NHS

Just wondering if NHS is worth it? In my school we need 30 hrs by beginning of March and it is currently Feb and I have yet to do any hrs(ik terrible planning). I was wondering if colleges actually legitimately view NHS as a better thing than doing community service on my own? Essientally, is NHS worth it

In my experience, NHS has been a worthwhile activity. I’m not sure how much colleges care about it as opposed to completing community service on your own, but it is at least a recognizable EC to add to your list (in addition to being a fun communal group to participate in). For me, it helped me stay on track of my community service by providing guidelines and goals for service hours. If you are a person who is disciplined and will stay on top of community service without it, I don’t think colleges would penalize you, but it was helpful for me.

Wearing the colorful cords at graduation would sure make your parents very pleased! In terms of looking good on applications, it depends on the selectivity of the college. Highly selective schools would expect most applicants to meet the requirements, whether or not the student officially joined. In my opinion, though, it could add a nice touch to your match and likely school apps. It is nice to have on a high school resume too, and it can go under either “ECs” or “awards” on your college applications.

My son, who was top 10% of his class, was not accepted the first round of NHS because he did not have enough leadership, so when they sent him the application again, he refused to apply (much to my dismay). He was still admitted to every school he applied to and is now attending a school is always ranked top 20. We were also told by the college counselor that since every school had a different admittance policy, schools did not place much weight to it.