Phi Alpha Theta

[JacksonBaby]

Hey Everyone,

 

   So I was curious what everyone thinks of Phi Alpha Theta and if it would help at all in graduate admissions? Also would presentation at my regional (Mid-Atlantic with Hopkins and Gettysburg) Phi Alpha Theta conference be helpful over any other presentation?

[CrazyCatLady80]

I don't think it will get you into grad school, but being a member looks nice on a CV. I list it under my "awards" section. 

[theregalrenegade]

I'm the secretary of my university's chapter. I agree with CrazyCatLady - it looks great on a CV AND they have a lot of opportunities for students wanting to gain experience in an honors society heavily involved with the academic community on a local and national level. 

[soleprovider14]

It will definitely add to your overall application. It will show the admissions committee that you are taking advantage of non-academic avenues to further the study/practice of history. Regarding the presentation, I would say any presentation at the undergraduate level would only be a plus on an application. I can say from experience that if you are involved with PAT, you will have great opportunities for conference attendance/participation, and potentially funding/awards as a grad student.

[New England Nat]

YMMV.  I think it's relatively meaningless.  It's a line on your CV yes, but it's going to carry very little weight in an application relative to the SoP and writing sample. 

[Simple Twist of Fate]

DO participate in PAT because it has the potential to be personally rewarding and could aid in your professionalization as an historian.

 

DO NOT participate in PAT because you think it will help you get into grad school. It really won't help you in any meaningful way. 

[IuliaMaior]

I love PAT because it's an awesome place to meet people and be part of your discipline. Nuff said.

[Cliana]

PAT was great for me for getting to go to student conferences, meet other history students and faculty, and see really interesting research presentations. My school's PAT is fairly active and we received funding from student government to attend conferences in CT and FL.

[msmith1990]

My undergrad is very small, and our PAT chapter has about 8 or 9 students generally, so we're not super active. But I will say that the conference opportunities are excellent. They're particularly useful if you're considering going to a school that's in the same region as your undergrad. I ended up presenting a paper at our regional conference a month ago, which was great for networking and letting professors at schools I was considering put a face to a name.