Phi Beta Kappa for Pre-dents?

[vicsin]

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I'm sure this has been discussed before but I was hoping for some fresh opinions...
I was invited to Phi Beta Kappa and I hear it is one of the most prestigious of the honor societies but as a pre-dent I am not sure if it is worth joining... It definitely helps for other careers but for dental... ? Especially since I sent in my application already and can't even add this to it and I am super broke...I was wondering if it is worth it to join and why?

 

[dantemac]

I would join just to say you joined; an invitation is quite prestigious!

 

[agb2782]

You would be a fool not to join; as far as honor societies go it is by far the most prestigious an undergraduate can join.

 

[AwesomeTeeth]

Peyton Manning was in it. That's all you need to know.

 

[vicsin]

Peyton Manning! Okay I'm sold....haha.
I mean, I guess the question isn't about joining so much as how can I benefit from this if I have already submitted AADSAS? I suppose it looks nice to adcoms...but will I be able to put this when they do the academic update?...or is there another way I can add this info to my app? Also, do you do an academic update once you've been already accepted? Let me know if anyone can answer my questions!

...my only reason for not joining is that I am being a cheapo after gambling away/spending lots of $$$ this week :-D.

 

[tayloreve]

I'm sure this has been discussed before but I was hoping for some fresh opinions...
I was invited to Phi Beta Kappa and I hear it is one of the most prestigious of the honor societies but as a pre-dent I am not sure if it is worth joining... It definitely helps for other careers but for dental... ? Especially since I sent in my application already and can't even add this to it and I am super broke...I was wondering if it is worth it to join and why?

What're the requirements to be asked to join? Just curious o.o

 

[mitrieD]

At my community college, I was part of an honor's society "phi theta kappa." IMO it was worth it. It may have helped me get into UCSD. It's really just one of those things that you can put on your resume/application just to look more active and what not.

I believe they have GPA reqs, so I guess its also an encouragement to keep up your grades.

 

[vicsin]

Different schools have different requirements. Look into it. Some schools don't have PBK but they all have some honor societies. I think you need above 3.75 GPA and some sort of well rounded extra curricular stuff. But you don't request to join or anything. They pick you. Usually they choose seniors but sometimes juniors get chosen too.

 

[MedDevil]

Different schools have different requirements. Look into it. Some schools don't have PBK but they all have some honor societies. I think you need above 3.75 GPA and some sort of well rounded extra curricular stuff. But you don't request to join or anything. They pick you. Usually they choose seniors but sometimes juniors get chosen too.

Do you know how they find out what sort of EC's each student has when they make their decisions? My school has PBK, but since it's a big school, I'm not really sure how they keep track of what everyone's been doing.

 

[vicsin]

Do you know how they find out what sort of EC's each student has when they make their decisions? My school has PBK, but since it's a big school, I'm not really sure how they keep track of what everyone's been doing.

Well, at my school for prehealth students, everyone opens up a credential file so they can probably see the info from there. Perhaps professors nominate students or it could be the fact that I applied for a scholarship (a scholarship that is within the school) and won it...listed all EC's on there.

 

[dantemac]

Yeah, you don't apply to join, you get picked. I heard that one of the requirements is research, but I'm not sure about that!

 

[agb2782]

Yeah, you don't apply to join, you get picked. I heard that one of the requirements is research, but I'm not sure about that!

There is no research requirement. PBK is generally found at liberal arts school, and to gain membership you are essentially hand-selected by professors who runs the organization. To increase odds of gaining admission, it's best to have a diverse academic portfolio and great grades. They aren't looking for engineers, or nurses, or anything technical in nature. Taking lots of foreign languages and showing dedicated interest in humanitarian disciplines like sociology and art will help.

It is hard to overstate the difference between PBK and every single other honor society that is out there. The only organization that is close in stature is Phi Kappa Phi, and that really isn't even that close. Even if you can't get it in on your ADEA AADSAS, membership in PBK is something that you will want to put on your resume for the rest of your life. It is that big of a deal.

So, if at all possible, I urge you to pay the hundred bucks or so for membership. Although you may not feel any material benefits to your membership, I guarantee you that somewhere along the line, it will pay off (maybe when you are searching for admission into specialty programs, or trying to apply for a fellowship).

- A

 

[vicsin]

It is hard to overstate the difference between PBK and every single other honor society that is out there. The only organization that is close in stature is Phi Kappa Phi, and that really isn't even that close. Even if you can't get it in on your ADEA AADSAS, membership in PBK is something that you will want to put on your resume for the rest of your life. It is that big of a deal.

So, if at all possible, I urge you to pay the hundred bucks or so for membership. Although you may not feel any material benefits to your membership, I guarantee you that somewhere along the line, it will pay off (maybe when you are searching for admission into specialty programs, or trying to apply for a fellowship).

- A

Sounds promising. I will join 🙂!

 

[dantemac]

Very good decision. I agree with the above poster, it will help you on later down the line. It is not something to shrug off!