hasn’t had any legal issues – although some students say that NSLS is a scam.
- The company business model is based on a one-time fee paid by students who become members and does not resemble that of an MLM.
- There are around 2 million members across the US, and the company brings in roughly $25.5 million per year.
The NSLS Business Model
The NSLS is an honor society, based in the US, that partners with over 820 colleges nationwide. According to the company website, it is a “life-changing leadership program” whose goal is to “build leaders and support people in achieving their goals”.
What is an Honors Society?
Before we dive into the business model of NSLS, let’s take a quick look at how other honor societies work.
Honor societies in general are prestigious groups that nominate students with high levels of academic achievement to join. They often go by their Greek names — one of the most notable being Phi Beta Kappa — and offer their members everything from leadership events to social networking and even substantial scholarships, as long a base GPA is maintained.
Different universities and colleges host chapters of various honor societies so they may have their preferences, but the following is a list of some of the most recognized honor societies:
- Phi Beta Kappa (PBK) — Liberal arts honor society recognizing students excelling in the arts, humanities, and social sciences.
- Sigma Xi — A scientific research honor society recognizing excellence in STEM fields of study.
- Phi Kappa Phi (PKP) — A well-respected honor society that acknowledges students from all academic disciplines for outstanding scholarship, leadership, and service.
- Golden Key International Honour Society — Promotes academics, leadership, and service in various fields of study.
These societies should be accredited, typically by the Association of College Honor Societies. However, some are certified by other organizations. These organizations may have lower standards, which is the case with the NSLS, accredited by Cognia, which we’ll discuss in more detail below.
According to the Association of College Honor Societies, a legitimate honor society should be registered as a 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization by the IRS. It should also require members to rank in the top 35% of their class, with a GPA not lower than 3.3 for undergraduate degrees, and should have a GPA of no lower than 3.5 for graduate degrees.
How Does NSLS Work?
The NSLS is a for-profit business, but according to our research, it prefers the euphemism “for benefit”. As a for-profit business, it’s not tax-exempt as some nonprofit honor societies are. As such, the owners of the company receive a share of the proceeds, differing from a nonprofit, where all proceeds must be used charitably.
There appear to be two primary ways that the company makes its money — through affiliate marketing and enrollment fees from students.
Its marketing is partly through affiliate partnerships and other multichannel avenues, such as leadership summits, virtual events, email campaigns, and social media.
Brands can partner with the NSLS, which then helps by delivering surveys with key insights for the brand, placing the brand up front and center during outreach and events, or as NSLS says on its website “placing your brand in front of our members during an influential time in their lives”. While that sounds a bit sinister, it is essentially what all companies aim to do.
The second way that the NSLS makes its money is from students. Students who are invited to join pay a $95 registration fee. It’s a one-time fee that students pay upfront, although as we’ll see in a testimonial below, there may be multiple levels that you can join, with varying entry fees.
NSLS Membership Requirements
To join NSLS, students have to receive a nomination from their school – if it’s a school that is a chapter of the NSLS – and then that nomination must be approved by the chapter advisors.
Different chapters at different universities around the world seem to set their own requirements for nomination criteria for students to join.
Here are some examples of different NSLS chapters:
- At Virginia Peninsula Community College, a two-year technical college in Williamsburg, Virginia, where students can get their associate degree, the requirements are that prospective members must have completed 12 hours of associate degree coursework and their GPA must be at least 2.5.
- At Tompkins Cortland Community College in New York, the minimum requirement for GPA is also 2.5, and it also states that “there are no academic standards or requirements to maintain membership in NSLS”.
- The CUNY School of Professional Studies in New York has a minimum GPA of 3.5 and students are also selected for their leadership potential and academic standing.
- PennWest University in Edinboro, Pennsylvania, requires a 2.6 GPA, but also says that “any student who wishes to better himself or herself may request membership”.
Aside from the GPA requirements, you are also more likely to be noticed by this national leadership honor society if you demonstrate leadership skills in an extracurricular activity.
If you weren’t nominated, you can fill out an application form and be endorsed by a member of the faculty.
When you join the National Society, you must pay a one-time registration fee of $95. This membership fee earns college students a lifetime membership to the national society, as well as the welcoming kit, which includes a shirt, a pin, a certificate, and a decal for your car. You can also purchase a plaque for an additional fee.
Induction into the NSLS
That $95 membership fee will get you in the door, but new members who want to be fully inducted must complete additional steps to access comprehensive member benefits. These steps include orientation, training for future leaders, speaker broadcasts on leadership and success, and team meetings with your local chapter.
@lifewithdrewske CELEBRATE is exactly what WE did 🤟🏽🥳🔥 Shoutout to the 106 students that got inducted into the #NSLS Chapter at #CMSV 🤞🏽🐬 | 🎥 cred : Jonathan Ramirez ’18 #leadershipdevelopment #leadership #fyp #foryour #thebronx #nyc
Membership Benefits of NSLS
NSLS members do seem to receive some real benefits including:
- Scholarships of up to $7,500
- Discounts at various businesses
- Leadership certification
- Invites to exclusive fundraisers and events
- An NSLS letter of recommendation
Refund Policy
According to the Terms and Conditions on the NSLS website, if students want to cancel their membership, they can apply for a full refund within 30 days of payment.
Is NSLS a Pyramid Scheme?
