<p>There are so many honor societies out there. Can someone explain this one? Does membership in any of the societies really help a student?</p>
<p>I was awarded membership to phi kappa phi when I graduated college. I still have the pin, somewhere. But in all honesty I really have no idea if it means much of anything to anyone. I don’t have it listed on my vitae, and until this thread I really never gave it a second thought… in 35 years.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input. We are just trying to figure out which societies actually “carry some weight”. The Chancellor sent a letter for this one…so it got my Ds wondering. Seems like Motar Board and Phi Beta Kappa are the “top” ones. Does anyone else have knowlege that might help us out? Thanks.</p>
<p>This is legit. See [Phi</a> Kappa Phi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phi_Kappa_Phi]Phi”>Phi Kappa Phi - Wikipedia) and the official PKP website.</p>
<p>I received it because I wasn’t pursuing a degree plan that made me eligible for Phi Beta Kappa, the best known of the honor societies.</p>
<p>I think it is a nice mention on a resume for a young person just starting out, but beyond that, I can’t see investing much time, money or emotion in it.</p>
<p>Congrats to your dau for maintaining such a high GPA in college!</p>
<p>My kids have been inducted into Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, and Mortar Board. I think they’re all legit. </p>
<p>We’ve ignored the other invites…LOL</p>
<p>I was inducted into Phi Kappa Phi in college. My understanding was that to have a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, a certain % of the faculty has to be Phi Beta Kappa. My small LA college didn’t have that, so the campus honor society was PKP. It’s legit.</p>
<p>Legit, and at my PBK-less alma marter was very, very selective (full disclosure: I didn’t get an invite).</p>
<p>thanks all. Just needed confirmation.</p>
<p>Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Beta Kappa are the two most prominent and well-regarded multi-discipline honor societies, although the latter would likely edge out the former were they to go head-to-head because it is twice as old and established. Phi Kappa Phi is the oldest all-discipline honor society at over 100 years old (Phi Beta Kappa is over 200 years old!), and was the fourth (by some counts the third) honor society established. Association of College Honor Societies: Historical Information</p>
<p>Phi Kappa Phi is by invitation and limited to the top 7.5% of juniors and top 10% of seniors and grad students. Selection is not by GPA, and some chapters are more selective than the organization’s general class-rank rule. Membership is extended by invitation (not application), is very selective, and</p>
<p>In many cases, Phi Kappa Phi is more selective than a discipline specific honor society (philosophy [Phi Sigma Tau] or education [Kappa Delta Pi], for example). Discipline-specific honor societies vary on their selectivity and invite-only status and need to be considered independently. For most legit honor societies, you pay once for initiation (pays for induction ceremony, pin, certificate, one-year publication subscription, scholarship fund, etc.) and then future payments are optional, even though you retain membership status. If you want to continue to financially support the organization and its mission, you keep sending money. Otherwise, you don’t.</p>
<p>Each society has its own particular benefits, but in general there are several reasons to join an honor society: looks good on a CV, you can get involved with organizing and promoting scholarly activities on campus (speakers and conferences), become eligible for fellowships and other monetary awards, help carry on the tradition of recognizing those who achieve academic excellence, and it helps you remember in those more trying times that someone thought you had a spark of genius in you and recognized you for it.</p>
<p>Honor societies exist to recognize and promote academic excellence, and your membership is like membership in any non-profit organization. You can be on the passive end, just accept the invite, put it on your CV (or hang the cert. on your wall) and forget about it; or you can be on the more active end, join in on the action, take ownership of your membership, and help the organization achieve its mission.</p>
<p>Regardless, Phi Kappa Phi is legit, and regardless of whether you decide to join you should be congratulated on your achievement.</p>
<p>I was PKP. I believe I had to have at 3.5 GPA and for some reason I seem to remember for PBK you needed at least a 3.8. But it was so long ago 30+ years that I don’t remember. I never used it for anything. Although come to think of it, maybe the GPA was just used for distinction between summa cum laude and magna cum laude</p>
<p>yes, it is legit. am pkp too.</p>
<p>Again, yes, it’s legit. Both of my Ds were/are PKP and officers at their school’s chapter. D1 received a small scholarship as a senior, and then was awarded a grad school fellowship (enough for a new MAC and then some)…it sure made the $ to join worth it! She also was named PBK at graduation-time…while I’m sure this one will reign in her vitae in the future, we’ll always appreciate PKP too!</p>