Phi Beta Kappa

<p>Hey, im a 3rd year @ UVA. I was nominated to join Phi Beta Kappa(honor society). I've been nominated to plenty of "honor societies" in the past but i've heard that PBK is actually different in that it is a "true" honor to be a member(i've heard it is THE most prestigious). I would like some imput however. I'm thankful for any help. </p>

<p>Joe</p>

<p>Congrats, Joe. Yes, it is very prestigious.</p>

<p>Yes, this is something you want. You'll put it on your resume for the rest of your life. It is a BIG deal, especially to be nominated your junior year.</p>

<p>, PBK is generally limited to the top 10% of students in the senior class. The junior year nominations are much more selective,- as little as top 3% at some schools. Congratulations!</p>

<p>You can read about the history of the organization on their website. ( I believe it is the first "fraternity" in the country.)</p>

<p>If you were a 4th year it would be somewhat selective (roughly 1 out of 10), but as a junior it's a pretty neat thing to accept.</p>

<p>Doesn't it only apply to certain majors. Isn't there a separate one for engineering students, Tau Beta Pi.</p>

<p>ah Phi Beta Krappa. They've got a sweet handshake, ha.</p>

<p>Yes, this is something you definitely want. Congrats.</p>

<p>It is definitely the first honor society, don't know about first fraternity. Started at W&M =P</p>

<p>I believe it is open to all majors. Some majors have their own honor societies, but none come close to PBK.</p>

<p>i was pretty sure that PBK was based in promoting a liberal arts education...correct me if i'm wrong</p>

<p>I think I read that a student must have foreign language skills to be considered, so that implies a liberal arts background. My D was hoping to be nominated until she found that out. She's a hard core science girl, so didn't take languages in college. And tested out of it coming in.</p>

<p>I could be wrong about this, but that's what I recall.</p>

<p>i don't know the details of what it takes to get in, but you definitely want to be associated with it.</p>

<p>And yes, it is the first greek letter organization, founded at William and Mary December 5th, 1776.</p>

<p>As I understand it, requirements are set up by each school's individual chapter, with the most important being (1) GPA; (2) breadth of study. Our school just took a list of the top 12% (based on GPA) and then weeded out those with insufficient breadth, but breadth was not defined by any particular set of classes. </p>

<p>Congrats to the OP :-)</p>

<p>It's not just breadth, but also difficulty. I got pbk at Tulane quite by accident (just took the classes I was interested in and worked hard). A guy I knew did not get it, but unbeknownest to me, he had actually been trying to get it and therefore never took a class he didn't think he could get an A in, so as to have a high gpa.</p>

<p>Well, I had a 3.6 and made it. He had a 4.0 and didn't make it. The committee thought his schedule was too easy.</p>

<p>congratulations, that is an honor!</p>

<p>I'm pretty sure that Phi Beta Kappa is restricted to liberal arts and sciences. Tau Beta Pi was founded because engineers were not invited to Phi Beta Kappa, or something to that effect.</p>

<p>Congrats!</p>

<p>You remind me of my roommate - she almost didn't accept the invitation because there was about a 70 dollar new member fee and she really wasn't familiar with it. I convinced her it would be completely worth it, as it will look fantastic on any resume she has to submit for the rest of her life.</p>