<p>I know they take the top 1/8th of juniors and 1/4 of seniors, but does that mean top 1/8th of all junior standing students or 1/8th of the students in their third year?</p>
<p>what kind of GPA would be considered the top 1/8th of juniors? and what's the application process like?</p>
<p>It goes by standing, not by actual year (hence, you can join TBP as a first year). I think above a 3.7 and you can be pretty sure you'll be getting an invitation (I'm not 100% on the numbers).</p>
<p>The application process is actually a semester-long thing. You have complete a set of requirements, which involve going to a certain number of meetings and events, completing some challenges, passing a simple quiz on TBP (you basically ask the officers for answers, though), and some other things. Basically they want you to be involved in the club to join, so that you'll know some members and officers by the end of the semester.</p>
<p>If you're social, it'll be a fun semester. If not, then you'll just have to put up with some events for a semester to join. It's a pretty relaxed process, and if you ever have concerns, the officers are pretty good about helping you out (e.g. if you cannot make some requirement due to scheduling constraints, they can allow you to substitute something else).</p>
<p>The pledging requirements are something like 3 meetings, 1 social, 1-2 community service, 2-3 fun events, resume & exam submission, an essay, a quiz, course surveys, initiation/banquet, and maybe one or two other things that I've forgotten about. You have to complete all of them within a single semester, which takes around, I dunno, 30-50 hours? If you complete the requirements, you will definitely get in, but you have to do the work.</p>
<p>I initially qualified for both TBP and HKN (EECS-only), and chose the latter. Felt the TBP orientation was a bit...corny for my tastes. Maybe I'll look into it again in the future, presuming that I can maintain my academic standing, but for now, I think joining a single honor society is enough.</p>
<p>On a side note, the processes for joining TBP and HKN are almost identical. Doing both in one semester can be pretty time-consuming, so I'd do one per semester.</p>
<p>TBP is a bit less focused than HKN since it's engineering-wide rather than EECS-only, but really, there are good people in both regardless of major.</p>
<p>Those were my thoughts exactly. Pledge HKN first (since it's also based around my major), and TBP later if interested.</p>
<p>I presume you're in both?</p>
<p>3.7 is like top eighth? whew okay...i was afraid my gpa was too low because the engineers on my floor have like 3.9, and I know some in foothill with 4.0s</p>
<p>Any advantages to being in TBP? HKN sounds interesting but I'm IEOR :-/</p>
<p>It's mostly just networking, especially with upperclassmen. And people say it looks good on your resume to be part of a club, especially an honor society.</p>
<p>What year are those engineers with 3.9-4.0's?</p>
<p>we're all first years but we'll all be at least junior standing by the end of next semester</p>
<p>I know i know, it's only been our first semester and our gpas will most likely drop</p>