Phi Beta Kappa...to list on AMCAS or no?

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haveli63

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Hello everyone,

I recently was invited to join Phi Beta Kappa...and I accepted. However, I already requested my transcripts to be sent to AMCAS (without my transcript stating that I'm a part of PBK).

So the question is...should I still write on my AMCAS that I am a PBK member even though it doesn't state it on my transcript? Or should I wait and possibly use this as one of the things to update schools with?

Thanks for your input!
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I really have no idea, but I will say that I didn't list my honor society memberships on my AMCAS and I doubt it would have changed anything if I had. I'm not sure that it adds very much to your application, but others may disagree.
 
I wouldn't... Unless you can group it in with your list of awards (deans list/presidents list/etc.)
 
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Absolutely list it! It is one of the highest honors societies in college. I most certainly listed it in my AMCAS.

Similar to AOA in medical school.
 
Phi Beta Kappa is the only honor I've ever seen a adcom member be impressed by. Name recognition I guess, because it has been around since Hector was a pup.

You need not submit proof (transcript); just list it in the experience section as an "honor".
 
LizzyM said:
Phi Beta Kappa is the only honor I've ever seen a adcom member be impressed by. Name recognition I guess, because it has been around since Hector was a pup.

You need not submit proof (transcript); just list it in the experience section as an "honor".
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I always thought it was a scam... Maybe I should have paid the 100$ or so
 
You're not lying, I'd put it on the AMCAS, maybe with a brief note mentioning that you got accepted after you sent your transcripts.
 
LizzyM said:
Phi Beta Kappa is the only honor I've ever seen a adcom member be impressed by. Name recognition I guess, because it has been around since Hector was a pup.

You need not submit proof (transcript); just list it in the experience section as an "honor".
Click to expand...

interesting, good to know
 
Heck yeah list it on your AMCAS. Only 1% of seniors across the nation are awarded this honor!
 
LizzyM said:
Phi Beta Kappa is the only honor I've ever seen a adcom member be impressed by. Name recognition I guess, because it has been around since Hector was a pup.

You need not submit proof (transcript); just list it in the experience section as an "honor".
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Awesome reference.
 
Holy FranZ said:
I always thought it was a scam... Maybe I should have paid the 100$ or so
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People dumb enough to fall for this scam:

John Quincy Adams
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Eli Whitney
Chester A Arthur
William Taft
Theodore Roosevelt
WB Du Bois
Jonas Salk
George HW Bush
Henry Kissinger
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ralph Nader
David Souter
Bill Clinton
Condolezza Rice
Ben Bernanke
Bobby Jindal
Peyton Manning
theWUbear
 
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Holy FranZ said:
by the third societies email/letter you receive about being nominated -- you start to view them all as a scam.
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I agree, most end up in the trash(recycle bin). The only two exceptions in my case was Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi. In the case of the latter, the President of my university was being inducted at the same time and I wanted to meet him (a very impressive person) 😀
 
Holy FranZ said:
I always thought it was a scam... Maybe I should have paid the 100$ or so
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You might actually have it mixed up with another honor society. I was just inducted and as far as I know PBK doesn't ask you to pay anything.
 
Tappinfool66 said:
You might actually have it mixed up with another honor society. I was just inducted and as far as I know PBK doesn't ask you to pay anything.
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That was my experience as well - the chapter at my undergrad had an endowment that paid for the nominal national fee.
 
Once you are in you don't have to keep paying, but they will regularly send you mail asking you to become a contributing member. It's not that bad though, more recycling I guess.
 
On my application I put it down. If you have too many experiences and not enough space to list it, then include it along with your other honors and awards
 
gettheleadout said:
Phi Beta Kappa is one of the few that is a big deal. No one should turn down an invitation.
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NickNaylor said:
It's understandable. I wouldn't have known that PBK was the exception without SDN.
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+1

+1

I always searched on SDN for every honors society that I received an email from before accepting/rejecting. This, again, is why people should use the search function.
 
