Phi Beta Kappa: another $cam $ociety?

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mattorama

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I got something in the mail from some phi beta kappa society that wants $60 from me to join. My mom was really excited and thinks it is something special. I have never heard of it. Is this just another worthless honor society ($$$) or something I should go ahead an join to at least make my mom happy?

Maybe I should just talk my mom into paying and it will be win-win...I won't have to pay and she can be happy about it. I've already been accepted to med school so I can't even pad my application with it. ;)
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It is not a scam. It is the most prestigious honor society and has the greatest name recognition. Usually only the top 10%(it might be less) of each campus are invited.

see the sight. http://www.pbk.org/ Also plenty of professionals have Phi Beta Kappa on their CV.
 
It's legit. If you join one honor society, let this be it.

CCW
 
Members don't see this ad :)
It's certainly good for your application. Do it.
 
they accept far fewer than the top 10% of students at any college. 15k members-elect/yr. definitely not a waste of money.
 
Phi Beta Kappa has very specific requirements including a certain # of "liberal arts and sciences" courses or credits. Therefore, it is more difficult for students in what are considered more "technical" majors like engineering to be elected to PBK. At my school, 1 year or 6+ credits of a foreign language at the college level were required as well. For junior students at my school, the minimum GPA requirement was 3.75, for graduating seniors, 3.5. I think the requirements differ from school to school, but it seems that the point of PBK is to honor academically well-rounded students who made an effort to take a variety of reasonably challenging courses. just my $.02. Congratulations, PBK will look very nice on your residency apps if nothing else..:)
 
It's a tremendous privilege to be inducted into phi beta kappa. Send them the $60, membership is definitely worth the price.
 
Both the membership fee and golden key are worth the money. It's a highly prestigious organization known in various countries.
 
Looks like I will just go ahead and let my mom pay for it (she offered) now that I know it isn't a total waste. Thanks for the replys!
 
Phi Beta Kappa...

My high school English teacher used to go on and on extolling the virtues of being a Phi Beta Kappa inductee.

Ahite, the damned thing cost me sixty bucks and a job working at a hospital...

Interviewer: Uh, so you're a frat kid, huh?

Me: (thinking he's joking) Umn, yeah.

Interviewer: So, are you gonna take this job seriously?

Me: I actually was never in a fraternity, although I had friends who were involved.

Interviewer: Then what's this "Phi Beta Kappa" ?

Me: Oh, (laughing)

Interviewer: (straight) I don't see what's so funny. The last frat boy we hired didn't do so well.

Me: It's actually just an honor society.

Interviewer: Whatever!

This guy had a PhD after his name. Phi Beta Kappa?... never heard of it.

Anybody get anything from their PBK membership besides the publication and a lil' pat on the back?
 
Originally posted by edmadison
$60!!! It was free at my school.

Ed
Click to expand...

That's what I'm saying! Has PBK changed? I think that you should check that out before you send the money. It's not your average honorary society, where anyone who pays gets in. You're usually nominated (by faculty reps at your school), and then go through a formal induction and sign the roster of PBK members at your school. Check it out, unless someone can attest that the induction procedures have indeed changed.

And I too have received nothing more than a couple of newsletters and some pleas for donation since being inducted. But I do know a number of folks who keep it on their CVs and plaster their certificates in their offices, so it must add some value. AOA would be much more important long term though.
 
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Originally posted by Heal&Teach
That's what I'm saying! Has PBK changed? I think that you should check that out before you send the money. It's not your average honorary society, where anyone who pays gets in. You're usually nominated (by faculty reps at your school), and then go through a formal induction and sign the roster of PBK members at your school. Check it out, unless someone can attest that the induction procedures have indeed changed.

And I too have received nothing more than a couple of newsletters and some pleas for donation since being inducted. But I do know a number of folks who keep it on their CVs and plaster their certificates in their offices, so it must add some value. AOA would be much more important long term though.
Click to expand...

PBK has not changed. I am a second career medical student with quite a number of things on my CV. Without question, the single most noted thing on it is my PBK membership. Are there people that won't recognize it -- of course; but there are people that won't recognize rain when it's falling on your head. If you don't believe me or the rest of us here, go ask the chairman of your math, government, or english department.

Ed
 
my aunt, professor at a nationally ranked university says, "it's an enormous <expletive> honor."
 
this thread sounds like bs to me. pbk is highly regarded in academic circles, moreso than any other academic honor society. i have a hard time believing that somebody who qualifies for pbk has no idea what it is. even if you did not know, why would sdn be the first place you ask? im sure the invitation included a brief history and web link. just from that it should be apparent that pbk is the oldest and most respected honor society. countless historical figures have been part of this society. anyways, i think the original poster is just looking for an ego boost from everybody saying how great pbk is. to the OP, you suck, and you are a buttcheese. On a side note, does anybody know what this Rhodes Scholarship thing is all about? i've never heard of Oxford anyway. they keep sending me stuff in the mail. my mom is all excited about it, but i think it might be a scam. what do you guys think?

