Phi beta kappa honor society - significant soft? Forum

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CrimLaw300

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Phi beta kappa honor society - significant soft?

Post by CrimLaw300 » Thu Mar 24, 2011 10:38 pm

Just got nominated and apparently it is one of the most prestigious honor societies around. If I get a 170+ on the June LSAT, I will be taking a year off and reapplying. I'm obviously going to add it to my resume, but I am curious if it would have any impact on the law school admissions process as a soft.

Comments?

Kind regards,
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aspire2more

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Re: Phi beta kappa honor society - significant soft?

Post by aspire2more » Thu Mar 24, 2011 10:48 pm

I wasn't in any UG honor societies, so I don't know. I doubt it would give you a significant boost (if any) if the criteria for membership are based on your GPA and/or other things already on your resume and application. Join anyway. If you want and can get a leadership role, even better!

jd20132013

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Re: Phi beta kappa honor society - significant soft?

Post by jd20132013 » Thu Mar 24, 2011 10:49 pm

I was hoping to get this nomination...i wonder if my GPA is too low? Do all chapters send invites out at the same time?

yes, it's pretty significant.

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drdolittle

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Re: Phi beta kappa honor society - significant soft?

Post by drdolittle » Thu Mar 24, 2011 10:50 pm

No, not really, but it certainly won't hurt. There're just too many members elected into hundreds of PBK chapters nationwide.

A significant soft is more like having a highly successful prior career, publishing a book, getting a truly national award, a doctorate, etc. Even these don't necessarily overcome raw numbers.

michigan_man

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Re: Phi beta kappa honor society - significant soft?

Post by michigan_man » Thu Mar 24, 2011 11:03 pm

PBK doesn't really matter that much for admissions, though the fact that your GPA was high enough to earn that distinction will definitely help during the admissions cycle. It could make a difference in terms of merit scholarships--I know I was awarded a special PBK scholarship at Michigan that I wouldn't have otherwise been eligible for. More importantly, it looks pretty good on your resume because other PBK members/past nominees respect the achievement. Congrats on the prospect becoming a member.

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CrimLaw300

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Re: Phi beta kappa honor society - significant soft?

Post by CrimLaw300 » Thu Mar 24, 2011 11:18 pm

michigan_man wrote:PBK doesn't really matter that much for admissions, though the fact that your GPA was high enough to earn that distinction will definitely help during the admissions cycle. It could make a difference in terms of merit scholarships--I know I was awarded a special PBK scholarship at Michigan that I wouldn't have otherwise been eligible for. More importantly, it looks pretty good on your resume because other PBK members/past nominees respect the achievement. Congrats on the prospect becoming a member.
Thanks. I'm actually waitlisted at Michigan right now. Think I should mention it in my LOCI?

icpb

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Re: Phi beta kappa honor society - significant soft?

Post by icpb » Thu Mar 24, 2011 11:20 pm

Congrats! I don't see this providing additional value though, since it just means that you have a high GPA. The top 10% or so of students at my school get in based solely on GPA.

CrimLaw300

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Re: Phi beta kappa honor society - significant soft?

Post by CrimLaw300 » Thu Mar 24, 2011 11:21 pm

jd20132013 wrote:I was hoping to get this nomination...i wonder if my GPA is too low? Do all chapters send invites out at the same time?

yes, it's pretty significant.
Sorry, I dont know the answer to either of those questions. Try googling your schools chapter for the info. Good luck.

CrimLaw300

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Re: Phi beta kappa honor society - significant soft?

Post by CrimLaw300 » Thu Mar 24, 2011 11:23 pm

icpb wrote:Congrats! I don't see this providing additional value though, since it just means that you have a high GPA. The top 10% or so of students at my school get in based solely on GPA.
Thanks. Yea I think it is top 3% for juniors and top 10 for seniors.

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michigan_man

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Re: Phi beta kappa honor society - significant soft?

Post by michigan_man » Thu Mar 24, 2011 11:28 pm

Yeah I actually would IF you are elected to membership. I think the school tells you to inform them of any honors or awards you receive and this is a big one. When you do find out, send Dean Z a LOCI. More importantly, take a year off and do something fun/interesting/exciting/challenging, then reapply. Very few people should come straight to law school from undergrad, and that might have been a reason they waitlisted you. Michigan definitely looks at your numbers, but the "holistic review" thing isn't bullshit. They really pride themselves on that because of Grutter.

CrimLaw300

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Re: Phi beta kappa honor society - significant soft?

Post by CrimLaw300 » Thu Mar 24, 2011 11:32 pm

michigan_man wrote:Yeah I actually would IF you are elected to membership. I think the school tells you to inform them of any honors or awards you receive and this is a big one. When you do find out, send Dean Z a LOCI. More importantly, take a year off and do something fun/interesting/exciting/challenging, then reapply. Very few people should come straight to law school from undergrad, and that might have been a reason they waitlisted you. Michigan definitely looks at your numbers, but the "holistic review" thing isn't bullshit. They really pride themselves on that because of Grutter.
Whoops, I didn't mean to say nominated. I have the induction ceremony next month. I registered today and my school paid the initiation fee. At any rate, thanks for the advice. I may PM you soon while finalizing my LOCI.

