Honor Societies

[625233]

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Are they worth adding to the primary app? We only have 15 spots to fill, so do Med schools care to see them? Ex Alpha Epsilon Delta, American Chemical Society, Tri-Beta, etc.

 

[einsteinm]

Throw them together under something like "Honors," but med schools won't care because everyone has them. Now if you have Phi Kappa Phi, that's different.

 

[NeuResurgens]

Throw them together under something like "Honors," but med schools won't care because everyone has them. Now if you have Phi Kappa Phi, that's different.

I thought Phi Kappa Beta was the one people cared about?

Ironically, I think my confusion pretty much answer's OP's question.. these things aren't super important..

 

[Inventor of Post-Its]

I put Phi Beta Kappa on there because I had space. But if you have fifteen valuable activities you want to include, don't bump one of them off to include an honors society (especially not American Chemical Society, which literally anyone can pay to join).

 

[Glandzburg]

It was argued on a post several weeks ago that Phi Beta Kappa membership alone really doesn't help all that much, unless you were actively involved in an officer/leadership role. There are other better ways to demonstrate that you are a strong student with good character if you are worried about space on your application.

 

[wegotthis14]

I put Phi Beta Kappa as one of my 15 awards/activities. Though the interviewer at one school was blinded to my stats, he could see my activities section and he positively commented on the PBK status. I think it's one of the few honors societies you should include.

 

[Lawpy]

Are they worth adding to the primary app? We only have 15 spots to fill, so do Med schools care to see them? Ex Alpha Epsilon Delta, American Chemical Society, Tri-Beta, etc.

All of them mean nothing by themselves unless you did very substantial activity. And besides, those groups are cliched havens for premeds. Phi Beta Kappa matters, and even then it's not significant by itself, since:

1. Not all schools have it
2. It's a testament to your already-known strong academic performance.

The only honors society that matters and taken seriously is Sigma Xi for research.

 

[Doug Underhill]

wegotthis raises a good point: Phi Beta Kappa could be useful if the school you're interviewing at blinds the interviewer to your GPA/MCAT. It's a synonym for "high GPA". Otherwise, it seems kind of useless.

 

[tiedyeddog]

You can list it, no one will judge you for it. As others have said, however, it is not going to significantly add to your application.