CAPT
 
Originally posted by captbadass
On a side note, does anybody know what this Rhodes Scholarship thing is all about? i've never heard of Oxford anyway. they keep sending me stuff in the mail. my mom is all excited about it, but i think it might be a scam. what do you guys think?

CAPT
Click to expand...

:D
 
Originally posted by captbadass
this thread sounds like bs to me. pbk is highly regarded in academic circles, moreso than any other academic honor society. i have a hard time believing that somebody who qualifies for pbk has no idea what it is. even if you did not know, why would sdn be the first place you ask? im sure the invitation included a brief history and web link. just from that it should be apparent that pbk is the oldest and most respected honor society. countless historical figures have been part of this society. anyways, i think the original poster is just looking for an ego boost from everybody saying how great pbk is. to the OP, you suck, and you are a buttcheese. On a side note, does anybody know what this Rhodes Scholarship thing is all about? i've never heard of Oxford anyway. they keep sending me stuff in the mail. my mom is all excited about it, but i think it might be a scam. what do you guys think?

CAPT
Click to expand...

:rolleyes:
ummmm....yeah....Sorry I didn't know what it was. Pretty presumptuous aren't you?

I first messaged several of my friends online who were VERY strong students in college and only 1 guy even recognized the name, but didn't know anything about it. Sorry if I don't keep up on these sorts of things.

Why SDN? I have been visiting this site for a while and people usually have pretty good advice. I figured if it was anything worthwhile at least some people on here could tell me. Why would I give a rip what people on this site would think about me personally? I don't know a single person on here in "real life". I am going to be at a med school in the fall that barely hits top 40....half of SDN people will probably be at a top 10 school. I doubt I could impress anyone on here if I tried.

Brief history in the letter?....yes, but that doesn't mean much
weblink?: NO

I have gotten honor society stuff before and it all looks the same...asking for $$. I just wanted to see if it was legit.

I really don't care about any ego boosts. I have never joined any honor societies before because I plain didn't care... I have always refused to even go to school honor banquets for a pat on the back. I didn't even go to my college graduation because I figured it would be a waste of time and I didn't give a rip. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I shun self-congratulatory stuff like that with a passion. I just figured the least I could do for my parents after all these years is join this...IF IT IS LEGIT (which it seems to be).


Thank you to the SDNers who gave advice without jumping to conclusions....sorry for the rant, but this kind of pisses me off. It was a simple question without pretense.
 
Originally posted by mattorama
:rolleyes:
ummmm....yeah....Sorry I didn't know what it was. Pretty presumptuous aren't you?

I first messaged several of my friends online who were VERY strong students in college and only 1 guy even recognized the name, but didn't know anything about it. Sorry if I don't keep up on these sorts of things.

Why SDN? I have been visiting this site for a while and people usually have pretty good advice. I figured if it was anything worthwhile at least some people on here could tell me. Why would I give a rip what people on this site would think about me personally? I don't know a single person on here in "real life". I am going to be at a med school in the fall that barely hits top 40....half of SDN people will probably be at a top 10 school. I doubt I could impress anyone on here if I tried.

Brief history in the letter?....yes, but that doesn't mean much
weblink?: NO

I have gotten honor society stuff before and it all looks the same...asking for $$. I just wanted to see if it was legit.

I really don't care about any ego boosts. I have never joined any honor societies before because I plain didn't care... I have always refused to even go to school honor banquets for a pat on the back. I didn't even go to my college graduation because I figured it would be a waste of time and I didn't give a rip. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I shun self-congratulatory stuff like that with a passion. I just figured the least I could do for my parents after all these years is join this...IF IT IS LEGIT (which it seems to be).


Thank you to the SDNers who gave advice without jumping to conclusions....sorry for the rant, but this kind of pisses me off. It was a simple question without pretense.
Click to expand...


Yes, not everyone know PBK. I got something like this as well and throw the letter away. :confused: :confused: :confused:
 
mattorama, me presumptuous? yeah, you're right. i think you are a tool. you dont have to justify yourself. i really dont care if you went to your graduation or not. i dont care if you ever joined an honor society either. And i dont give a s*it what your med school is ranked. it just justifies what i presumed in the first place-- your need to validate yourself for what YOU presume to be inadaquacies. SO join the the honor society, you buttsniffer. We all think its great! YAY. the bottom line is that your post is absurd. you are a pitiful excuse for a college grad. if you took half the time you took to write the post to look up info about pbk online, then you would realize how much of a complete douche bag you are for posting such a question. well, have fun learning the secret handshake at the convocation. please update us as you proceed in this endeavor and let us know if its a $cam. See how I wrote the s with a dollar sign just like yuou. that was so witty how you did it the first time. you suck. i knwo you dont do things for pats on the back, so i hope the collective sdn pat on the back isnt overwhelming.

capt
 
Alright you two, lets tone it down before I start to shoot in your direction.
 
