Phi Kappa Phi - Worth joining, or basically a scam?

Parents Forum
1

<p>I just got an invite from PKP, and it looks nicer than the other invites that I normally just throw in the trash.</p>

<p>I've looked it up, and I'm getting mixed signals about whether it's worthwhile. I doubt I would get involved in it, but I hear they do give out scholarship money, and maybe it would be nice to have on a resume.</p>

<p>Does anybody know if it's worth my money? I doubt it, since (a) I've never heard of it, (b) why should you pay for an honor, and (c) it's based soley on GPA, which employers / grad schools will see anyway.</p>

<p>Thoughts?</p>

2

<p>Phi Kappa Phi is a legitimate academic honor society, similar to Phi Beta Kappa.</p>

3

<p>Yes . . . it's worth it (in my opinion). It's an honor to be chosen. It's like Phi Beta Kappa except it's broader in scope (PBK is limited to students in the liberal arts). It does have prestige especially if you plan to go to grad school. And there are good scholarships for grad school. I've had students who have gotten them.</p>

<p>It's also posible you have an active chapter on your campus. At one university I was at the chapter hosted interesting events and there was a great network of alums that helped students with internships and jobs.</p>

4

<p>It's a nice honor and definitely not a scam. Particularly if you aren't eligible for Phi Beta Kappa due to your major and/or your school doesn't have a Phi Beta Kappa chapter.</p>

5

<p>Do you have to live in fraternity or sorority housing when you join these greek chapters? I have never understood how it works. My son gets a lot of invitations.</p>

6

<p>sorry, I didn't mean to hijack a thread.</p>

7

<p>This is not a fraternity. It is an honorary society which "rewards" academic excellence. No housing involved.</p>

8

<p>At the induction ceremony into the Cum Laude Society at my S's private high school, they asked all parents who were members of college honor societies to stand. Phi Kappa Phi was in the list of 4 societies.</p>

9

<p>Thank you, Inthebiz!</p>

10

<p>Phi Kappa Phi is real. Son got his letter and invitation last week and the info was sent directly from the college. His college has a ceremony scheduled in April for induction into this honor society.</p>

11

<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</a> of College Honor Societies: Historical Information](<a href=“http://www.achsnatl.org/warren2.asp]Association”>http://www.achsnatl.org/warren2.asp)</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>