<p>Hi.
What does everyone think of big clubs like NHS, CSF, etc. Do colleges really care if you say your a member of one of these clubs? All it seems to me is another club and all of my friends tell me it will help me tremendously to be in the club. I started my own club and am an officer of the Lion's 'Leo' club. Will colleges look at me significantly different just because I didnt join the high profile clubs?</p>
<p>A relatively few colleges that weigh ECs heavily when it comes to admissions Those tend to be the hardest colleges to get into because places like HPYS have such an overabundance of high stat applicants that they can afford to make admissions decisions in a way to create a well rounded class. </p>
<p>Anyway, the colleges that weigh ECs heavily are more interested in what you accomplished in the EC -- awards, projects, impact, top offices -- than which EC you participated in.</p>
<p>There are some second tier colleges, Earlham comes to mind, that automatically give small scholarships to NHS members, otherwise it doesn't matter what club you're in. Outsside of that, club membership doesn't matter that much -- having top postitions, spearheading projects, getting awards, etc. is what makes one stand out in ECs.</p>
<p>wow very good response thankyou. I am looking at the UC's mainly. Will they really give a damn if your in csf (requirements are very easy to attain) or not. I would rather do some volunteer work in those hours I might spend going to stupid meetings.</p>
<p>I don't know what CSF is, but based on how you've described it, don't bother. It's almost always wise to go with your passion instead of trying to do something to impress colleges. What colleges tend to be impressed by are students who enthusiastically and creatively follow their own interests.</p>
<p>When you're doing what you love, you'll probably be more enthusiastic and will accomplish more than if you're just going through the motions.</p>
<p>that is why at my school you complete the application requirements for CSF/NHS and there is an optional NHS initiation ceremony, and that's it. no meetings, no troubles</p>
<p>CSF is like national honors society I guess. Requirements: take any courseload you like get a 3.5 the semester before. There are no recomendations or essays like in NHS. It stands for California Scholarship Federation or something like that. Exactly makk there are no obligations. You just pay them $10 a semester or something and your done. I think by joining it I will look like another robot who only wants to join to put it on his application where as I might even stand out from the crowd since nearly 3/4 of the top 10% of my class join it.</p>
<p>$10 a semester and an essay? we don't even need that. 10 hours of on-campus service a year for NHS, but we have to do service for school anyway to graduate</p>
<p>Northstarmom could you tell me some other colleges that give scholarships to NHS members? How much does earlham give?</p>
<p>If you use a search engine, you can find out what colleges give scholarships to NHS members. There's also a site called "guaranteed scholarships" that lists info like that, too.</p>
<p>haha, we dont have to do community service OR write an essay for our csf...we just have to get a certain gpa, and we're in</p>
<p>so many people are in NHS...</p>
<p>Yea serious. I think if I was a college official I wouldnt care unless the guy was like president of NHS or CSF. Maybe then...</p>
<p>at my school, NHS basically serves as the organizer for most school charity activities - how do I convey that?</p>
<p>If you are the person organizing the service projects, then put that on your application. My S created and organized a schoolwide tsuami fundraiser for his NHS chapter. He put that on his resume and also discussed it in a college interview. He was not an NHS officer, but what he did was more than what most of the officers did during the year since most people used NHS only to decorate their resumes.</p>
<p>This also is an example of what's important: not the organization that you belong to, but what you contribute to the organization and how you use that organization as a base to make a contribution to your school or community.</p>
<p>Many students have posted on CC saying that their NHS or other organization doesn't do anything, so is a waste of time. What those students see as an organization to kiss off is what others would see as an opportunity to make a difference. NHS is supposed to do community service and other things. It has conferences and national student officers.</p>
<p>A student who joined and energized a NHS chapter to do service, get involved in conferences, etc. would have a wonderful EC to describe on his/her application, would have learned organizational skills that the student could use for the rest of their life, and also probably would be able to get an excellent recommendation from the NHS advisor or school principal.</p>