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Knock

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Re: Phi beta kappa honor society - significant soft?

Post by Knock » Thu Mar 24, 2011 11:34 pm

It's not going to make a noticeable difference at all in your cycle.

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DeeCee

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Re: Phi beta kappa honor society - significant soft?

Post by DeeCee » Thu Mar 24, 2011 11:51 pm

Knock wrote:It's not going to make a noticeable difference at all in your cycle.
This. I didn't even list any of my affiliations (Phi Beta Kappa, prestigious professional societies, etc) on my resume/CV because no one really cares about this.

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chasgoose

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Re: Phi beta kappa honor society - significant soft?

Post by chasgoose » Fri Mar 25, 2011 1:50 am

It's not really meaningful as its mostly determined by GPA, which the law schools will see anyways. It's good in the sense that it demonstrates where you stand in your class as usually it means top 10% or something so if you have a lower GPA law schools will know that your school grade deflates...Otherwise it doesn't really tell the law schools anything they don't already know based on your GPA.

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patrickd139

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Re: Phi beta kappa honor society - significant soft?

Post by patrickd139 » Fri Mar 25, 2011 2:13 am

Knock wrote:It's not going to make a noticeable difference at all in your cycle.
QFT. There are very few softs that make any difference. General rule: If you have one of the ones that matter, you won't need to ask if it's significant.

FiveSermon

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Re: Phi beta kappa honor society - significant soft?

Post by FiveSermon » Fri Mar 25, 2011 3:12 pm

lolno

deathviaboredom

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Re: Phi beta kappa honor society - significant soft?

Post by deathviaboredom » Fri Mar 25, 2011 3:21 pm

.
Last edited by deathviaboredom on Sat Apr 16, 2011 10:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Patriot1208

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Re: Phi beta kappa honor society - significant soft?

Post by Patriot1208 » Fri Mar 25, 2011 3:33 pm

FiveSermon wrote:lolno

CrimLaw300

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Re: Phi beta kappa honor society - significant soft?

Post by CrimLaw300 » Fri Mar 25, 2011 11:14 pm

That's what I thought. Just thought id ask. No reason to be assclowns. BTW.. Not mad haha

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samsonyte16

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Re: Phi beta kappa honor society - significant soft?

Post by samsonyte16 » Fri Mar 25, 2011 11:25 pm

Not very important for law school purposes but it's a nice thing to have on your resume. Older people notice and care. Definitely worth the ~70 dollars IMO.

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Patriot1208

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Re: Phi beta kappa honor society - significant soft?

Post by Patriot1208 » Fri Mar 25, 2011 11:36 pm

samsonyte16 wrote:Not very important for law school purposes but it's a nice thing to have on your resume. Older people notice and care. Definitely worth the ~70 dollars IMO.
No they don't. Almost no one out of academia will know what the distinction means.

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patrickd139

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Re: Phi beta kappa honor society - significant soft?

Post by patrickd139 » Fri Mar 25, 2011 11:38 pm

Patriot1208 wrote:
samsonyte16 wrote:Not very important for law school purposes but it's a nice thing to have on your resume. Older people notice and care. Definitely worth the ~70 dollars IMO.
No they don't. Almost no one out of academia will know what the distinction means.
Not only this, but aren't there about 50 "honor societies" just like this?

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Patriot1208

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Re: Phi beta kappa honor society - significant soft?

Post by Patriot1208 » Fri Mar 25, 2011 11:42 pm

patrickd139 wrote:
Patriot1208 wrote:
samsonyte16 wrote:Not very important for law school purposes but it's a nice thing to have on your resume. Older people notice and care. Definitely worth the ~70 dollars IMO.
No they don't. Almost no one out of academia will know what the distinction means.
Not only this, but aren't there about 50 "honor societies" just like this?
Probably more, I didn't know what this specific one was till I read the thread

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D-ROCCA

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Re: Phi beta kappa honor society - significant soft?

Post by D-ROCCA » Sat Mar 26, 2011 12:00 am

Everyone knows PBK, and distinguishes it from other fake honor societies. That said, there will be no boost for law school admissions, since by default you need a high GPA just to be considered.

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Patriot1208

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Re: Phi beta kappa honor society - significant soft?

Post by Patriot1208 » Sat Mar 26, 2011 12:01 am

D-ROCCA wrote:Everyone knows PBK, and distinguishes it from other fake honor societies. That said, there will be no boost for law school admissions, since by default you need a high GPA just to be considered.
No, they don't lol. Do people really live in such a small academic circle they don't realize that almost every person will have no idea what this means outside of academia?

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