<p>There's no honor in my school's NHS. They accept mainly athletes - the #1 student in the class didn't get in his junior year. And, come to think of it, the #1 student (out of 700) IS an athlete - two season athlete!</p>
<p>It's so arbitrary - the kids who get in are somewhat-smart (not outstanding, maybe 1 AP class maximum, 3.0 GPA minimum), athletic, and obnoxious. The majority of the kids who were admitted their junior year are loud and talkative in class. Induction for seniors was beginning of the month. I was inducted and honestly, about 90% of the people inducted as seniors should have been inducted as juniors. </p>
<p>Not to mention that maybe 50% of NHS (new members and old members together) are drunks. I'm honestly only doing NHS for the sash at graduation- I'm so close to resigning.</p>
<p>Wow, interesting to hear about all the NHS variations in different schools.</p>
<p>In my son's school district they have a strict requirement (prob. to remove the subjectivity in selection): 20 hrs of community service per each year of HS, 4 extra-curicular activities for each year of HS, and a min GPA (3.25 or 3.5 I think). I thought that was pretty heavy-duty, but after reading about the other, arbitrary systems, it doesn't seem so bad.</p>
<p>Hope the OP is able to make a decision that he's comfortable with!</p>
<p>My D. just got accepted into NHS and the application itself was hours and hours of work. First off she had to go BACK to every place she had done community service and leadership hours and get signatures of what she had done and how much time. Next she had to explain any areas that may not be clear in the space for one sentence they provide. So she wrote several paragraphs for that. She also had to get letters of recommendation, write essays etc.</p>
<p>And she also had to get the approval of EVERY teacher in the school not just the ones she has had. However, if a teacher does not approve then they have to explain why so it is not just arbitrary.</p>
<p>To be invited you have to have a 3.5 average minimum and X amount of hours of community service and leadership. </p>
<p>Combine that with the huge senior project they have to do..(she is a junior and completed hers early) and you wonder how do kids have time to take AP's and get ready for college if they wait till their senior year.</p>
<p>I could be wrong but I think so many kids have the NHS honor these days that it is just another thing that is standard and will not put you over the top for anything.</p>
<p>I have to agree that NHS means pretty much zilch after high school, and not much in high school. </p>
<p>To tell you the honest truth, I have absolutely no clue how they chose NHS members at the high school I attended because I was never in the running. My guidance counselor told me nothing of the process and I likely wouldn't have been admitted because of my uw gpa and lack of AP/multiple honors courses.</p>
<p>When I started college I used to think, "wow, all of these kids from my high school were NHS and are flunking out of college...". Then I came to the realization that NHS meant next to nothing...</p>
<p>I'm proof that you don't need to have multiple AP/honors courses or NHS and other high school awards to be successful in college and beyond. For those that don't know, I graduated magna cum laude from Pittsburgh and am now a MS student at UNC-CH and plan for a PhD at either Wisconsin or Minnesota (both top 20 in my field).</p>
<p>I wouldn't join NHS just to appease my parents...Your parents can brag about your many other honors and accomplishments and be happy that they raised a happy well-adjusted adult.</p>
<p>Just to add another note to the "melody" here: My own son was rejected both years and was told by one of the "secret committee" at his school that the decision was both unfair and "political." Evidently, he was used as a pawn in some silly power struggle among the inbred faculty at our semi-rural high school. I retain a lot of anger even after a year because it was the one time in the last several years I actually saw tears in my son's eyes. </p>
<p>Fortunately, we also had the pleasure of hearing the gasp that went through that same high school's auditorium when his scholarship to Tulane was announced--the largest in his graduating class.</p>
<p>My D's school of 900 students admits only 10-15 students into NHS each year. She had a killer app sophomore year and,after being told she was a shoo-in by her advisor, was rejected, so she didn't bother applying last year. Rejection works wonders on the young mind.</p>
<p>My principal told us that "NHS is the single most impressive thing you can put on any college application" and I get rejected with a letter saying that NHS adheres to a strict policy of character, leadership, service, and scholarship. Unforunately you did not meet one of the requirements. Please try again next year" It was pretty stupid because a lot of the not so smart kids get in easily.</p>
<p>Oh I know that--but I believed her too until I saw this forum. Some of her other favorite activities include getting people in trouble for being at a school scheduled guidance appointment that the school planned which overlapped blocks and the student (me) was late to the next block because of the appointment, blaming whole groups of people for small incidents involving one or two people, and threatening to take away our unit lunch and seniors driving priveleges. She is a short little lady on a major power trip. The only good thing she's ever done is gotten us the unit lunch (52 min for whole school to eat wherever) in the first place,</p>
<p>I wonder why the requirements for NHS are so different from school to school ..it is a national organization and should have some continuity.</p>
<p>Trader - Fot the most part, I think NHS is pretty common and your principal is wrong when she says its the single most impressive thing on an application. I dont think colleges really look at it that much cus so many kids have it. </p>
<p>Ctymom - I have a sad memory to..when D. ended up with an 89.9 in AP Physics and thus missed Val by 1/10th of a point. So on graduation night we watched as kids with no AP's got up to accept Val status and D. with a very tough schedule and 4.76 weighted GPA missed out by a tiny tenth. And some months later when we got the College Boards AP scholar with distinction information from the HS..there she was ..but those other kids were not even listed as taking AP's. BUT she is really happy in the college she ended up in and in the long run it doesnt matter. I always think well its not like she missed a gold medal in the Olympics...I mean really I havent thought about it for a long time, until I read your post and how hurt you feel. Time really helps and putting it in perspective does too.
