Why So Many Greek Letter Orgs?

[nittanyalum]

Originally Posted by NutBrnHair

Phi Beta Kappa is the best one. I think there's a thread about their "prestige" somewhere on here.

You and oldu need to get over yourselves (yourself?)

Prestigious honor society struggles with lack of name recognition
Students regard Phi Beta Kappa as just another honor society

St. Louis Post-Dispatch (KRT)

ST. LOUIS -- Phi Beta huh?

Phi Beta Kappa, the nation's oldest and most prestigious college honor society, just isn't ringing the same old bell with college students.

At St. Louis University this spring, 23 out of 77 of them never answered invitations or follow-up calls. Ditto for 27 of 84 prospective inductees at the University of Missouri at Columbia.

University of Missouri senior Brian Quigley was among the nonplussed. To him, Phi Beta Kappa just didn't stand out among many organizations with "three different Greek letters" that he says have bombarded him with offers to join.

"I never even look into them anymore," he said. He admits that he probably would have passed up membership, except for some prodding from a faculty member who told him what a singular honor Phi Beta Kappa was.

The name recognition just isn't there anymore, said Nancy Pope, assistant dean of Washington University's graduate school of arts and sciences and a point person for Phi Beta Kappa there. "We thought we were a known quantity, and we stopped being known."

The parents of Washington University senior Dan Rubin knew, though. He first heard about Phi Beta Kappa from them, and their message was that he should grab it if he got a chance. Yet, when his invitation came this spring, he hesitated, still unsure what the organization was all about. After Pope filled him in, he was happy to join _ but not excited, he said.

At the initiation, he learned more about the society, met other members -- all people who "really enjoy learning" -- and got fired up. "The more they talked about it, the more I thought it was right up my alley," he said.

Once the obvious standout, Phi Beta Kappa stands now, more and more obscured, in a field crowded with those many Greek-letter groups that bombard Quigley and other students with solicitations.

http://media.www.thebatt.com/media/s...me.Recognition


ETA: and isn't it only on less than 300 campuses?