<p>I just got invited to join Phi Beta Kappa, but I am wondering if it is worth it. I have been receiving many offers from honor societies over the past few months (Golden Key, National honor society etc.) and I feel like some of them are just a scam. </p>
<p>Has anyone any experience with this? How do you pick which ones to join? (since there is usually a fee)</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>PS: I am a senior at UCSD, graduating this June.</p>
<p>Isn’t PBK one of the more prestigious honor societies? I don’t see how it would hurt.</p>
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<p>This is how:</p>
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<p>Phi Beta Kappa is the gold standard. It’s the Coca-Cola, the Xerox, the Kleenex, of honor societies–the brand name that substitutes for the product category.</p>
<p>So my answer is, yes.</p>
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<p>What would I do without you pointing out things which I’ve already read? :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Thank you guys for your input. I also did some research and it definitely seems worth it :)</p>
<p>It’s something extra to put on your resume as an affiliation. I was invited but chose not to join because like you said, there is a fee and my school didn’t actually <em>do</em> anything for that society. The only one I joined was Psi Chi, the honor society for psychology majors. We actually had club meetings and events. If your school does the same with PBK, then it might be worth it to join if you like doing those things.</p>
<p>IMO, Phi Beta Kappa is way more than just “an affiliation.” The Lions Club is an affiliation. Phi Beta Kappa is different. The words Phi Beta Kappa in the education section of your resume are as good as–maybe even better than–the words magna cum laude.</p>
<p>I would second what Sikorsky wrote. I have seen resumes, CVs, etc over many years. The ONLY academic society that continually carries through the years, on all resumes and EVERYONE knows is Phi Beta Kappa.<br>
I was inducted in 1974. In my son’s Academic Awards Ceremony for college last weekend, they asked all the Phi Beta Kappa graduates to stand. Then they asked all those who were EVER inducted into Phi Beta Kappa to stand. Nothing else comes close in academic honors.</p>
<p>Interesting…I’ve never heard anyone make a fuss over that affiliation before. I attended 3 different colleges and never heard much out of that particular honor society. The other honor societies for specific majors actually had club meetings and <em>did</em> things, whereas PBK was just, like you said, something to put on the resume and wasn’t actually an active club or organization at any of the campuses I attended. Of course it might be huge at other schools. I guess I just figured, what’s the point of paying just to put it on a resume when the rest of my academic accomplishments speak much louder (publications, other honors and awards). I don’t remember how much the membership fee was, but if it’s not outrageous I guess it’s something worth adding.</p>
<p>Every employer I’ve talked to says PBK is the only honor society worth putting on your resume. It’s not supposed to be active in undergrad because you have to be so far along in your undergrad career to even be nominated. Generally, it’s only seniors. ~1% of graduates are invited to PBK and it’s very prestigious.</p>
<p>Exactly. Phi Beta Kappa doesn’t function as a service organization. As romanigypsyeyes said, most people are inducted into Phi Beta Kappa right around graduation. The point of PBK isn’t to do, it’s to be. And all the other Greek-letter honor societies–the ones that are specific to your major, or whatever–pale in comparison to PBK.</p>
<p>As for publications and other honors substituting for Phi Beta Kappa, the advantage of Phi Beta Kappa is that–please forgive the irony in my saying this–it’s well known. Short of “Nobel” and “Pulitzer,” there aren’t that many well known prizes. You may win the Roderick Wigglesworth IV Prize for Ostentatious Erudition at your commencement, but nobody will know what that means unless they went to your college. But (almost) everybody knows what Phi Beta Kappa is, and (almost) everybody who evaluates people’s academic gravitas is impressed by it.</p>
<p>I had absolutely no idea it was such an honor! (I come from Europe and haven’t lived in the U.S. all that long, so that could explain why). I am definitely very happy that I got invited and will absolutely join :)</p>
<p>It’s a big deal, honestly, and an opportunity not to be missed. Congratulations.</p>
<p>This is a related question: I had been offered to join the PBK after I completed my master’s program, but I declined. This was back in 2000. Can I still join?</p>
<p>ETA: maybe I was offered to join while an UG; I don’t think this is for graduate students.</p>
<p>I think that the top 10% of a graduating class is invited.</p>
<p>Well, since TR has managed to bump yet another thread… I will say that putting it on my resume has definitely at least caught the attention of grad schools and employers now that I am trying to figure out what to do when I graduate in the spring. Just a thought for the future :)</p>