The Radcliffe chapter of the Phi Beta Kappa society yesterday announced the selection of the top 12 female students in the Class of 1988.

The society, which honors outstanding intellectual achievement, invited 24 junior women to apply on the basis of their grade point average, and selected the 12 winners after reviewing recommendations from their instructors, said committee spokesman Sandy Silverman.

The honorees will attend a dinner in their honor where they will be presented with a symbolic key.

Many of selected women said they found that the most gratifying aspect of the award was finding out that their academic efforts had paid off.

"Other things tend to get recognized, but hard work just usually gets you called a nerd," said the newly enrolled Victoria J. Wohl '88.

Some winners were quick to discount stereotypes which they said surround the awards. "I think I'm pretty interested in my classes but I'm not a geek by an standards," said Sarah Stroud '88.

Most also said that they did not consider themselves to be grade-conscious, nor did they aspire to be a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

"It's not really a goal you can set foryourself-it's too presumptuous," Stroud said.

The winners said they tended to keep a lowprofile as far as their academic talents wereconcerned, and they generally did not know theother candidates.

"It's not like there are a group of people thatdo pretty well and hang out together-grades arenot discussed," Butler said.

But Wohl and Dorothy L. Stark '88 areexceptions to the rule. The pair share a suite inAdams House.

The new members of the Radcliffe chapter ofthis national organization are Judith R. Barish,Maisy M. Chan, Marion C. Eakin, Deborah Tan Hung,Elizabeth Ransome, Karin M. Reinisch, Marilynn M.Richtarik, Joan Roanine, Stark, Stroud and Wohl