<p>My school is now accepting applications for the National Honor Society, and before I go to the trouble of completing the app (the application process at my school is fairly extensive) I want to get an idea--how important is the National Honor Society? Pretty much everyone only does it to impress colleges, and I feel like it's just going to be another meaningless EC on my application (along with other ECs/awards like French National Honor Society and Science National Honor Society). Since I'm already in these two, how important is it that I apply for NHS at my school? Will top colleges expect for me to be in it since my school has one?</p>
<p>I would say do it.</p>
<p>Yes, I do think top colleges basically expect all of their (admitted) applicants to be in a National Honors Society, should one be available at an applicant's school. I don't see how anyone in top schools could have NOT been in one during HS.</p>
<p>I don't think you're penalized if you're NOT in NHS... the officers at my school were really strict and didn't let me turn in my application one day late when I forgot to bring it to school (and they wouldn't accept a fax on the same day, either). Then the next year, there were too many people, so they didn't let people join as seniors. And I do know people who have been accepted this year into Stanford, Caltech, and UPenn without joining NHS.</p>
<p>But just do it anyway. It does help your app, but it's not that special or impressive until you're an officer or something.</p>
<p>NHS doesn't mean a lot unless you're an officer in the club. I don't know how your school's NHS is, but my school's NHS hardly does anything. If you join a weak NHS, it might as well be filler. For my UC app with the limited number of slots you can write in, I didn't even list NHS as an EC because I wasn't an officer and it wasn't important to me.</p>
<p>I would go ahead & apply if I were you, if only because it can't hurt. That said, my D was in NHS sophomore & junior year. She did her required school & community service both years. In late July, after junior year, WE (her parents) received a letter from the school stating that she was no longer in NHS due to failure to properly fill out her service records. That made her mad --- it wasn't like she didn't do the service (she did many more hours than required). She said forget it, since the only thing NHS does is service, which she has continued to do, anyway. She will be the only one in her group who doesn't get to wear the NHS collar at graduation, but other than that ... it doesn't seem to be an issue. No schools asked her why she listed NHS sophomore & junior years, but not senior year. I have heard all kinds of stories about how political the selection process is at some schools (I wasn't in it for that reason) --- I am sure colleges are aware of this. As long as a student has the grades, service, and leadership NHS usually signifies, it shouldn't matter.</p>
<p>"NHS doesn't mean a lot unless you're an officer in the club"</p>
<p>^Pretty much. I'm currently an officer of NHS at my school, and we are VERY involved, we coordinate several projects and events at school throughout the year. If you think you have something to contribute at your school's NHS, then I'd say go for it. Besides the bulletpoint on your college app, it might give you something to mention in your essays.</p>
<p>Thats crazy, at my school you have to be invited to join. NHS is just another way of saying that your at the top of the class.</p>
<p>My schedule is full and I had no time to belong to NHS. I visited 14 colleges and asked the importance of NHS each time. All the schools I visited were in agreement - choose how you spend your spare time carefully; it is better to pursue a serious passion then to spend time belonging to a club just to put it on your apps.</p>
<p>The also added that the expectation is that most people applying to top schools already meet the criteria for admission to NHS.</p>
<p>I agree with the person above.</p>
<p>I also don't like the fact that people only join NHS to make it look good on their college applications...</p>
<p>when it doesn't even look that great in the first place since basically every top-tier applicant would qualify for it anyway.</p>
<p>Screw NHS. I'm one of the few people at my school who were accepted to top schools early, and I didn't do NHS. The girl I know who got into Yale didn't really do NHS either I think. NHS is completely fake. I used to go to their meetings just to make fun of them. You'll do much better just doing community service on your own instead of with that stupid club.</p>
<p>Colleges do NOT expect you to be in NHS, simply because they know the truth about it at most schools, and the fact that most applicants qualify for it anyways.</p>
<p>National Honor Society varies WIDELY from school to school. In some places, it requires many hours of community service work. In others, it's just something you're asked to join and then you never hear about it again.</p>
<p>If you want to do it, then do it, but don't expect a big boost in your application unless it's a very active NHS and/or you become an officer. Most kids applying to the most selective schools are in NHS.</p>
<p>I would say it doesn't hold that much weight unless you're President.</p>
<p>^</p>
<p>agreed,</p>
<p>But if your school requires community service, like mine, it helps give an extra push to get it done. I like it, we get free breakfast.</p>
<p>Do you have to pay to be a member?</p>
<p>^no, it doesn't</p>