Phi Beta Kappa...?

[pnasty]

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Anyone know what this is?

 

[JustBreathe]

Anyone know what this is?

Prestigious liberal arts honor society. Definitely worth joining, in my opinion.

 

[pnasty]

Prestigious liberal arts honor society. Definitely worth joining, in my opinion.

What do they do, and is it worth the money? It's not like one of those "Who's Who" things is it?

 

[JustBreathe]

What do they do, and is it worth the money? It's not like one of those "Who's Who" things is it?

They don't really do anything. You get in and that's about it. It's MUCH more selective than any "Who's Who" thing.

 

[riceman04]

Anyone know what this is?

It's an association for a select group of people who can reach that seemingly unreachable state of TANTRA!!!!

🙄

No really, that's an awesome accomplishment... I mean your academic achievements...that one is a keeper!

 

[lookslikerain]

From what I hear, it's extremely prestigious. Usually the top 10% of the graduating class gets invited to join I think. The membership fee isn't too bad..25 bucks. I also recommend joining. We have an induction ceremony and formal banquet for Phi Beta Kappa people at my school.

 

[aumed22]

I heard that it was much less than top 10 percent. I know that Phi Kappa Phi is top 5 percent of seniors. I think Phi Beta Kappa is somewhere more around top 1 percent.

 

[pnasty]

its not only GPA, they look at course difficulty and apparently need recomendation letters as well....seems pretty sketchy

 

[NCF145]

Are you only offered admission after you graduate?

 

[top]

Are you only offered admission after you graduate?

No, it is based on a combination of GPA and credit hours. If you have less credit hours, the GPA requirement is much higher (3.8). Thus, if you are inducted as a junior in college, it is much more prestigious than if you are inducted as a senior or after you graduate.

PBK is only offered to a few undergrads, and is definitely worth joining and putting on your CV (especially if you are a junior). Not all schools have a PBK chapter, since it has to be granted by the national office, and less than 1% of all college graduates are in PBK.

 

[pnasty]

no they take a small number of juniors as well (may vary based on chapter)


so they dont actually DO anything? it's just something to put on your resume?

 

[top]

peyton manning is a junior pbk inductee 🙂

 

[riceman04]

peyton manning is a junior pbk inductee 🙂

I'm sure with all those basket weaving classes he probably is!!!!

Athletic academic advisors loads atheletes with practically all easy classes

 

[browniegirl86]

pnasty: It's the oldest and most prestigious. Founding fathers and whatnot.

Join. I didn't know much about it but when I got invited my parents freaked out. Apparently it's a big deal.

 

[cyclohexanol]

Phi Beta Kappa is anything but sketchy, its very prestigious and difficult to attain. If you have the opportunity to join, do it.

FWIW, my fiancee was inducted into PBK 2 years ago, she's wicked smart.

 

[jackbauer]

phi beta kappa is THE honors society. when you hear smart people being announced for lectures they say "so and so graduated from x university, phi beta kappa." it's code word for this guy is really fricken smart. at my school you either have really high gpa or pretty high gpa as well as major(s)/minor(s) in very different fields. $75 to join and well worth it. they put on various events for members like lectures and stuff, but basically it's a resume thing and no one participates in those activities

 

[abj]

I didn't know much about it but when I got invited my parents freaked out. Apparently it's a big deal.

Same with my parents. My mom went out and made photocopies of my acceptance letter to Phi Beta Kappa. Did she make photocopies of my med school acceptance letter? Nope.

Phi Beta Kappa is a great resume builder. It has name recognition to most people out there.

 

[omgwtfbbq?]

Phi Beta Kappa is really the only honors society worth joining. its been around since 1776 and isn't about the money. Its SUPER selective and you shoul be honored if you've been accepted. I thought it was a scam when i got my invite (i was so used to those freakin' scams) but my Dad was like... what? no! join 🙂 so i did and i'm really glad. its mostly like a big 'ol academic club. you don't need any recommendations or fill out any forms. the schools just pick you. it has to do with your grades and your schedule and etc, etc. you usually get invited your senior year before you graduate. they had, at my school, a small induction dinner with about 50 people who were inducted that year, and there are good opportunities later on professionally. Being in phi beta kappa helped a good friend of mine get a job working at a good law office. the guy hiring was a phi beta kappa too and told her that he liked that she had that on her resume, and he feels comfortable having a phi beta kappa kid come to work for him. plus, they ahve a publication and scholarships sometimes. i don't know. i think, mostly, its just a nice kudos to you for all your hard work. I'm not expecting it to change my life or anything, but it was a nice compliment

 

[TheMightyAngus]

All PBK has done for me is send me a sticker every year and a letter asking for donations.

