Phi Beta Kappa

[pagemmapants]

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Members don't see this ad.

Worth the membership fee?

 

[pnasty]

i made a thread like this a litlte while ago, it has the answer to your question. its titled phi betta kappa too

 

[Tiger26]

Worth the membership fee?

yes

 

[badlydrawnvik]

I have a pretty certificate now. I'd say yeah.

 

[kenmc3]

prob only for the first year

 

[Med_Leviathan]

How could the most prestigious national honor society for undergrads in the country possibly not be worth the fee? This is surely a new low, even for SDN.

 

[Iwy Em Hotep]

Because everyone in med school either has it or doesn't care? OP poses a reasonable question. I say get it, but don't expect too much from it.

 

[Wookey]

My boss hangs 3 certificates in his office. His Phd from Stanford, Bachelor's, and the Phi Beta Kappa. We even talked about mine when I interviewed for the job. I don't really understand what's so special about it either because you should have one if you're a premed but it's really not a bad investment for less than $100... in case you have to get a job before med school!

 

[NothingClever]

I can't get into Phi Beta Kappa because I'm not in the Arts and Sciences School at my college. But if I were, I would definitely pay the membership fee. Even if the title doesn't mean anything to you, it will to your patients who see it hanging on your wall.

 

[pagemmapants]

Thanks to everyone except Med_Leviathan.

7% of my entire undergrad "college of letters and sciences" is not *that* prestigious, so Yes - it IS a valid question.

 

[ToolDoc]

Yeah, if I was interviewing you, I'd ask you why you paid $100 dollars just to proove you're smart. How smart is that? If you are getting the award for good grades, shouldn't the grades speak for themselves? This award sounds redundant.

For the record, I have this certificate as well and everytime I see it, I feel like a sucker/******. Then again, I feel ******ed most of the time, so maybe just put me down for sucker.

 

[kupono3]

Yeah, if I was interviewing you, I'd ask you why you paid $100 dollars just to proove you're smart. How smart is that? If you are getting the award for good grades, shouldn't the grades speak for themselves? This award sounds redundant.

For the record, I have this certificate as well and everytime I see it, I feel like a sucker/******. Then again, I feel ******ed most of the time, so maybe just put me down for sucker.

i hear ya, i never felt like i needed to pay money to get a certificate that tells me i'm awesome because i already know that 🙄

but seriously, i don't think it's necessary.

 

[Caristra]

I think if you're a borderline applicant then it can definitely help. For instance, one of my friends on a waitlist called the admissions office to find out if there was any chance of movement and they actually asked if he had made phi beta kappa now that he was about to graduate. 😱

Personally I'm always wary about shelling out cash for these award things, since I feel the grades sould be evidence enough, but my campus phi beta kappa chapter gave me a scholarship so the decision was sort of made for me. I think I would have paid for it though. Those other societies like the Golden Key or whatever are not worth it but phi beta kappa is.

 

[pagemmapants]

The reasons stated by kupo and Tool are what make me ask this question.
The reason stated by Nothing Clever are what make me second-guess my own response.

Mert. Whatev. $100 is a drop in the bucket at this point.

 

[pagemmapants]

Thanx doods.

 

[beffers8888]

So I got a Phi Beta Kappa invitation in the mail today. I was kind of surprised that the cutoff for 140 units or more is a GPA of 3.67 at UCLA. That means that only 10% of students have a 3.67 or higher, right? That makes me feel a lot better about my GPA. My friend who got a 3.9 at an ivy league school didn't even qualify for PBK because their grades are so overinflated.

 

[dfsdiego]

i think its just one of those things that means different things to different people, (and perhaps meant more twenty years ago when the qualifications included a more well rounded set of courses and some sort of international experience or a foreign language proficiency). it seems to me that now the cum laude's represent a similar distinction as pbk. i was invited to join, figured i would, but it has never really come up since. i didn't even think to put it on my amcas and it never came up at interviews for me...but after reading the posts i feel like i should find the box of old stuff where the certificate ended up. for 75 bucks though, id still say its worth it to have something very tangible to represent years of doing well in school!

 

[rcd]

That means that only 10% of students have a 3.67 or higher, right?

Actually most chapters invite much less than 10% according to wikipedia
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phi_Beta_Kappa


I don't qualify because I'm not in the "Honor's College" of my school. Whoops.

 

[pnasty]

i only paid 55, you guys got ripped hahaha

 

[kupono3]

The reasons stated by kupo and Tool are what make me ask this question.
The reason stated by Nothing Clever are what make me second-guess my own response.

Mert. Whatev. $100 is a drop in the bucket at this point.

well, if i knew you personally, i certainly wouldn't think any less of you for doing it, to each their own. but i would say that, in terms of things to show off to a patient, i would go more with an undergrad diploma that said (summa/magna) cum laude over pbk, because i think the former is more commonly understood.

that said, when i go to a doctor, the only think i look for hanging on the wall is the md diploma 🙂

 

[mountainhare]

Yeah, you guys who are all like "Every pre-med is in Phi Beta Kappa, it's not that special" are making me feel all sad. I wasn't invited, and very very few pre-meds at my school are ever invited. I think that science majors at my school need *at least* a 3.8 in order to get invited (it's a tad bit easier for humanities majors at my school, other schools may be different). You people who were invited should feel special and proud, rather than scoffing at such a prestigious award. Whether you get invited to join depends on lots of factors, like how competitive your school is. At my school, the PBK kids have a special graduation-week ceremony in addition to the general graduation ceremony, where a famous poet comes to talk to them or something. It's considered a *very* respected award in these parts. But, to each his own, I guess.

 

[MEG@COOL]

I cant do phi beta kappa either. Never bothered to do some of the requirements they have. Oh well.

 

[8744]

Worth the membership fee?

No.

Glad I could help.

 

[beponychick]

My boss hangs 3 certificates in his office. His Phd from Stanford, Bachelor's, and the Phi Beta Kappa. We even talked about mine when I interviewed for the job. I don't really understand what's so special about it either because you should have one if you're a premed but it's really not a bad investment for less than $100... in case you have to get a job before med school!

I'm a premed, and DONT have one. 🙄