Asking because our NHS applications close in ~2 weeks and I honestly don’t know if I should apply or not. It’s a pretty tedious process (you need 5 recommenders - ??) and I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t even have time to attend meetings or do whatever required service activities to maintain membership. But I’ve also heard that if colleges don’t see NHS on your application it’s a red flag. Not sure if that’s true or not, which is why I’m asking.
Another thing is I have more than enough activities to put on the 10 activities section of the Common App. NHS won’t even fit in. But some colleges do accept resume uploads on the Common App, and there’s also an additional info section - is it worth joining NHS just to put it there? Ugh…
Is National Honor Society really that important for top colleges?
No.
You heard wrong.
The activities required of an NHS member vary by chapter. Those activities could be meaningful for an application, but like any EC, the value to colleges is what you contribute.
Thank you! I’ve also never heard of our NHS club doing anything remotely relevant/important. I guess that’s another reason why I shouldn’t join lol. Just have a lot of convincing to do, with all my peers/family trying to get me to join
Well it doesn’t hurt, but it’s certainly more important to do this things that students in NHS do. Colleges are going to see your GPA so you don’t need it to show your academic achievements. Most NHS memberships have a service component which you can demonstrate elsewhere.
The one thing it does do is signal to schools that your teachers view you as someone of high character, and are an overall good student.
I know it seems stupid, but you really don’t have a good reason not to. How hard is it really to go to all your current teachers and have them sign your application form.
An active NHS can help students who have not done a lot find new volunteer opportunities and develop leadership skills.
Some NHS chapters have created too many barriers for entrance. The national org does not have anything about 5 recommendations and in a time of Covid that is crazy.
Create your own opportunities if this is not the group for you.
No. I was in national honors society, but I do not think that it made much of a difference. At least for my school, national honors society was kind of a joke, so it was just something to write on your resume. However, if your national honors society somehow was very impactful, it can be useful because you can write about it for one of your essays.
It’s not going to make or break your application, but it confirm achievement/dedication and gives you an opportunity for leadership should you decide to become an officer.
Good question, does it matter much, don’t really know. I can tell you that I know some people that were denied entry into NHS due solely to their character. IOW, admittance is not solely base on GPA. So I doubt it helps but it can be a negative if its not on the app. Character is a very important part of the application, an AO might ask why no NHS?
It’s not important for admissions. My S22 was invited to do NHS but he declined because he was pretty busy with his mostly AP’s course load and the EC’s that mattered to him (math club, robotics, etc). He has been accepted to four Top 20 engineering schools so far.
My son has been accepted to 6 top 20 Aerospace Engineering schools like Maryland, Purdue, CU, Penn State, OSU, etc without NHS. He had other ECs more important to him and wanted to focus on those. I don’t think it hurt him at all.
My D22’s NHS chapter also asked for a bunch of references and many hours of service prior to admission. It was kind of a pain. If we had not been in pandemic lockdown, I don’t know that she would have done it.
However, the teacher supervising/advising NHS was also one of DD’s classroom teachers and ended up writing a letter of recommendation for her that could better touch on her character, community service, etc., in addition to academics. (It was also helpful for finding/creating meaningful community service activities in the height of the pandemic when lots of the normal stuff was shut down, but that is less relevant now.)
Just wanted to throw that out there in case you might also have some practical reasons to join beyond just getting an addition for the resume.
I doubt that any time will be spent in the 10 minutes or so spent on an application asking that question. Unless there are multiple people from the same HS applying to the same college, the AO would first need to see that NHS was an option (it was not available at my HS. Data point of one, I know). And if multiple people from the same HS apply, do they separate those in NHS? Doubtful.
In the brief time available, I think they focus more on what ECs the applicant did do, not the ones they didn’t.
AOs do not care about NHS. On its own, I suppose it’s better than nothing, which isn’t saying much.
If, however, your school’s NHS is very active and you contribute to the group in meaningful ways, go ahead and list it. Make sure that you make clear what your involvement is. This doesn’t seem to be your situation, but I mention this for the benefit of others who might read this.
Variety of opinions here, take all with a grain of salt. NHS won’t get you in anywhere, that I think, we agree. Why its missing may cause a deeper dive into letters of rec and character IMO.
I can’t believe this is true. I have never heard that being in NHS means you have high character. I understand that you will be kept out if you have disciplinary issues but that’s true of lots of ECs. At my kids school the only ones that joined were kids that didn’t have much else going on. It was a huge effort to apply and most top students were too busy and couldn’t be bothered.
It’s all or nothing with this group. An AO might be inclined to look further into someones rec who could have joined NHS but didn’t. Sounds like there is a lot of NHS hate here.
No hate at all. Just not enough hours in the day for a rigorous course load AND great ECs, awards, etc, that will make an application stand out at top colleges.
