<p>Out of the blue last year, my dad commented that I should tell D1 to pay attention and accept it if she is contacted about PBK. She was a sophomore at the time, and I just laughed (but mentioned to her that her grandpa said this). She looked it up on her school’s website, and told me recently that she thinks she meets their criteria (one more on campus semester to go, because of her off campus studies she would be accepted in the spring of her senior year). She has every intention of getting all As in the fall (as she has for several other semesters), so barring any complications, she will likely be PBK. Haven’t told my dad yet, will wait until she really makes it (and don’t want to jinx it). He will be thrilled for her. But she is the apple of his eye, so I suppose he won’t be surprised :)</p>
<p>At Harvard, there is a ceremony during Commencement Week. Technically it’s the annual meeting and “exercises” for the PBK chapter. The senior-spring inductees are announced and given certificates at that time. All members are invited to attend each year, but I’ve never been in town. They often get pretty high rent speakers for the exercises.</p>
<p>what about phi kappa phi? my school just got a chapter, and will invite students next year. right now, members are some big name faculty on campus, including the provost</p>
<p>My mom passed in 1983, but I remember her telling me how highly she valued Phi Beta Kappa. She knew three people who had the key, her sister, the lawyer in town, and a Methodist preacher in town. It therefore meant a lot to me to be inducted in 1984 or 1985, can’t remember exactly. </p>
<p>Parents, you never know the impact you will make on your kids. Keep telling stories of accomplishment. I know my kids tire of some of my stories, but some stories really stick with them.</p>
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<p>We had a dinner (as a married student on a poverty budget, free meals stood out!) but I don’t remember any ceremony. At least nothing that resembled my sorority ceremonies. The one thing I do remember clearly was re-connecting with 6 or 7 high school classmates that I hadn’t seen in 4 years at our large university.
Since I seem to be the only one in this discussion who admits to having worn her key, let me clarify - it was as a jumble of similar items on a chain around my neck in grad school and shortly after as kind of a good-luck charm, and usually under my sweater.</p>
<p>I would definitely encourage my child to accept an invitation to join PBK, not that I expect that any of mine will have that opportunity…</p>
<p>I remember a few mentions of my PBK status in job interviews after I graduated in the late “greed is good” 80s. The most memorable was when someone at a bank asked if I was really a member or if I just put this on my resume to impress people, since “everyone exaggerates on their resume”. Nice.</p>
<p>PBK did help us get our first mortgage, though. First-time homebuyers in the late 80s had to jump through ridiculous hoops. Since I had been out of college less than two years when we made our mortgage application, the underwriters demanded all kinds of documents to prove what I had been doing in the previous years. We faxed my transcript, with clear dates–not good enough. Then we faxed my diploma, but that was in Latin. Evidently the pinheads at the underwriter weren’t going to go out on a limb to understand the date in Latin. Finally I took my English, dated PBK certificate out of the frame my mom had put it in (sheesh!), faxed that, and the mortgage was ours.</p>