<p>OMG. I got the nomination letter for my daughter in the mail yesterday. It came to the house. She isn’t going to want to pay the $75 fee. LOL</p>
<p>I know someone who threw away the letter inviting her to join because, as a non-traditional student she didn’t want to join a sorority. Then later when she graduated Summa Cum Laude she was disappointed because she wasn’t Magna.</p>
<p>Thanks for everyones responses. I am happy to learn from you that it will be on his transcript. He is an extraordinarily humble man and has had to deal with a mom who wants to shout his praises to the world…well…brag a bit on him anyway. He was once asked by the name sake of his honors college if he would wear their t-shirt and my son replied “no, I would not.” What my son did not express was that he would never wear a shirt that would set him apart from others not so fortunate. I’m sure that man thought that my son was a bit of a jerk. I wish I could have been there to explain. Anyway good thing the conrats letter showed up at the house or he would have blown it off.</p>
<p>Congrats to everyone else who has gotten this award in the past and who is getting an invite as we speak. I’m glad you guys at least think it’s something special:) No parents for me to brag to. Everyone who would care has passed away</p>
<p>Lucy55, pay the fee for her.</p>
<p>About the generational thing: I’m pretty certain that the one and only time my father bragged about me at work was my PBK. He was an engineering major and he and all of his co-workers weren’t eligible, but they all knew what it was.<br>
It would be interesting to study - when did it enter and leave the collective “common knowledge” (hey, sociology MS thesis idea!) My guess is the Kennedy administration/Sputnik/etc focus on higher ed brought it into the mainstream.</p>
<p>Congratulations, and yes, as others have said, it is a big deal, and a very big deal to get nominated as a junior. It is a particularly powerful honor in the academic community. The PBK society at a given college or university is, as I understand it, made up of those faculty members who earned PBK as undergraduates. They are the ones who nominate new members. Colleges and universities love to have PBK members on their faculty.</p>
<p>It is a very nice honor with lasting resume value.</p>
<p>Like others above, I still remember my father’s reaction to the news that I had been elected to PBK. My parents were never effusive when it came to praise for academic achievement - in their eyes, it was simply expected. But for PBK my father was absolutely thrilled.</p>
<p>Congratulations to Sax and son!</p>
<p>Congrats to your son, Sax.</p>
<p>My darling daughter threw out the registration for the initiation. Didn’t think it was that important. Now if Mom thinks it is so important maybe Mom can pay. LOL</p>
<p>Congrats to your son, Sax!</p>
<p>My daughter was the same way, " I got invited to that honors thing (she couldn’t even remember the name). Should I sign-up?" </p>
<p>I read that the name is more recognized at East Coast schools than West Coast. Apparently, kids at the big universities in California commonly don’t recognize the name.</p>
<p>Hi all, after a 10 year hiatus, I went back to college. I will graduate in May, and I will be inducted into Phi Beta Kappa this Saturday. Here is my question: What size key (small, medium, large) should I buy to wear as a necklace? I am 5’8’’ if that makes any difference. Please advise :)</p>
<p>I apologize if this post is redundant, I think I accidentally posted it in the 2009s (yes, I am that smart!)
Hi all, after a 10 year hiatus, I went back to college. I will graduate in May, and I will be inducted into Phi Beta Kappa this Saturday. Here is my question: What size key (small, medium, large) should I buy to wear as a necklace? I am 5’8’’ if that makes any difference. Please advise</p>
<p>In the 80’s sitcom “Gimme a Break”, Nell Carter’s friend used to always wear her Phi Beta Kappa pin.
Obviously, it is not an obscure award. </p>
<p>Yes, it’s a big deal. It’s one of the few college awards people will keep on their resume’ for the rest of their career.</p>
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<p>I was notified after graduation. I’ve put it on resumes, but still have no idea why I should care.</p>
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<p>Does this mean we are part of the Key Club?</p>
<p>Congratulations on your achievement! I got a pin, but I wish I had gotten the necklace. Maybe you can look online at a few photos or get the dimensions and compare to your other jewelry to see how it would look.</p>
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<p>Phi beta kappa is latin for “I had an excellent college GPA.”</p>
<p>You plan to wear your key as a necklace? No, just no. Put it on your resume, but unless it’s one small, subtle charm on a bracelet with lots of others, keep it off your body and avoid eyerolls. It’s tacky and unprofessional to flaunt your PBK membership that way. And don’t put the membership certificate on your office wall either. I know you’re proud of the accomplishment, I was, too, but discretion is a valued trait. The people who need to know about your PBK membership will see it on your resume and transcript. The rest of the world doesn’t care. In fact, the only good reason I can see to bother buying a key at all is to give it to your parents as a keepsake. I didn’t buy one, H didn’t buy one. We’ve never missed it.</p>
<p>When I paid the nominal fee to register, I received a small gold-tone key with a certificate. I have never done anything with it and believe it was misplaced. I hear of one enterprising woman use her PBK key in a playboy layout, but PBK was NOT pleased. Other than that, I have NEVER seen anyone actually wear any PBK jewelry.</p>
<p>Lexi, when my daughter was PBK, I believe I bought her the smallest key pendant. I think it is just the one labeled “small” at the pbkkey.com site. But there isn’t a huge amount of difference between the “small” and the “large” (the “large” is 1/4 of an inch larger than the “small”— my daughter is small boned and petite, so “small” was the obvious choice for us – given that you are 5 inches taller than my daughter, an extra quarter of an inch to size up probably won’t make a difference.)</p>
<p>I disagree with MommaJ. I was proud of my daughter’s accomplishment, so I bought her an inexpensive token to show my pride. She was wearing it the week that she graduated - she had it on whenever I saw her – but I honestly don’t know whether she’s worn it since. I would have assumed that it was the type of thing she would want to wear around the time of her graduation and not later on. That’s why I went online to buy the It was about the same size as religious pendants that many young women wear (like a cross or a mezuzah) – and no more noticeable. </p>
<p>I think that it is an accomplishment to be proud of and you shouldn’t let anyone shame you into hiding it or demean you if you choose to wear it. You earned it, and the PBK society certainly encourages people to buy the keys. In any case, I don’t think most people will notice the key, or know what it is or signifies – I’m sure there are many young women who wear sorority pendants about the same size. It’s just very small and innocuous as far as jewelry goes. In any case, the company that sells them wouldn’t be in business if they didn’t have plenty of buyers.</p>
<p>Fwiw, there were studies released recently that showed most people my age had no idea what pbk was. I didn’t know. I threw out my first several invitations as I assumed they were spam like the rest. It wasn’t until I got an email from my dean that I paid attention. If anyone wore pbk jewelry, I think only a small handful of people my age would recognize it let alone care. </p>
<p>I don’t have any kind of pendant. I have no idea whether pbk helped my grad school apps.</p>
<p>Congrats on your induction into PBK! There are only about 270 institutions in the US that have been awarded a chapter. Be proud of your accomplishment and proud of your college or university.</p>