No, NSLS isn’t a pyramid scheme. Pyramid schemes are illegal in the US – and many other countries – and there has not been a legal judgment against NSLS in a count in the USA or any other country.
Is NSLS an MLM?
No, NSLS is not an MLM. An MLM is a business model wherein members sell the products or services offered by the company directly to consumers. They earn their income through sales, but the most successful MLM sellers get the majority of their income through a percentage of the sales made by the sellers that they recruit to sell under them.
There are three main components to the structure of an MLM:
- Independent business owners: This is what the representatives or salespeople for MLMs are called. They join as independent representatives — they don’t have a salaried contract with the company. To join, they generally have to pay a fee and purchase a certain amount of marketing materials, training materials, or a starter kit from the company.
- Sales and recruitment: These independent representatives must sell the company’s products or services directly to other consumers. They are also obligated to recruit people to sell under them, also referred to as a downline.
- Earnings: The way that independent representatives earn money is threefold — retail sales, where they make money directly from sales; commissions, where they make a percentage of the sales made by their downline; and bonuses which are offered on a regular basis by the company to incentivize more sales and recruitment.
While many MLMs do operate legally, they are often problematic and run into legal trouble. The main challenge that independent business owners face with MLMs is that they don’t earn enough money to break even or make a profit, and they end up leaving, often in a lot of debt.
While the NSLS does have some things in common with an MLM, such as the membership fee, and potentially low return on investment, there are fundamental differences in the business models:
- Recruitment: With the NSLS, students are invited to become members if they have good academic achievements and show leadership potential. Members are not expected to recruit anybody else, whereas in an MLM, recruitment is a major part of the business model, and members must actively recruit others.
- Compensation: The NSLS has no compensation structure — it’s an honor society, not a job or sales role. The benefits that members receive are not economic so much as developmental (except that, in some cases, they may receive scholarships).
- Activities: In the NSLS, the main activities for members are centered around personal growth and developing their leadership abilities, as well as speaker broadcast events, success networking teams, and educational events. On the other hand, in an MLM the focus is on selling the company’s products or services and recruiting others to do the same in your downline.
Is NSLS Safe and Legit?
The NSLS is considered legitimate by Cognia, a nonprofit organization that accredits honor societies.
However, Cognia is not the standard for accreditation. That would be the Association of College and Honor Societies and as we will review below, the NSLS does not meet all of their standards for what makes a legitimate honor society.
Is the NSLS an Accredited Society?
The NSLS program is accredited by Cognia. Cognia is a nonprofit organization, although the CEO did make nearly $1 million in 2019, according to New University. Cognia gives accreditation to 36,000 schools around the globe, 30,000 of which are located in the US.
Cognia is not the authority in accrediting national college honor societies, however — the Association of College and Honor Societies (ACHS) is considered to be more official, and states on its website that it is the only agency that certifies honor societies.
How to Determine if an Honor Society is Legit
The ACHS — which hasn’t accredited the NSLS — has some tips to help you determine if an honor society is actually legitimate.
Minimum Academic Criteria
Undergraduates should rank in the upper 35% of their class, and have a GPA of no lower than 3.3 for specialized degrees, and no lower than 3.5 for general degrees. The ACHS states that a 3.0 GPA is too low of a standard these days because there has been so much grade inflation. They also emphasize that these are the minimum requirements and that many national society requirements will be higher.
Campus Chapters
A national society of leadership and honor should have a campus chapter that is formally chartered by the college. Students should be selected and invited by the campus chapter, and this chapter should participate in the society at a national level.
Governance Model
A national society should have board members that are elected by the membership, and the membership should be allowed to participate in amending the bylaws. It should also be recognized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization by the IRS.
Transparency
For a national society of leadership and honor to be legitimate, it should publicly disclose its membership criteria, the member benefits, the fee, bylaws, and charter policies on its website. It should also be made clear what the eligibility standards are for prospective members.
Is NSLS a Scam? Member Testimonials
We’ve learned that the NSLS is not a pyramid scheme, and not an MLM, but the question surrounding its legitimacy as a national honor society is a bit hazy, or at least nuanced. So let’s have a look at what actual members of the NSLS have to say about their experiences first-hand.
The NSLS has plenty of videos on YouTube where members express their satisfaction with the program. In the following promotional video, you can see NSLS members describe the benefits they received from joining NSLS:
On Reddit, however, it seems to be a different story, with many expressing the need for caution when approached with an NSLS nomination. Here’s what one Redditor had to say about the organization:
Another redditor explained the following:
Other complaints on social media include aggressive and misleading marketing, harassment, contact even after people are no longer at school, and marketing to high school students. While there are plenty of anecdotal posts about these criticisms, and they’re not to be doubted, there are other positive reviews.
This TikTok reviewer shows her audience how there are actually various payment levels depending on what tier of the NSLS you want to join:
@taylorhopemak National honors society, you have some explaining to do 🤨 #nationalhonorssociety #graduateschool #nsls
All in all, the NSLS is not a pyramid scheme, nor is it an MLM, but it isn’t accredited by the ACHS – the formal body accrediting honor societies. That being said, the worst that can happen if you join is you waste some time and will be out $95. You may be able to make use of the exclusive content the organization puts out or the gatherings it curates, but whether this is valuable to you will be a personal judgment.