<p>I just got nominated today for National Honors Society, something I'd heard of but never paid much attention to. Soo, they want allot of community service hours. I play sports and I've been captain of various teams and whatnot, but my community service hours add up to like, 10. Do I have any chance at all?</p>
<p>Depends on the school. At my daughters school, you needed 80+ hours, with a weekly commitment of 5.</p>
<p>I’m not upset about not getting into NHS, but this whole craze over community hours is getting rather ridiculous. We all know that most students will “volunteer” simply to get the scholarship or the admission - not that there’s anything wrong with that, but come on… How does it really show what kind of a student the applicant will be?</p>
<p>At Oxford and Cambridge, two of the oldest and most prestigious schools, the admissions office couldn’t care less about extracurriculars. All they care about is academic performance, which, honestly, makes a whole lot more sense. But hey, it’s whatever the university asks for.</p>
<p>To be completely honest, volunteer hours hold people back, especially if it has nothing to do with their career. </p>
<p>I’m going for an economics major and a pysch major - if I saw someone volunteering 300 hours at an animal shelter and a person volunteering 30 hours at a pyschologist’s office, I’d pick the 30 hours because it has stuff to do with the intended career. </p>
<p>A lot of people feel that they can go to Mexico and Peru and build houses for the needy and ensure themselves a superb college - this isn’t how I feel and it’s definitely not how it’s done. </p>
<p>Now, with that being said, volunteer hours can never hurt (unless they’re cutting into other things) but just make sure you do them the right way.</p>
<p>@swebber I completely agree. Extracurriculars don’t show what kind of person someone is. And education shouldn’t be mixed with that anyways since you can’t really tell anyways. But most colleges do look at it, unfortunately. Probably because they think that the American education system is too easy. If some of these kids weren’t busy being presidents and winning awards, they’ld probably run out of rigorous classes and APs to take 
I doubt you’ll be able to get into NHS then.</p>
<p>My daughter’s NHS is 40 hours over 2 years. 20 hours can be documented volunteering of your choice, but the other 20 has to “sanctioned” events and tutoring.</p>
<p>Then number of hours required for NHS depends on the school.</p>
<p>As for the obsession over volunteer hours, people are getting quite ridiculous about it. If you look around on the decision result threads, people with hundreds of hours are getting rejected, but people with far fewer hours (or no specific count of hours) are getting accepted. Having hundreds of hours is not as big of a deal as some make it out to be - the rest of the application is far more important.</p>
<p>Well I’ve signed up for volunteering as a tutor at a local community center - something I’ll actually enjoy, so not too bad. And I remembered all the hours I volunteered at the concession stand during boys’ soccer games, so now I’ve got a chance of getting in.</p>
<p>Still irritated with the extra-curricular/volunteering stuff. As if students don’t have enough to juggle without busywork and hours they can barely make. I mean, I’m speaking as someone who’s self-studying two AP classes. Think of all the students self-studying like 5+? It’s ridiculous.</p>
<p>I agree swebber. If you don’t make NHS, don’t sweat it. Colleges will see that you have the grades to qualify, and do not see NHS as an exclusive EC. If you are eligible for athlectic recruiting, then NHS will really not matter.</p>
<p>NHS wants to see hours because the NHS is an organization that promotes service. If you don’t care about service, don’t join an organization that exists to promote service. Simple as that.</p>
<p>Why are you irritated with volunteering and extra-curricular? You forget that college is much more than a place to learn. Campuses pride themselves on being active and on contributing to the community, as well as to the world. If academic performance was all that mattered, the highest scoring campuses would be far more self-serving and far less interesting. </p>
<p>Is it so bad that NHS and colleges are trying to promote concern for the community? Looking out for the good of society is vitally important in life. If you get educated and work just to serve your own interests, what good was your existence on this earth? </p>
<p>Even if you end up volunteering just to fluff up your resume for college, the college system has done a wonderful job by subtly encouraging you to volunteer. </p>
<p>This argument was kinda jumpy. But maybe you get my point. NHS required me to volunteer. I probably wouldn’t have done so much otherwise. But I did enjoy the experiences. Plus, I helped people who needed help. Plus, my college resume looked a little better (from NHS membership and volunteer experiences). I was inspired by people who have dedicated their entire life to non-profit organizations and to helping others. I’m not irritated.</p>
<p>for my school there is no requirement to volunteer in order to get in. but, while you are in it, you have to volunteer for like 25 hrs. over the course of a year.</p>
<p>I volunteer for stuff that i find fun. so i don’t volunteer for massive amounts of time but even I have gotten in quite a few hours (200ish) helping out with kids camps and what not. I help over the summer mostly. </p>
<p>Pancaked is right, NHS is a service organization, so if you aren’t willing to put a few hours of volunteer time in, then you probably shouldn’t join. </p>
<p>And ECs can show what kind of person you are. They can show you’re willingness to participate in activities and get to know other people. Some people dive into academics while others keep their academic lives a little more balanced with activities and such. Everyone is different and colleges already know that. </p>
<p>Anyways, NHS will not make or break you, so don’t sweat it.</p>
<p>I am my school’s NHS president - and I can DEF. tell you that volunteer hours are KEY and quite important. NHS always looks great on a recommendation but is not required so don’t go crazy if you do not get in for there are people I know who have gotten into great schools like Brown and RU without having NHS on their resume. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>LMAO at my school they say that 5 hours a week is mandatory, but no one does ANYTHING.</p>
<p>At my school, you could probably get in with 1 sports team and 1 leadership position (e-board of a club, etc.). It really is a joke.</p>
<p>No like I said, I’m not irritated that I probably won’t get into NHS, as I know it’s about community service. What I’m irritated about is that colleges want extra-curricular activities and volunteer hours - it shows next to nothing about academic capability. If we’re having a competition for best person in the world, then sure. But I’m going there to learn and to get a degree. They ought to be recruiting the brightest, most capable minds - allot of brilliant people who are extremely devoted to academics simply don’t have time for sports and extra-curriculars. I used to play tons of sports. Now I’m aspiring for Ivy league and I simply do not have time, nor am I interested.</p>
<p>Is it fair that people who thrive on academics and are attempting to get into ACADEMIC-based establishments have to enroll in athletics and other things just to have a fair shot? Let’s focus on the main goal, here. </p>
<p>Anywho, that was only supposed to be a sentence long :-/</p>
<p>If you want to go to a good school that doesn’t care about your extracurriculars or volunteer hours, go abroad. Go to a state school. A liberal arts college is in theory about creating a well-rounded individual who contributes to society. Part of that comes from a base of knowledge, yes, but a lot of it is developed through community interaction. </p>
<p>I’m not saying this is the right or the wrong way to learn. For me, it was the right choice. But an LAC isn’t your only option. Actually, I’m sure there are many students out there who do few if any extracurrics/volunteer work who get into private LACs. Are they going to be top-tier schools? Probably not. Why? Because top tier schools can fill their spots with top-notch students who contribute to their community, too.</p>
<p>Don’t worry all, I already know where I’m going. It’s pure academics, which is what I’m going to college for. And I understand your opinion about the well-rounded person. Good stuff :)</p>