She won several scholarships..at one they had a dinner in her honor..so its a mixed bag of feelings when I reflect on her senior year.
But bottomline she is doing very well in college and is super happy!</p>
<p>BTW they changed how they do things in our school system. Because val and sal were based on UW GPA, kids could take the easiest classes and get 4.0 and be a Val. (there was no limit to how many Vals..just had to have a 4.0 UW) Then for Sal weighting came in..if you had a B in a 1/2 credit course..your average would be higher than a 1 credit course.</p>
<p>So kids were shying away from the tough courses to be Val or Sal. </p>
<p>So they eliminated it altogether and now go by Honor, High Honors, Highest Honors etc (this is based on weighted GPA). When D. graduated they were in last 2 year of phasing it out and they were also phasing in the new system so in the graduation program she is listed at Highest Honors and the Vals and Sals are not even listed.</p>
<p>You really are angstridden;) My experience is that each succeeding level makes the last one less meaningful. HS graduation is a huge deal for those who don't go on to college. If you go to college, you'll probably be too embarassed to even wear your HS class ring. Sounds like your daughter is doing great!</p>
<p>My D is looking at colleges and I've noticed on some of their websites that they have scholarships with NHS as a specific criteria. Now, none of those were enormous amounts of money, but for middle class families like us, multiple scholarships of $2500 realy add up.</p>
<p>I don't think NHS membership itself is given much thought by collegees, it's what you do as part of NHS. In some HS NHS is merely a title, in others you have to actively participate. My daughters HS has mandatory activities for it's members. These activities include, working in various school offices, working college fairs, tutoring, fundraising..etc. There are other activities that my D participated in through NHS. She got to attend a 3 day leadership conference in RI last year (at NO cost). She participated in a junior achivement program thru NHS where she went to a local elematary school and spent a day teaching 2nd graders about their community. This year she is a VP, and has to plan meetings and assign commitees. Those are the things she emphasized on her apps, rather than just listing NHS. Now, many of these things can be done without NHS membership, but in my daughter's case it gave her opportunities she wouldn't have received without the membership.</p>
<p>Audiophile..I dont know why you think I am "angstridden" because her missing Val by one tenth of a point would be disappointing..I think that is a normal reaction. If you had an 89,9 and thus missed Val by one tenth of a point..I think you would naturally feel disappointed also. However, its not like missing out on a Olympic gold medal..but it was at the time disappointing. And the way they handled it..collecting her bio and photo for the honor etc and then at the last minute..telling her she wasnt Sal either due to the way a half credit course with a B in say basket weaving would count less against you than a full credit AP course in Physics with a 89.9 (B)</p>
<p>And of course the mom that ran around bragging that her son was #1 in the class (and no he didnt take any AP's) didnt help.</p>
<p>So yes I think our disappointment was at the time a very natural reaction and not an "angst" reaction at all. However, I hadnt thought about it for quite a while till I read Ctymoms post. I DONT THINK ABOUT IT NOW. I am sharing with Ctymom that time will help, her post reminded me of how we felt.</p>
<p>As far as wearing a class ring neither one of my daughters wanted one.</p>
<p>However when I went to college I wore mine and was not embarrassed at all.</p>
<p>Angst,
Sorry about my attempt at humor (I did put a smiley). I was trying to make you feel better, but I'm a typical male and said the wrong thing. Pity my poor wife.</p>