Have you heard of an organization called “Phi Theta Kappa”? I am actually a member of this organization, but when I looked it up on the Internet, I couldn’t find much information about it, and I didn’t really know what it was all about before. Moreover, I received an invitation by e-mail out of the blue, so I ignored it at first, thinking it was spam.
So this time, I would like to introduce “Phi Theta Kappa” that you may be interested in while you are studying in the United States.
What is Phi Theta Kappa?
reference: https://www.ptk.org/
Phi Theta Kappa is a student organization open only to high-achieving college students, with more than 3.5 million members worldwide. It is called the Honor Society, and not only can you participate in members-only volunteer activities, but you can also receive a scholarship of about $1000~$3000 per year.
Since “extracurricular activities” are considered important in American universities, some students participate in Phi Theta Kappa’s volunteer activities and serve as student leaders there.
How can you be a member of Phi Theta Kappa?
The requirements of being in this community are as follows
- Must be a full-time student (12 or more credits)
- You must have a GPA of 3.5 or higher
If you meet these requirements, you will automatically receive an email invitation.You do not have to apply to the school yourself, and if you meet the requirements, you will automatically receive a message so all you can do is just wait. Thus, if you don’t know about the community beforehand, you might mistakenly take it for “spam mail”.
The time to receive the message is when the semester or quarter is over, so you may want to check your e-mail carefully during this time.
How much is the enrollment fee for Phi Theta Kappa?
The enrollment fee for Phi Theta Kappa is $75. The only payment is the enrollment fee, so there are no other fees other than the $75. After you receive the invitation, the invitation code and URL are attached to the email invitation so just go to the Phi Theta Kappa website and complete the payment by using them.
After paying the enrollment fee and seeing the profile screen, you are all set!
Advantages and disadvantages of joining Phi Theta Kappa
Here are the advantages and disadvantages of joining “Phi Theta Kappa” that I found out after actually joining.
Advantages
Receiving a scholarship is free
If you join Phi Theta Kappa, you will receive a scholarship opportunity that you do not have to repay.If you are successful, you can receive about $3,000 in scholarship money. What I mean by successful is achieving a good GPA or helping other people through extracurricular activities. The $75 admission fee may be a little bit high, but the benefits of joining Phi Theta Kappa are quite significant because the future return is quite large.
Helpful for transferring to a 4-year university.
Since Phi Theta Kappa is only open to students with outstanding academic records, joining Phi Theta Kappa can be very valuable for transferring to a 4-year university.It is necessary for those who want to transfer to the very best universities in the U.S. It is said that most of the successful applicants were members of Phi Theta Kappa.
Phi Theta Kappa is full of talented students!
You can even get offers from 4-year universities!
You may receive an offer from a 4-year university to transfer with free tuition or scholarship. We don’t get offers from Ivy League and other very prestigious universities, but we do get a lot of offers from well-known universities in the state and second or third-rate universities, so you’ll have a lot of options for transfer.Being a member of Phi Theta Kappa is beneficial in many ways. There are also many events in the community, so you should actively participate in them.
Disadvantages
It is difficult to maintain good grades
It is very difficult for international students to maintain a GPA of 3.5 or higher. Moreover, if your GPA drops below 3.5, you will be withdrawn from the program immediately, which is very severe.
However, it also creates a purpose, such as “I have to maintain my membership in Phi Theta Kappa!” so you may be able to be more active in the class than before.It’s not easy, but it’s worth it!
Not having enough time to do volunteer
There are various volunteer opportunities among the members, but sometimes they are too busy with school to participate. It is quite difficult to attend an American university as an international student. The language is different, to begin with, and you have to live in an unfamiliar place, which can be mentally exhausting.
For this reason, many students say, “I can’t take the time out of my schedule to participate in volunteer activities”.
I have enough GPA but I haven’t received an invitation, why?
“Why haven’t I received an invitation even though I meet all the requirements?”
Some of you may be like this. I didn’t receive an invitation at first either. I asked my school’s advisor or looked up the details on the Internet, and found that “A cumulative 3.5 GPA” is listed as a condition for admission. Cumulative means “you need to be enrolled in school for at least a semester” and it applies from your second semester.
Therefore, please note that you will not receive an invitation to join Phi Theta Kappa in your first semester at the Community College.If you are in your second semester or later and have fulfilled the requirements but have not received an invitation, please check your e-mail again. It may be in spam. If you have tried these two things and still have not heard from us in any way, you may want to mention this to your school advisor and ask him or her to take action.
Conclusion
In this article, I have introduced Phi Theta Kappa, which you should know about when attending a Community College in the United States. By all means, if you are reading this article, do not aim to join this community as a goal, but recognize that it is only a process toward your success.Sure, being a member of Phi Theta Kapp is amazing. But what you do there is much more important. We have a lot of events going on among our members, so why don’t you take an active part in them?
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