My D is a current junior, very strong academically, 4.0 unweighted GPA in competitive school, probably top 3% ranking, 4 APs completed all 5’s. Currently 4 AP classes, SAT subject math II and Chemistry both 800, AIME qualifier, no SAT or ACT “officially” yet but she scored 33C and 2230 (CR+M 1600) at the end of 8th grade with no prep, so I assume she will have excellent standardized test scores when she takes them later this year.
Issue is, she may not be accepted into NHS at her school. They have some weird rule that requires at least two leadership roles in school to qualify. She only has one and therefore was denied last year. She said there isn’t anything that interests her enough to go for a leadership role at school this year, so she’ll pass on NHS altogether.
Now I get the feeling NHS is not really a big award that will impress top universities in the admission process. But since so many students have it, would “not have it” be a negative? She has ECs just not very impressive, and we will be aiming for top 20 schools.
NHS gives a student opportunity to provide community service (at least many schools operate that way). it is an honor and if you have other honors to fill the number of honors allowed in commonapp, it wont make any difference.
totally agree with texaspg
NHS wont make any student stand out to top colleges.
As it is a “society” that requires admission and admission, [rather like sororities in college], it will not harm your DD NOT to have it on her list of EC’s.
i.e.-relax
NHS means nothing - what it allows students to gain (volunteer and leadership roles) can be had in other ways.
What you can do for now is start looking at NON top 20 schools to help her find safeties and matches*; for a top student, it’s often very difficult to find such universities. For instance, explore Honors Programs (requirements, perks, housing, major distribution) in a variety of affordable universities. Take trips to visit universities that aren’t top 25 national universities/LACs so that she can figure out what she likes in terms of environment, politics, vibe. She’ll be well ahead of others at the end of junior year if she already has two safeties and a handful of matches.
(* for a top stats kid, it means a college with 30-40% acceptance rate.)
I was accepted into several “top 20” schools and never was in NHS. Either I missed the recruitment posters or whatever – I was simply too busy with my ECs and academics. I was a 1st gen immigrant and my parents didn’t push NHS b/c they didn’t attend HS in the USA.
I didn’t need another EC or any titles. My “awards” section was sparse but it was clear I was academically ravenous.
NHS can be a great EC. Or it can be a petty clique. Since the standards vary so much, savvy colleges look at the depth of EC involvement, not titles of club memberships. You’re kiddo not having NHS won’t be an issue.
Colleges are aware that NHS is nothing special at many/most schools. I advised D to skip it and do something else she enjoys. At her school they meet once a month to turn in volunteer hours. It’s a waste of time.
Thank you everyone who has responded above! I feel more at ease now. Yeah it’s kind of puzzling to me that her school’s NHS would deny a strong student an opportunity to do community service through NHS just because she hasn’t already obtained enough leadership positions at school. My daughter wanted to join NHS so she can volunteer at the school tutoring center (that are staffed solely by NHS students). Guess that’s not meant to be.
Anyway I knew NHS is not quite a plus when applying to colleges. Just want to make sure non-NHS won’t be seen as a minus. I totally agree kids should spend their time and energy in things they are truly interested in, not just to obtain some titles to fill into a form.
Our state flagship is quite a reputable school so that should be her safety. I’ll probably come up here again in six months to ask about matches and reaches once D gets her test scores in. Lots to learn!
My first kid wasn’t in it. At our school most of the tutoring is done by the math honor society, which she did a little of. Hard to understand why a school would prevent a good student who wants to help others from doing so. I don’t think colleges want to see kids doing all the same activities.
Many of the best high schools in the nation don’t have NHS (or any other honor societies or academic awards). I wouldn’t worry about it. Your D could volunteer to tutor outside the school, perhaps to nearby underprivileged students. That would be more meaning full anyway.
For some reason at our school students think very highly of NHS and actually go out of their way to lie and make up stories for how many hours of volunteering they have done in order to qualify. Kind of ironic huh? My son had tutored a little bit and done some other school volunteering, and was willing to join NHS and volunteer more. They denied his application. He told the truth about how much volunteering he had done in the past and it hurt his chances of being selected. Why a society or school would want to reject a good student with good grades and the desire to volunteer more is beyond me. My son was kind of pissed off knowing some friends lied to get in made him upset, but he moved on. He went thru a lot of effort to fill out his application with essays, letters of recommendtions etc. I now feel that in our school the NHS is a total crock. I will not have my younger son even waste his time with it.
