<p>So we got our NHS letters today and I got in but one of my best friends didn't. We come from a VERY big school and only like half the people that apply get in. She's really angry and I don't blame her, but how can I cheer her up? Any words of advice? I already told her she can apply next year but it's our senior year next year and I told her that it wasn't a huge deal but she won't listen.</p>
<p>Tell her to calm down. NHS isn't anything special. It really isn't. I have YET to receive a benefit from it.</p>
<p>Two friends of mine, both of whom graduated, have gone to an Ivy League school without NHS on their transcript. NHS isn't a DECIDING factor if someone gets into the College. NO Admission Officer I talked to said, "YOU AREN'T IN NHS?! MUWHAHHAA."</p>
<p>Yeah...At my school, a bunch of people who get into NHS don't actually participate in it because it's a bunch of extra work, and it's not super amazing.</p>
<p>Psh, NHS. The officers probably see it so many times, so they know practically everybody will be in it, so they probably don't weigh it very much as being important.</p>
<p>I don't think NHS really matters...I was the first person in the history of my school to quit NHS. At the time it caused a bit of an uproar amongst the guidance counselors and NHS advisors, but in the end I still got into HPMS.</p>
<p>So many kids sport "NHS" on their resumes that it renders it meaningless. Of course, that's from an admissions perspective. There are other benefits to being in NHS, but I just couldn't deal with the amount of time required and the triviality of some of our duties.</p>
<p>The only time that NHS really matters is for the few colleges that give scholarships for students who are NHS members. If you Google, you'll find out that such colleges are at best tier 2 ones.</p>
<p>The top colleges don't care about whether students are NHS members because virtually all of the top colleges' applicants have the stats to get into NHS anyway so being an NHS member isn't a distinction in that kind of applicant pool.</p>
<p>Top colleges also know that getting into NHS can be arbitrary in that at many schools it's only the brown nosers who get in while students who are more qualified in terms of stats, more ethical, and are also more committed to community service won't get in.</p>
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Psh, NHS. The officers probably see it so many times, so they know practically everybody will be in it, so they probably don't weigh it very much as being important.
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I have a different interpretation... Since they know "practically everyone will be in it", the admissions staff will question why didn't a person get into NHS or why they aren't in it if they don't have it (like your friend)</p>
<p>Well she didn't get in it because she doesn't have enough "leadership" roles. But her parents are really overprotective and don't let her do anything, which is why. She's explaining that to them in her reapplication letter.</p>
<p>I think it was Groucho Marx who said "I wouldn't want to be a part of any group that would have me as a member." I wrote a snarky essay about how much I hated working hard for my application. They accepted me. That ought to tell you something about how little it means.</p>
<p>". Since they know "practically everyone will be in it", the admissions staff will question why didn't a person get into NHS or why they aren't in it if they don't have it (like your friend)"</p>
<p>Not true. Admissions officers at the top colleges don't care whether or not someone is in NHS. What they do care about (in addition to stats and general character) are ECs particularly demonstrated leadership in ECs, which means that the admissions officer look for far more than titles. They look for evidence that a student has organized projects, raised money, taken actions that have made some kind of difference in a person, organization or community.</p>
<p>Having overprotective parents wouldn't be an acceptable excuse for not having strong ECs (and NHS is not considered a strong EC unless one has done something very special with NHS such as having organized a major schoolwide or community project or having served as a national NHS officer).</p>
<p>NHS admissions have no validity whatsoever.....i know people that are barely pulling off 3.0s and they got in while some kid in the top 5 people of my class didn't get in</p>