 

[Severus]

I got in, paid my $75, but blew off my induction dinner/ceremony. 🙄 Now I'm not even sure if I'm a member or if they just took mah' money and ran.

I really should look into that.


At any rate, join. It's not exactly worth $75, but it's great resume bling.

 

[lookslikerain]

I got in, paid my $75, but blew off my induction dinner/ceremony. 🙄 Now I'm not even sure if I'm a member or if they just took mah' money and ran.

I really should look into that.


At any rate, join. It's not exactly worth $75, but it's great resume bling.

$75? I only had to pay $25 😕 Considering how poor I am, the $75 might have made me rethink joining. j/k

 

[aumed22]

I did a little research, and each school has their own requirements for entry. At my school, PBK only takes 1 junior and about 25-35 seniors every spring. So, it's a pretty big deal. Apparently though, some chapters are allowed to take up to 10% of their senior class.

 

[dujier]

How do you go about telling med schools that you are in PBK? Where on AMCAS would you insert this information?

Thanks

 

[lookslikerain]

I heard that it was much less than top 10 percent. I know that Phi Kappa Phi is top 5 percent of seniors. I think Phi Beta Kappa is somewhere more around top 1 percent.

You're right. It's definitely around 1%. I dont know why I said 10.

 

[sheepunite]

All PBK has done for me is send me a sticker every year and a letter asking for donations.

LOL - me, too!

 

[nikibean]

I didn't know much about it but when I got invited my parents freaked out. Apparently it's a big deal.

Similar experience (back in 99).
I called my mom and said, "hey, this weird thing happened- some sorority invited me to join. I thought there weren't any sororities in Santa Cruz..." and then she asked who, and when I told her, she screamed. I was glad my letter was on top of my pile still and I hadn't thrown it away.


dujier, in your ECs. Just list it. 0 hours. Honors society. That's all.

 

[NoSoupforYou13]

Not to get too off topic, but what about Sigma Xi. Is this worth anything?

 

[masterMood]

CAN you ask your school to nominate you? Or can you tell that you are interested in being in Phi Betta Kappa?

 

[waterlily]

CAN you ask your school to nominate you? Or can you tell that you are interested in being in Phi Betta Kappa?

The committee goes over potential candidates and if they think you're Phi Beta Kappa material (based on individual schools' requirements), then they invites you to join.

This is the ONLY honor society that you need to join. I've received a lot of other society invitations like Golden Key, other greek name honor societies, etc etc, but I only joined PBK. Only Phi Beta Kappa is recognized as super prestigious. There has been many discussion about honor societies on this forum if you do an old search...but basically they all boiled down to: if you list honor societies on your app...all others except PBK are considered fluff, unless you actually held an officer's position in one.

 

[dr_keki]

yeah, PBK is definitely worth joining and it's mainly based on your GPA and ranking within your school. Not to mention, it looks great with adcom!!

 

[dujier]

how does pbk help you get into med school? do the adcomms care at all? and what is the difference (in the adcomm's minds) if you were offered pbk during your junior year or your senior year? and finally, in the adcomm's minds, is there a difference if you get pbk at a top undergraduate school vs. a not so reputable school?

maybe they are wrong, but some people have told me that adding pbk to amcas just makes you look like you want to show off.

 

[pnasty]

you have to be nominated, and even then you arent supposed to find out. I found out by accident. At least for the chapter at my undergrad, you have to have high reccomendations to the program. THat's how I found out. Somehow they knew who I had asked for reccomendations previously and asked those on my behalf to send in letters. One of my reccomenders informed me of this to ask if I knew anything about it, and I hadn't. It's probably too late for adcoms tho, except if i tell schools i am on the waitlist for.

 

[willthatsall]

Nah, PBK is good. A lot of schools (mine included) don't even have it because your schools has to apply and go through some sort of a process to even be allowed to have a chapter. I guess it is so they can keep the standards high maybe. But if you can do it, I would do it. It probably won't make a huge difference in the long run, but neither will $75.

 

[justskipee]

At the UW-Madison we have a senior class of about 6,000 and only 300 students were nominated for PBK. Thats pretty selective.

 

[veruckt]

Do you think being recently inducted in to PBK is worth dropping a note to some adcoms if you are waitlisted?

 

[cokonut8]

is Phi Kappa Phi just considered one of the "fluff" honor societies, would it be worth joining?