Some schools that we have done the NPC calculator’s on actually ask and some award 1k extra for it, so I guess some colleges do actually value it I respect the kids in our community who are members and they all were involved in CS before and after. I am sure it will not hurt chances at getting in but in our community, it is highly regarded, definitely not seen as a “waste of time” (unless a child is only doing it to thicken their EC list. but does not actually enjoy community service).
It is irrelevant in the college app process whether your kid is in it or not, no matter what schools your kid is looking at. Don’t worry a bit about it.
Don’t wait long to come back with questions. Ideally she should be visiting this year to start finalizing her list if possible. Even with great scores she will need matches and safeties that she really would like to attend and you can afford. Reaches are easy to find, matches and safeties take more work.
Thanks everyone for sharing your observations. Looks like NHS effect really varies at different schools. I won’t worry about it no more.
@intparent I have a question for you now: is it common for kids to get into planning college list this early? My daughter doesn’t seem the least bit interested. We were at MIT this past weekend for a math contest so of course we wandered around campus and the Harvard campus too. All she cared about the whole time was catching Pokemons, didn’t even want a picture with the Harvard statute. That’s kind of why I said wait 6 months before pushing the issue to her. Just doesn’t seem she’s mentally ready.
I’ll be learning on this forum starting now, any ideas how I can get my child to join in on the effort soon?
For my kids, we had the goal of doing all visiting and testing by the end of junior year. That means that going into fall of senior year, your kid pretty much has their list finalized, and can focus their efforts at the end of summer and in the fall on their applications. Don’t underestimate the amount of effort applications take. In addition to the Common App essay, many colleges have supplemental essays as well. And senior year is BUSY. The kids are leaders in their ECs, still taking a heavy class load, getting senior pictures taken, etc. They also have to get recommendation letters requested – they shouldn’t spring that on teachers on short notice.
Some colleges have fairly early application dates, too. It is great to have at least one rolling admission school that your kid definitely would want to attend and you can afford – they should get that application in early in the fall. It takes a lot of pressure off to have an acceptance in hand. Some schools have early deadlines if you want to be considered for merit aid. Others have an early action round that is not binding, but colleges tend to look favorably on students who are organized enough and interested enough to apply early.
I’d suggest you get your kid a copy of the Fiske Guide to Colleges if you haven’t got one yet. My older one enjoyed looking at it (treated it like a kind of shopping). My younger D wasn’t as into it. She asked me to go through and mark some colleges I thought she would be interested in, then we went over them together and discussed why I had flagged them. From there we were able to make a list of which ones were interesting to her. Remind your D that senior year is super busy, and she will enjoy it a lot more if she has done the legwork this year to look at colleges and formulate a list of where to apply.
I admit, we mostly liked visiting colleges. My kids went on the tour, tried to sit in on a class if school was in session, ate in the cafeteria, and visited other things on campus that tours don’t cover. D1 had a specific study abroad interest, so she stopped into the study abroad office to chat. D2 is into studio art, so we would go find the art building on campus with her. We went to some information sessions, but they are kind of all the same after a while. There is usually very little info passed on that you can’t get on the website. But it is useful to go to a couple to get a flavor for them.
And as I mentioned above, it is super easy to find reaches, like Harvard and MIT to apply to. But it is a lot more work to find schools where her admission is more sure, she really likes it, and you know it is affordable. Even if she has perfect test scores, you can’t just assume that she will get into a top school – the competition is incredible these days.
At least visit some local colleges now, so she had an idea what she likes/wants and doesn’t. Yes, get Fiske. And run Net Price Calculators on college websites.
NHS criteria vary so much among high schools that, in itself, it’s not some special criteria for top colleges. The better hs around here don’t even award it until after all those service hours are collected.
If she wants to do service (which she should, if she decides to aim high,) go for something in the community where she can roll up her sleeves, not just “hours” here and there.
I respect the kids in our community who are members and they all were involved in CS before and after. I am sure it will not hurt chances at getting in but in our community, it is highly regarded, definitely not seen as a “waste of time” (unless a child is only doing it to thicken their EC list. but does not actually enjoy community service).