Invite to the Honor Society...BUT.

[yann]

Hi everyone!

I received a letter from my community college today (where I'm taking my pre-reqs) and received an invitation to join Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. Apparently only the top 10% of the student population gets invited to join and you need a GPA of at least 3.5. I was very honored to receive this, but since I come from Japan I have little to no knowledge about the significance, or lack thereof, of having that Honor Society name on your transcript. I assumed it was a Sorority thing, and I've always had this biased image of sorority girls being air-headed blondes with big boobs and a tight pink shirt (Yeah mostly stemmed from Legally Blonde and dumb teen comedy movies). Obviously since I've been reading people's posts here I've realized you actually have to have the brains and high academic achievement to join one.
ANYWHO. My point is, is it worth joining? Mainly because yes, it is an Honor Society but it's from a community college. Don't get me wrong, I worked my ass off to get good grades in my sci courses because none were easy A's. But vet school admissions don't know that and possibly don't even care. Just wondering and would like everyone's HO (honest opinion)...is it worth joining?
And forgive me if I sound calculative for considering joining just for better chances of acceptance!

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[LetItSnow]

Just wondering and would like everyone's HO (honest opinion)...is it worth joining?

All I can say is: I didn't.

 

[awaring1]

Is there any negative side to joining? If it really is a meaningless honor society I think the admissions committee will just not give it any attention. I am not sure it could actually hurt your application.
I joined the Beta Beta Beta Biological honor society and it had nothing to do with greek. I would say join it and if for some reason you regret it, just don't put it on your resume. It's not like the people at the VMCAS put a private investigator out after you. It doesn't seem like you have anything to lose.

 

[EllieGirl89]

I did my first two years of college at a CC and I joined PTK when given the chance. It's not related to Greek organizations in terms of frats/sororities at all. Honestly, I didn't DO anything. I just got my card and had the title and was able to graduate "with honors." I put it on my VMCAS and explained the requirements for membership in the description. I say go for it.

 

[pooter]

Honor societies never hurt, and schools are pretty good about knowing the social groups from the academic societies. Overall, unless dues are ridiculous, I'd suggest you join. It'll pad your resume and it's something you can put down when applying for awards or other (more selective) honor societies. I did Alpha Lambda Delta, Beta Beta Beta, and Gamma Sigma Epsilon, which *may* have contributed to getting an invite to Phi Beta Kappa.

 

[CorporateFatCat]

I think I may have been invited by the same organization you have named, but didn't join because they wanted money from me. I forget how much and it may have been a completely different thing, but that sounded really fishy to me and I didn't respond. Doing more research about the organization probably wouldn't hurt.

 

[kakurubird]

If you're considering transferring to a four-year college for a bachelor's at some point...
I'm remembering this from a conversation a LONG time ago, so do your own research on this, but I've heard that, depending on your comm. college's chapter of Phi Theta Kappa and the four-year school, there can be special scholarships available. Something to look in to and consider when making a decision.

That being said, I was Phi Beta Kappa for my undergrad. There's really nothing that special, besides a somewhat nice ceremony that my grandfather loved going to before graduation (that whole weekend was for the parents and grandfather, honestly...), and there's some publications and funding opportunities available if I remember correctly. And this may sound sort of petty, but it was nice to have a much smaller and separate ceremony for PBK outside of graduation that recognized the additional everything I put in for undergrad.

Also, that whole ceremony feels (especially the beginning) feels like you're joining a cult...

 

[Wubbles]

I'm familiar with PTK because I was also invited to join it. I decided not to but my boyfriend did. It costs something like $80 to join and basically the advantages are having it listed on your transcript, having a special sash when you graduate, applying for their special scholarships, and volunteering through their programs (which I think you need to do to apply to the scholarships). Also, at our school if you volunteer through PTK for so many hours, the dean will write you a letter of recommendation.
So if paying the one-time fee is worth it to you to be able to access their meetings, volunteer opportunities, and have the 'member' status, then go for it! 🙂
And yeah, the ceremony is cult-ish! My boyfriend said it was creepy when they took them aside and had them drink a punch-like drink and repeat some kind of vow....too weird for me.

 

[EllieGirl89]

And yeah, the ceremony is cult-ish! My boyfriend said it was creepy when they took them aside and had them drink a punch-like drink and repeat some kind of vow....too weird for me.

I must have missed something...because I don't recall a PTK ceremony of any kind. I also don't remember paying money, but that could be because it was like 3 or 4 years ago so it's entirely possible that I did.

 

[Wubbles]

I must have missed something...because I don't recall a PTK ceremony of any kind. I also don't remember paying money, but that could be because it was like 3 or 4 years ago so it's entirely possible that I did.

It's possible that the separate chapters are ran differently. This chapter may collect member fees in order to put on the ceremony lol. (That's an expensive ceremony!)

 

[EllieGirl89]

It's possible that the separate chapters are ran differently. This chapter may collect member fees in order to put on the ceremony lol. (That's an expensive ceremony!)

True, imagine the price of all those gallons of Special Punch!

 

[yann]

Thanks everyone! The fee is $75 to join...since I'm living off on $10 an hour right now, it's definitely not cheap. But it's going to up my chances even the slightest, it might as well be worth it. Hell, it's NOTHING compared to the tuition I'll be spending on vet school anyways!

Thank you!

 

[Psorophoraferox]

I was extended an invitation to PTK at my cc and Golden Key when I started at my four-year school. I declined both due to the $80 membership fee ($80 each, I mean), and not being interested in most of the community service activities or "networking" opportunities. If my local chapters had been going to animal shelters and getting me shadowing opps with vets, I may have considered it, but the focus seemed to be so business-world oriented that I didn't see how I would benefit. At least, I didn't see a $160 benefit! If membership had been free, sure, why not?