I’m a class of 2020 engineering student, and I’ve been working hard to raise my GPA to be invited to Tau Beta Pi.
My grades for this term just came out, and I believe I am right below the cut-off (I believe the cut-off for senior is top 1/5th of the class, and I think I’m at 79% class rank).
I’ve seen many school websites mentioning, if a student believes they are eligible they can contact the school, but my school does not say that.
Do you think there is a strict cut-off at 80% that I wouldn’t be invited?
I’ve been having an upward cumulative GPA trend since first term of junior year, and I hope they would appreciate that in considering me as a candidate…
My guess is that if you are below the cutoff you will not be invited. I’d also guess that the club gets a list of the top 20% of the class and don’t take GPA trend into account. But why don’t you contact the club advisor at your college and find out for sure? If you are a junior there may be a chance to get in next year as well.
Congratulations on your good grades. At my school (many years ago) there was chance to join in junior and senior years.
Oh, per this link it looks like the general requirements same at all schools - https://www.tbp.org/cand/scholastic.cfm
“You must be in the top 1/8th of your junior class or top 1/5th of your senior class.”
Of course, and this may be an unpopular opinion, you shouldn’t sweat it too much. Tau Beta Pi means little to nothing to your future. It’s a feather in your cap and not much else.
It’s always good to keep up your GPA. That’s going to have the greatest impact on your options in the future (jobs, grad school, etc.).
You don’t have to wait until your junior or senior year to join a student organization such as Tau Beta Pi. Try to get involved now in one or two groups. Don’t limit yourself to classes only.
