Question for Phi Beta Kappa Members

[usf4me]

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For those of you who are members or were elected to join this honor society, what classes were you taking before you got in?

What do you think was the major factor that got you into the society?

Thanks

 

[doctor_md]

For those of you who are members or were elected to join this honor society, what classes were you taking before you got in?

What do you think was the major factor that got you into the society?

Thanks

i think its based more or less on your GPA. appearently, the top students (gpa-wise) of each major in the liberal arts recieve an invitation to join. keep in mind, this is just my observation.

i have question too, i am member of PBK, however, i did not include it on my amcas. i am not sure what i was thinking when i decided to omit it, but does it really matter? i know it will not be a deciding factor of gaining admission, but would it have helped even slightly?

 

[Severus]

I'm not sure it means that much. I mean, I was a chem/physics and religion major who was elected and joined, but since I'm pretty anti-ceremony, I just paid my $75 and never went to the whole awards show thing. Hmm... I never did get my pin though. Oh well.

I put it down on my AMCAS along with some other things in a general "Awards/Scholarships" section. I don't think adding it has had that much of an effect.

 

[Karina 07]

At my undergrad (Dartmouth College), it was *mostly* awarded by GPA. Almost exclusively. But my freshman-year roommate, who met the GPA cut-off, didn't get it, and we couldn't figure out why (and yes, she did a liberal arts degree, essentially all degrees at our college were and everyone had to take distributional requirements across all kinds of courses). So, I'm not sure what the extra criteria are, but there are some rare ones, apparently 😛. Ask someone in admin at your school, like at the Registrar or something. Someone should know, and it's probably at least somewhat college-specific. It's probably worthwhile getting, although I wouldn't say that about honour societies in general, just because it's so well-known.

 

[CardiacIntensivist]

I was taking the typical "finishing up my gen-eds and bio major" classes. I believe it depends on the school for the requirements of invitation. My chapter didn't know anything about me but my GPA and I doubt they even looked at my classes.

 

[dantt]

One or two of my interviewers mentioned it but I doubt it was a deciding factor. I think it just means more to say, "oh, that person is phi beta kappa" than, "oh, that person has a 3.xx GPA" even though they may be synonymous.

 

[8744]

I just sent the form in, provided my transcripts from one of those mail-order diploma mills, and I got my pin in the mail about six weeks later.

Nothing to it, really. I wear my pin proudly.

 

[melissainsd]

I had no idea what it was. I thought it was one of those bogus honor societies created to take your money. I got the invite then blew it off. My bad.

 

[Alyani]

At my ceremony they told us that it was more than just a good gpa. They said that they use some secret formula and that the level of difficulty of your courses plays a role.

 

[searun]

did list it on my AMCAS. I also mentioned it on my Columbia secondary that asked for academic awards and honors. I recently interviewed at Columbia. I went to a small liberal arts college - in order to elected to Phi Beta Kappa you needed to have at least a 3.8 gpa, graduate in the top ten percent of your senior class, do broad coursework in the humanities and social sciences - in other words you cannot be just a science nerd, you also need course work in mathematics and at least 2 years of a foreign language. I think that Phi Beta Kappa is a solid award that is respected in academic circles. Just my two cents. Oh, Peyton Manning is the only Phi Beta Kappa quarterback in the NFL.

 

[epigastric]

did list it on my AMCAS. I also mentioned it on my Columbia secondary that asked for academic awards and honors. I recently interviewed at Columbia. I went to a small liberal arts college - in order to elected to Phi Beta Kappa you needed to have at least a 3.8 gpa, graduate in the top ten percent of your senior class, do broad coursework in the humanities and social sciences - in other words you cannot be just a science nerd, you also need course work in mathematics and at least 2 years of a foreign language. I think that Phi Beta Kappa is a solid award that is respected in academic circles. Just my two cents. Oh, Peyton Manning is the only Phi Beta Kappa quarterback in the NFL.