I don't like that society. It is only opened to limited amount of institutions, and mine isn't included.
 
I agree. The OP is a freakin tool looking for someone to stroke his/her ego.
 
I don't understand why my question was such a big deal?!!?!?!?

capt: of course I felt the need to justify myself! I asked what I thought was a perfectly harmless, innocent question and I get flamed by you for it. Isn't this site for students to find answers to questions they don't know? Believe me, my self worth is in no way tied up with med school/academics/honors. But congrats...you did manage to get under my skin if that was your intent.
+pissed+ +pissed+ +pissed++pissed+ +pissed+
 
fullefect1 brings up a good point: PBK membership is not offered at every institution. I mentioned the society to my friend earlier and he sort of gave me this look. I forgot that he had not been eligible as an undergraduate only because there was no chapter at his college. This person would have been the ideal candidate had he attended almost any other school in the area.

I think I believe the original poster: not everyone has heard of PBK, especially that jerk who interviewed me. For a PhD that's kind of silly, but for a college student getting swarmed with offers to join THIS society or THAT society, it makes sense. I had no clue what the hell Phi Kappa Phi was back in college, but if I were an engineering major or someone not eligible for Phi Beta Kappa, I probably would have listened for it to come up in conversations where ever I went.

And people ask all sorts of random questions on this board (i.e. should I really prepare for the verbal section of the mcat?... should I refrain from mentioning my violent disposition in the personal statement?...). "Should I join this honor society" sounds like board material.

Now, if the op starts another thread with "I got an interview at this place called "Einstein" and they want me to attend.. anybody hear of it?..." I'll swallow my words!
 
PBK has deteriorated in some circles. At my university, its just a GPA check-off and submittal of a check, which is unfortunate considering the labor and honor it usd to require to join.

Nonetheless, its the only honor society that carries any sort of name recognition in the non academic world.

For the Engineering world, there is Tau Beta Pi, National Engineering Honor Society - also carries very nice name recognition, albeit within the field.

I would say when presented with the opportunity to join either, it would be unwise to turn them down.
 
Originally posted by mattorama
I got something in the mail from some phi beta kappa society that wants $60 from me to join. I have never heard of it. Is this just another worthless honor society ($$$) or something I should go ahead an join to at least make my mom happy?
Click to expand...


NOTE: For PBK, you must submit an application/resume to be considered eligible. Only then are the students selected by a faculty committee. You cannot be officially accepted without making some kind of an application first.

So, I suspect the OP is a fraud. =/
 
Originally posted by carrigallen
NOTE: For PBK, you must submit an application/resume to be considered eligible. Only then are the students selected by a faculty committee. You cannot be officially accepted without making some kind of an application first.

So, I suspect the OP is a fraud. =/
Click to expand...

That's not true...I never applied and I have PBK. My school paid for it and there was a ceremony. As far as I understand, you can't apply for it, you must be nominated.
 
Originally posted by noy
PBK has deteriorated in some circles. At my university, its just a GPA check-off and submittal of a check, which is unfortunate considering the labor and honor it usd to require to join.

Nonetheless, its the only honor society that carries any sort of name recognition in the non academic world.

For the Engineering world, there is Tau Beta Pi, National Engineering Honor Society - also carries very nice name recognition, albeit within the field.

I would say when presented with the opportunity to join either, it would be unwise to turn them down.
Click to expand...
Is Tau Beta Pi worthwhile to put on a CV? I'm in both PBK and TBP, and I have the feeling that any one who cares in the medical field will look highly upon PBK and not have any idea what TBP is.
 
Originally posted by mfleur
That's not true...I never applied and I have PBK. My school paid for it and there was a ceremony. As far as I understand, you can't apply for it, you must be nominated.
Click to expand...

You are right. I suspect carrigallen is the fraud.
 
I'm gonna have to stand by Mattoroma on this...he's just posting a question, and honestly, not everyone knows what Phi Beta kappa is...seriously, all these honors society sounds the same--Greek--to me
 
Originally posted by Super Rob
And people ask all sorts of random questions on this board (i.e. should I really prepare for the verbal section of the mcat?... should I refrain from mentioning my violent disposition in the personal statement?...)
Click to expand...

that's kinda funny, cos i actually did the latter.

and when i got a letter from sigma xi, i had no idea what that was either.
 
