<p>I have 3 questions about National Honor Society:</p>
<p>1) Do you need it to be competitive at a top college? I already have a solid GPA and EC's.
2) When are you supposed to join? Sophomore? Junior? Senior?
3) How do you apply/qualify?</p>
<p>NHS varies from school to school, but it is generally frowned upon on this board because members usually do nothing in the organization.</p>
<p>I would apply and try to get on. It won’t hurt you, but at the same time, it won’t help you substantially.</p>
<p>At my daughter’s school, you are invited to apply to NHS the summer before junior year. In addition to top grades, you need to have extra curriculars and service hours completed (our school has service hours requirements). Not everyone who applies is accepted, so it truley is an honor at our school. Once inducted, you have to participate in NHS service projects, etc. If it is offered at your school, I would apply.</p>
<p>Certainly apply and get in. But generally everyone applying to top colleges is in NHS, so it will not give you an advantage. Of course, if you’re president, treasurer, etc. it can help.</p>
<p>It’s not bad per se… but nhs alone will not get you into any colleges. I for one was not in NHS (chose not be) and was still accepted to many great colleges. If you have many other great activities that reveal who you are as a person, then I really don’t think its absolutely necessary for you to have it on your resume. </p>
<p>Think about it like this: lets say you were waitlisted at University of Pennsylvania without having NHS on your resume. Now assume that you did have it on your resume when you applied, do you really think that it would change anything? I personally think it will not affect your decision at all.</p>
<p>But if you aren’t applying to top colleges, nhs might be beneficial.</p>
<p>Oh, I already have some good EC’s (at least I think they are), like debate captain and co-founding a startup company.</p>
<p>So, NHS is by invitation? I should get an invitation to apply (if I meet the GPA requirements)?</p>
<p>Yeah generally you have to meet like a 3.8 gpa UW(at my school at least) which is very easy so lots of people are invited. Also you need to be active in your school community and have leadership position and good character.</p>
<p>It looks good on your resume for the Common App but ideally I think a lot of adcoms knows NHS isn’t as prestigious as most claim.</p>
<p>Well, my GPA is like 3.85 — which is easily in top 10%.</p>
<p>I’m not sure I’ll even have room on the Common App — I already have 7 EC’s. Could I put it under awards?</p>
<p>Honestly though, I really don’t think NHS is important. If youre a candidate for top school, then obviously you are NHS material, so to have NHS on your resume is not significant. Rather you should use that space on your application for some other more significant activity.</p>
<p>Is 3.85 your weighted or unweighted gpa? If your school goes by unweighted GPA then i think the cutoff would probably be around 3.5-3.6.</p>
<p>Edit: I meant unweighted</p>
<p>We don’t weight grades at my school.</p>
<p>So yeah your definitely invited, but like I said before you obviously don’t need it. I know people who have gotten into Harvard, Princeton, Yale, etc without even joining NHS. NHS is such a joke at my school. People who are obviously not good students wind up getting in.</p>
<p>Alright, cool. Thanks for the info! I just want to be sure I can do everything to maximize my chances.</p>
<p>Do you need community service to be invited? I, sadly, haven’t had the chance to do much service at all.</p>
<p>It might be a criteria at your school. They might ask you how you have contributed to the school and also your community. Furthermore, they may require recommendation from a few of your teachers.</p>
<p>Shouldn’t your school have info on NHS? What grade are you in?</p>
<p>I’m a sophomore.</p>
<p>My school probably has info, but I don’t really know who to ask.</p>