Your story just shows how relative the award is -- I know at least one top 50 university where it was given out automatically to anyone in the upper 10% of that year's class. My friends who received it there would laugh at the idea of needing broad coursework or at least two years of a foreign language, because they took the bare minimum for requirements.

 

[pyrois]

I had no idea what it was. I thought it was one of those bogus honor societies created to take your money. I got the invite then blew it off. My bad.

Don't sweat it. To be honest, it kinda is one of those bogus honor societies created to take your money😛 I don't see how it is different in any way.

Your GPA says everything the $75 pin would have anyway, unless your "awards/honors" section was empty. Even then... come on, $75 is a good sum of money😛

 

[RokChalkJayhawk]

PBK is NOT bogus. It may not be as widely known and respected as it once was but it of all the honors societies, it is definitely the best.

Put it this way: the dean of my college and my pre-med advisor told me I would be crazy if I didn't list it on my AMCAS.

 

[NCF145]

PBK is the only honors society that matters. In order to get it at my school you have to be in the top 5% of your graduating class. Show a broad coursework and show that you are proficient in a foreign language. You also have to be voted on by facutly at our school that have been in PBK for at least 10 years. You don't apply at my school, they consider everyone that is graduating and then look at recommendations that professors provide (they must have asked my professors for them without me knowing) and then they take a vote. When I graduated there were 12 people that were inducted out of a graduating class of >800. I would def. say that it is worth putting on your application. It is the type of award that people put on their c.v. for the rest of their lives.

 

[8744]

PBK is the only honors society that matters. In order to get it at my school you have to be in the top 5% of your graduating class. Show a broad coursework and show that you are proficient in a foreign language. You also have to be voted on by facutly at our school that have been in PBK for at least 10 years. You don't apply at my school, they consider everyone that is graduating and then look at recommendations that professors provide (they must have asked my professors for them without me knowing) and then they take a vote. When I graduated there were 12 people that were inducted out of a graduating class of >800. I would def. say that it is worth putting on your application. It is the type of award that people put on their c.v. for the rest of their lives.

Man. You did it the hard way. All I had to do was send in my transcripts from Harrvard with a check for 75 clams.

To each his own.

 

[Karina 07]

PBK is the only honors society that matters. In order to get it at my school you have to be in the top 5% of your graduating class. Show a broad coursework and show that you are proficient in a foreign language. You also have to be voted on by facutly at our school that have been in PBK for at least 10 years. You don't apply at my school, they consider everyone that is graduating and then look at recommendations that professors provide (they must have asked my professors for them without me knowing) and then they take a vote. When I graduated there were 12 people that were inducted out of a graduating class of >800. I would def. say that it is worth putting on your application. It is the type of award that people put on their c.v. for the rest of their lives.

But this is what I'm saying, my friend? She DID have the broad coursework. She DID have the language background. (Hell, did she ever. She spoke 4 languages!) And she had the GPA. But no PBK for her.

Maybe there was also a super-secret faculty vote, and nobody knew of her, or something.

 

[searun]

I just sent the form in, provided my transcripts from one of those mail-order diploma mills, and I got my pin in the mail about six weeks later.

Nothing to it, really. I wear my pin proudly.

I paid my $100 bucks and I got my MD degree and that degree is hanging proudly on my wall. Piece of cake. When I want to pick up chicks, I just take my MD degree down from my wall and throw the certificate in the back seat of my car, put $50 in my wallet, and hit the bars. SCORE! I get the chicks and all the bennies of being an MD, chicks and prestige, if you are a guy. What else matters, right Panda?