Originally posted by BubbleBobble
Is Tau Beta Pi worthwhile to put on a CV? I'm in both PBK and TBP, and I have the feeling that any one who cares in the medical field will look highly upon PBK and not have any idea what TBP is.
Click to expand...

TBP is a great accomplishment. put it on your cv, and just write that it's a national engineering honor society next to it. and definitely keep PBK on there too.
 
I found out about Phi Beta Kappa at my school today...I know it's an old thread, but it shows that an application's not neccessary at some schools...well at least at mine. It seems like a GPA and coursework check only.
http://www.college.ucla.edu/up/honors/pbk.html
 
why assume at first place and attack someone? There are tons of people who don't know what PBK is. It's NOT even something worth to boast about. I have two friends who were inducted into, but they give *** about it. It's all about your GPA and what classes you took.
 
captbadass....people like you need to shut up.

mattorama, don't led that fool bring you down.
 
mattorama, your question was very valid. I thought the Phi Betta Kappa thing was a complete greek scam and I refused to pay for it. Now, I see doctors including it on their C.V.'s all the time. I think it can indicate, "I wasn't Ivy, but I'm high quality"
 
mattorama said:
I got something in the mail from some phi beta kappa society that wants $60 from me to join. My mom was really excited and thinks it is something special. I have never heard of it. Is this just another worthless honor society ($$$) or something I should go ahead an join to at least make my mom happy?

Maybe I should just talk my mom into paying and it will be win-win...I won't have to pay and she can be happy about it. I've already been accepted to med school so I can't even pad my application with it. ;)
Click to expand...

Is this yet another self-gratification thread, or are you really that clueless?

--Vinoy
 
vinoyp said:
Is this yet another self-gratification thread, or are you really that clueless?

--Vinoy
Click to expand...

so many damn pompous cocky arrogant pricks on SDN. Go take your 39MCAT 3.94 GPA, cancer-curing, homeless-feeding, honor society joining asses to a top 10 med school, and stop posting on SDN. That would make my day.

If you've been blessed to know the ins and outs of the pre-med world, can't you just be considerate and informative instead of being so callous and acting like a stuck-up buffoon? Most pre-meds DO NOT know as much as you do...

freaking..SDN Divas...
 
UCdannyLA said:
so many damn pompous cocky arrogant pricks on SDN. Go take your 39MCAT 3.94 GPA, cancer-curing, homeless-feeding, honor society joining asses to a top 10 med school, and stop posting on SDN. That would make my day.

If you've been blessed to know the ins and outs of the pre-med world, can't you just be considerate and informative instead of being so callous and acting like a stuck-up buffoon? Most pre-meds DO NOT know as much as you do...

freaking..SDN Divas...
Click to expand...

:laugh:

10+ posts and already a feisty little thing, aren't we?
 
I really think Mattoroma didn't know about Phi Beta Kappa. Honestly, to me all the honor societies and frat/sorority look the same with those Greek letters. Even if I have come across PBK before, I may not remember that.

With that being said, I know nothing about PBK before I read this thread...and I don't consider myself being clueless about everything
 
mattorama said:
I got something in the mail from some phi beta kappa society that wants $60 from me to join. My mom was really excited and thinks it is something special. I have never heard of it. Is this just another worthless honor society ($$$) or something I should go ahead an join to at least make my mom happy?

Maybe I should just talk my mom into paying and it will be win-win...I won't have to pay and she can be happy about it. I've already been accepted to med school so I can't even pad my application with it. ;)
Click to expand...

It's not a scam. It's an honor and you should join. My friend got invited her senior year, never heard of it either and didn't join. She jokes that she lists "invited to join Phi Beta Kappa" on her resumes now ;)
 
The fact is that PBK is not that well known by many people, especially at some state schools where the majority of students are the first in their family to go to college and/or do not have a lot of experience with adacemic environments. My mom taught for many years at this type of university and was on the PBK committee and they were constantly trying to raise awareness.

PBK is a big deal in academic circles and seems to be pretty well known in the world of work too, especially in fields that require higher education like law and policy. It is the one thing on my resume that I have been congratulated on in a lot of different situations, not just academic but also at job interviews. I think it is definitely worth the $ to join if you are invited.
 
Fine then. Here's some info about the organization (courtesy of Google): http://www.pbk.org/

My recommendation to the OP is... have your mom pay the fee and put it in your app.

--Vinoy
 
I got that same letter too, and my initial reaction was the same. However, one of my professors was actually the one who signed the letter, plus another former professor of mine was named on the letterhead. She explained to me that it really is an honor so I joined. A lady from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch interviewed me to get a student perspective on why some people choose not to join this honor society. It basically addresses the assumption that if they ask for money, its usually a scam. But as I said I did join and I am honored :D
 
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