Academia; Phi Beta Kappa members? - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

miljohnj5 · #1 12-29-2007, 02:09 PM

What is the criteria for PBK acceptance? I'm a senior and I should be evaluated this semester, if not then next. Invitation would be the capstone of my undergraduate years. What's the average of acceptance? I read about 1 in 100 students; is it really that low? C'mon you closet nerds, help a geek out...

Botnst · #2 12-29-2007, 03:09 PM

Google

Membership

Although each individual chapter determines its specific application of the Phi Beta Kappa Council's 1952 Stipulations Concerning Eligibility for Membership and sets its own academic standards, even the most generous chapter will typically elect fewer than 10% among the candidates for degrees at that College of Arts and Sciences.
Phi Beta Kappa is generally considered the most prestigious American college honor society,[5] and membership is one of the highest honors that can be conferred on undergraduate liberal arts and science students.
However, in the last two decades, rates of acceptance of Phi Beta Kappa membership invitations by students or "members in course" have significantly dropped. During the last triennial convention held in October 2006, the national secretary (chief executive officer) of Phi Beta Kappa admitted in his annual State of the Society address that:
The data show a generally heartening, but not entirely untroubled picture. At about a third of our chapters, essentially no one turns down the invitation. At almost another third, the acceptance rate is above 80 percent. But at the remaining chapters, almost 100, the rates are lower. At a small number of chapters, the percentage of invited students who are subsequently initiated is as low as 40 percent and 30 percent. Some who have seen these figures question the viability of those campuses as sheltering institutions.[6]
The national secretary then admitted, "It is distressing that anyone should decline this honor. Our aim is to have strong acceptance rates at all our chapters."[6]
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miljohnj5 · #3 12-29-2007, 03:23 PM

Thanks Bot. I did google it but found no real 'stats' of acceptance to speak of. It may be according to GPA but percentages of acceptance (as the article stipulates) are according to the institution. I'm only attending a state school, so if I were attending Yale/Harvard/Princeton I'd be up a creek.

Botnst · #4 12-29-2007, 04:05 PM

Maybe what you are looking for are the standards for opening a chapter. They are pretty tough involving the size and circulation of the library, for example.

My Mom is Phi Beta Kappa (Penn, '40). She stays active.

rs899 · #5 01-02-2008, 10:18 AM

This seems to be a real YMMV thing , depending on the PBK chapter in question. I would Google your particular chapter and see if there is any data.

My particular chapter (Alpha of Florida- FSU) has a checklist that provides some insight. In my particular case, I was elected a year after graduation (1977)- I have no idea why-maybe I was on the cusp?

It puzzles me as to why anyone would turn down membership, if offered. It's not like there are any dues or requirements afterwards....

Rick

Mistress · #6 01-02-2008, 05:05 PM

there was a Led Zeplin album named with that in the title. Phi Zappa Krappa I think.

Dee8go · #7 01-02-2008, 05:08 PM

Didn't Phi Krappa Zappa die of colon cancer a few years ago?

miljohnj5 · #8 03-20-2008, 02:09 PM

I cleaned house.

I made it into Phi Beta Kappa! Score one for the good...uh, geek.

Dee8go · #9 03-20-2008, 02:15 PM

Well, congratulations! That's quite an accomplishment from all that I've ever heard about it. It's nice to know there are some truly smart people herre and not just abunch wise asses . . .

miljohnj5 · #10 03-20-2008, 02:42 PM

I'm not a very intelligent person per se, I just work hard. Either way, its a lifelong membership and an accomplishment that I wanted to mark for my undergraduate years. Thanks dee8go.

Next stop, grad. school...

Dee8go · #11 03-20-2008, 02:45 PM

Which graduate degree are you going to get?

Ken300D · #12 03-21-2008, 05:32 PM

There are initiation fees, ongoing membership fees, and local chapter fees.

http://www.math.binghamton.edu/alex/phibetakappa.html

While the fees may not seem like much to those of us working, some college students have pretty hard choices to make with their money. Like whether they get to eat and/or stay warm. While you may not have noticed them, there ARE homeless students. Often they find a place to hole up in campus buildings, or under them.

Obviously no one is going to decline acceptance of Phi Beta Kappa if there is no money involved.

Ken300D

miljohnj5 · #13 03-21-2008, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dee8go

Which graduate degree are you going to get?

I'm going into speech-language. I'll graduate with an English BA in May but I'll be going into a grad. program while making up for for course deficiencies there.

I feel kind of egostistical for posting about myself, but its just that I'm proud of my accomplishment, that's all. I'm also fortunate enough to have the GI Bill because I know there are people who have to work full-time and go to school too yet their grades still kick butt, hats off to them, single parents too...