 

[usf4me]

Thanks for all your replies,

so basically, to get into PBK you need:

1) extremely high GPA (assume 4.0)
2) heavy science classes & humanities (english, history, philosophy)
3) 2 semesters of a foreign language (spanish)
4) you must know faculty members of PBK so they can vote you in

 

[lord_jeebus]

Thanks for all your replies,

so basically, to get into PBK you need:

1) extremely high GPA (assume 4.0)
2) heavy science classes & humanities (english, history, philosophy)
3) 2 semesters of a foreign language (spanish)
4) you must know faculty members of PBK so they can vote you in

Basically, you should ask the chapter at your school since these are not standardized requirements across institutions. For me only #1 and #2 were true, and my GPA was not 4.0.

 

[lord_jeebus]

I have found dropping the PBK name useful in convincing wealthy parents of high school students that I would be the best tutor for their children and well worth $40 or more per hour. So it can pay off.

 

[dantt]

Man. You did it the hard way. All I had to do was send in my transcripts from Harrvard with a check for 75 clams.

To each his own.

Yeah, one of those "mail-order diploma mills"

 

[searun]

Don't sweat it. To be honest, it kinda is one of those bogus honor societies created to take your money😛 I don't see how it is different in any way.

Your GPA says everything the $75 pin would have anyway, unless your "awards/honors" section was empty. Even then... come on, $75 is a good sum of money😛

created it at William and Mary had to scatter because the British soldiers were marching into Williamsburg at the start of the Revolutionary War and these poor dudes never got to rip off the other college students for that $75. Do your homework, *****.

 

[footcramp]

PBK serves no real function. So in a way it kinda of is like those other useless honor societies. However people do notice. It was noticed in medical school apps and even during my residency apps. People took it as a knee jerk way to determine that I was at the top-ish tier of my class and had a broad liberal arts education. That's basically what it signifies to people who actually care about that stuff. Why they require $75 I have no idea, although the banquet was nice.

 

[8744]

I paid my $100 bucks and I got my MD degree and that degree is hanging proudly on my wall. Piece of cake. When I want to pick up chicks, I just take my MD degree down from my wall and throw the certificate in the back seat of my car, put $50 in my wallet, and hit the bars. SCORE! I get the chicks and all the bennies of being an MD, chicks and prestige, if you are a guy. What else matters, right Panda?

100 bucks? You were ripped off. I got mine for $80.

 

[pyrois]

created it at William and Mary had to scatter because the British soldiers were marching into Williamsburg at the start of the Revolutionary War and these poor dudes never got to rip off the other college students for that $75. Do your homework, *****.

Of course not. I'm not talking about the old poor dudes. It's the new rich dudes who get to rip off other college students for $75.

Also, I apologize for not reading Wikipedia. Your cut and paste handiwork has enriched my life with essential knowledge. Be that as it may, your hard-won knowledge of the origins of PBK does not give you the right to call me (or anyone else for that matter) a *****.

 

[pyrois]

PBK serves no real function. So in a way it kinda of is like those other useless honor societies.

Only to some extent. In engineering, we have TBP (the second oldest/most prestigious honor society created because PBK refused to allow engineering students to compete with liberal arts majors for their pins) and I definitely popped that sucker off on my AMCAS.

After all, that's what all "awards/honors" are supposed to do: recognize you for something you have already done.

So of course it "serves no purpose" in that you are receiving the award for a past accomplishment. Hence the award, in and of itself, does not change who you are.

On the other hand, the reason why "honor societies" are often looked down upon in general compared to other scholarships/awards, is that many (PBK included depending on your school) are purely numbers based.

In reality, the numbers speak for themselves. If you get a 45 on your MCAT, you don't need to get a special pin (that costs $80 on top of the $200 it cost to take the MCAT) to get into the "45 MCAT Honor Society." All you need is that paper they send you in the mail.

That aside, PBK is still very prestigious, so if you can spare the 14 characters in your AMCAS awards section, and the $80 (which, if you're applying to med school, you certainly can), why not? But don't beat yourself over the head if you didn't do it. After all, you still have that super-high GPA resting firmly on your application. Nobody can take that from you (except for my quantum mechanics professor... he took about 0.20 of that from me).