 

[StayingAlive23]

If your momma wasnt involved in the same club, then youre all good to put it on your app

 

[the12thmd]

The professor I'm doing research under told me a few weeks ago that he nominated me for PBK and that I got in. He also paid the fee to join!

I didn't realize it was a big deal until this thread. SDN strikes again.

 

[bbas]

Uh, PBK is the most prestigious honor society in the country. Only the top 1% of college graduates are inducted. If you're nominated, definitely become a member.

 

[lookslikerain]

Do you think being recently inducted in to PBK is worth dropping a note to some adcoms if you are waitlisted?

sure why not? I'm putting it in my last update letter along with some other things. I want to wait until after being inducted and our ceremony is later.

 

[badlydrawnvik]

the induction ceremony is next week, i was planning on blowing it off (i paid the dues for the certificate and stuff). any reason to go? my sister was in it as well, she never really did anything with it.

 

[45408]

I was supposed to be inducted as a junior, but I got in this year. It's more than just GPA - you need certain types of courses (diverse liberal arts sort of thing).

 

[pnasty]

thanks for the info guys

 

[checkers]

You know, Phi Beta Kappa is not the only one out there that is "legitimate" and its relatively prestige really depends on your field. As far as I know, it's limited only to the liberal arts so for engineers (certainly NOT a liberal arts field), Tau Beta Pi is a bigger honor. I'm still trying to research Sigma Xi but since the invite came from a prof in my department, I'm thinking its legit as well...

 

[owenmichael]

You know, Phi Beta Kappa is not the only one out there that is "legitimate" and its relatively prestige really depends on your field. As far as I know, it's limited only to the liberal arts so for engineers (certainly NOT a liberal arts field), Tau Beta Pi is a bigger honor. I'm still trying to research Sigma Xi but since the invite came from a prof in my department, I'm thinking its legit as well...

Yea at our school, you have to be part of the "liberal arts college" to even qualify for phi beta kappa. Meaning over half of the students at our campus are ineligble even though they are more qualified and are completing the same major and requirements (ie: there are two bio majors on campus, one in the liberal arts college, and one in the agr and life science college, however only the liberal arts college kids are even considered for PBK even though the other bio majors have to and can take the same course types)

 

[biffcool]

You know, Phi Beta Kappa is not the only one out there that is "legitimate" and its relatively prestige really depends on your field. As far as I know, it's limited only to the liberal arts so for engineers (certainly NOT a liberal arts field), Tau Beta Pi is a bigger honor. I'm still trying to research Sigma Xi but since the invite came from a prof in my department, I'm thinking its legit as well...

Yes! I was hoping somebody would mention Tau Beta Pi! Hooray for engineers!

 

[pnasty]

i think people on here already said that sigma xi was good for research people.....this thread was about phi betta kappa

someone else started a thread on sigma xi if you want to know more about it

 

[NY Musicologist]

Quoting from the Phi Beta Kappa website (www.pbk.org):

"Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest and most respected undergraduate honors organization in the United States. The Society has pursued its mission of fostering and recognizing excellence in the liberal arts and sciences since 1776."

Furthermore, from the FAQ at the same website:

"Candidates are nominated for election by their chapters and cannot apply for membership. Students interested in Phi Beta Kappa are encouraged to contact the chapter officer early in their academic careers for guidance on requirements and curriculum."

Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi, and Tau Beta Pi (and various other discipline-specific honor societies) are by no means mutually exclusive. I wouldn't shun an invitation to join any one just because you already belong to another, if I were you.

Think of PBK as the undergraduate, multidisciplinary equivalent to Alpha Omega Alpha. You wouldn't turn up your nose at THAT one, would you?!

At my school, the chapter sponsored a lecture series each year that brought some very interesting, prestigious scholars to campus. The national organization offers some scholarships, research grants, etc. They also publish a journal (you have to subscribe to this) and a newsletter (comes free of charge once or twice a year and contains lots of book reviews).

Nutshell: if your school has a chapter (not all do--the school needs to meet certain standards and apply for a chapter), and if you've got the grades to get in, do it. You never know what doors it might open.

 

[bkwash]

CAN you ask your school to nominate you? Or can you tell that you are interested in being in Phi Betta Kappa?

you should express interest to a teacher who is a member, esp. if you have taken them for a class, that's what I did.

 

[bkwash]

Do you think being recently inducted in to PBK is worth dropping a note to some adcoms if you are waitlisted?

Yes.