I wouldn't have joined either, except that it was free at my school. I was later glad that I did.
 
theWUbear said:
People dumb enough to fall for this scam:

John Quincy Adams
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Eli Whitney
Chester A Arthur
William Taft
Theodore Roosevelt
WB Du Bois
Jonas Salk
George HW Bush
Henry Kissinger
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Ralph Nader
David Souter
Bill Clinton
Condolezza Rice
Ben Bernanke
Bobby Jindal
Peyton Manning
theWUbear
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You can add Glenn Close, Booker T. Washington, Gloria Steinem, and CuttingCorneas to that list. Man, were we idiots to have wasted the money. 🙄
 
From my experiences, my membership didn't get brought up all that much while interviewing. Maybe a couple of times in several open interviews. There also isn't much to talk about in an interview. It definitely isn't a scam. There has been a proliferation of stupid honor societies so a lot of younger people don't really know much about it, but it's the most legit general honor society.
 
is it enough just to get invited?

i didnt accept the invite :/

but only cuz it was like a 3.6 gpa cut off for seniors at my school even tho they say its for the top 10% of ppl or smth
 
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romanjetfighter said:
WTF

every senior with above a 3.6 got an invitation to PBK at my school 😡

so i turned it down.

DAMMIT
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Is your school small and/or grade deflated by any chance? My chapter stipulates that only 10% of the graduating class may be nominated, so I find it strange that possibly such a large number were invited.
 
gettheleadout said:
Is your school small and/or grade deflated by any chance? My chapter stipulates that only 10% of the graduating class may be nominated, so I find it strange that possibly such a large number were invited.
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My chapter also has a 10% cutoff, but it's not solely based on GPA. They tend to look at the whole applicant, as well as the difficulty of his or her major. I wonder how this is at other schools.
 
CuttingCorneas said:
My chapter also has a 10% cutoff, but it's not solely based on GPA. They tend to look at the whole applicant, as well as the difficulty of his or her major. I wonder how this is at other schools.
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Mine's the same way. Nomination is based on GPA, breadth and depth of coursework, and moral character.
 
To my knowledge, national PBK rules stipulate that no more than 10% of the graduating class are elected.

There are also a handful of other national PBK "rules" for election
  • knowledge of a non-native language at “least minimally appropriate for a liberal education” necessary for eligibility
  • 99 credit hours in the liberal arts and sciences
  • an examination of the variety and level of liberal arts and science courses
  • completion of one course in college-level mathematics
  • demonstration of good moral character

The only chapters exempt to these rules are the chapters that formed prior to PBK becoming a national organization (i.e. pre-mid-1800s).

====
PBK is one of few things consistently mentioned in academic introductions or blurbs of scholarship winners

e.g. John Smith was a Phi Beta Kappa and magna cum laude graduate of Yale, before earning his MD at Stanford.
 
pfaction said:
Which schools get PBK?
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They have to be reviewed every three years and uphold some standard of excellence towards promoting a liberal education (i.e. liberal arts, rather than vocational or technical).

10% of the four-year schools in the US have PBK chapters. That's like 200-300 schools.

This means pretty much every somewhat prestigious four-year college (national university or LAC) has one, with the notable exceptions of Caltech, US military academies, Bryn Mawr.
 
Thanks for all the responses, everyone! I'll group it with my other honors/awards on the primary
 
So I submitted my primary application already and have received all of my secondary applications. I recently read somewhere that students should not list their honor societies on their primary application, but I did. I only used one slot and listed the three of them in one slot (psych honor society, pre med honor society, and pi beta kappa). In hind sight I should have listed PBK as the primary one, but hopefully they actually read the descriptions and see it. Is this bad? Do you think this hurts my application?
 
sshave said:
So I submitted my primary application already and have received all of my secondary applications. I recently read somewhere that students should not list their honor societies on their primary application, but I did. I only used one slot and listed the three of them in one slot (psych honor society, pre med honor society, and pi beta kappa). In hind sight I should have listed PBK as the primary one, but hopefully they actually read the descriptions and see it. Is this bad? Do you think this hurts my application?
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Not at all.
 
I listed my Deans List honors on my amcas app (as one activity)
I haven’t been invited for phi beta kappa but if I were I would definitely update my schools.
 
Does getting into PBK as a junior (single digit admitted) makes a difference if the candidate is applying during senior year?
 
Lol yesterday I googled myself and found out I was elected to Phi Beta Kappa my senior year. I honestly had no idea and this was a year and a half ago. Is it worth mentioning when I send an update (along with other activities)? Or should I just leave it be? How would I even word such an update as it’s something I should have known before submitting my primary?

Edit: also I don’t have any proof other than this article that states I was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa.
 
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datboi_58 said:
Lol yesterday I googled myself and found out I was elected to Phi Beta Kappa my senior year. I honestly had no idea and this was a year and a half ago. Is it worth mentioning when I send an update (along with other activities)? Or should I just leave it be? How would I even word such an update as it’s something I should have know before submitting my primary?

Edit: also I don’t have any proof other than this article that states I was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa.
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Are you sure it's not someone else from your school with the same name lol.
 
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