For those with lots of requirements and a long process to get inducted and somewhat selective, does your NHS chapter do a lot of meaningful work - meetings, service projects, etc?
For mine, the induction is automatic with a large portion of the class getting in, but then there are only two meeting following - one to elect and one to pay dues, and we do no service or activities as a part of NHS.
My daughters do service projects and peer tutoring, and have mandatory meetings.
My DD did community service and tutoring at an elementary school. She never attended a NHS meeting, and after her own indication, she never went to another one.
I was surprised they allowed her to wear the thing for graduation. She fulfilled the community service requirement, and had the GPA and class rank…but she was not an active NHS member in the least…which is why she didn’t put it on her college applications.
Essay, 2 teacher recommendations, service hours completed, and gpa.
At our school it’s hard to get in. You have to be invited by the teacher advisor and have a minimum of a 90 unweighted average. So one daughter who had a 93 weighted up 89 unweighted didn’t get invited. It’s only open to second semester juniors or above and you fill out an application, write an essay or two and have significant number of volunteer hours. Each student invites a teacher whom they feel was important to them to the induction ceremony, which is very nice and special. Each year only about 25 kids get inducted out of a combined junior and senior class of 400 so it does mean something at our school.
NHS tutors kids at school and runs some fundraisers such as cradles to crayons. It’s nice.
My daughter really handled everything herself so I don’t know the nitty gritty requirements. It looked pretty involved; she had one page of signatures from something like a dozen or more teachers. She had typed up several pages about her ECs and service projects too. She’s in an accelerated program at school and I think everyone in that program was “invited to apply” but I don’t know how many did.
Every student with a GPA above the minimum gets recommended. The student must meet the minimum service hours requirement, get a written teacher recommendation, submit an application, and write an essay. In addition, in order to maintain good standing and get the NHS cords at graduation a student must attend a certain percentage of meetings and participate in a certain percentage of chapter activities (mostly service related).
Our NHS chapter does peer tutoring and blood drives every year. They also raise money through bake sales and vote on where to donate the money they raise. Most of the donations go to local issues.
To,the OP. What you are describing sounds very much like the standard for NHS in most places…nomination, application, essay, community service hours, and at least one recommendation.
In our HS, you also must maintain your community service hours to continue in NHS. I know my daughter did this…even though she never attended anything else the group did.
I think it’s just GPA to get in initially, spring of junior year. They have to do a certain number of service hours to get the cords at graduation. The seniors get their cords when the juniors are inducted.
They do tutoring and also volunteer at events like school open house and parents’ night. Not sure what else they do. My D was just inducted.
Is joining worth it if you aren’t going to participate? I mean, if it is just something to put on the college app?
My oldest joined in HS, but never participated at all or did his hours and while they warned him he could be kicked out they never did.
My middle son was invited to NJHS due to excellent grades but decided not to fill out the application as he only had 2 ECS and no volunteer time and we did not think he would be accepted. The application even for 8th graders was extensive.
I guess my feeling for the younger 2 kids is that they should join if they are going to actively participate in the organization, but should not if they would rather spend their time elsewhere? (and not just to pad a college application?)
Our school says that NHS is more than GPA. The student completes an application listing activities and service hours. They need the recommendation of 2 teachers. In practice, I don’t know of a single student with the required GPA of 3.8 who didn’t get in. Now, in order to wear the cords at graduation, you had to put in a certain number of service hours. I don’t know the number, but was surprised at the number of hours that my son spent at school tutoring students. They did adhere to that policy. I know a number of kids that were in NHS, but didn’t receive the cords.
DS high school took “moral character” and teacher comments into consideration. Our outspoken valedictorian was not selected either year. Teachers said she was too opinionated and too wild. I didn’t get in my first year because I partied too much. In the long run it means nothing.
At my kids’ HS it was based on GPA and some minimal community service hours. An awful lot of students were inducted each year, the organization did next to nothing, and no one considered it a meaningful “honor”. It’s hard for me to imagine that any college admissions office puts much stock in NHS membership, given that the criteria vary so widely among high schools. I certainly wouldn’t advise my kid to spend any time on a lengthy application process. Tell the grandparents about being invited to apply and call it a day!
Used to be 3.5 and a pulse got you in. Now it’s gpa, letters of recommendation and community service hours.
Meaningful on graduation day for tassles, that’s about it.
-3.5UW/3.8W (Pretty low gpa req’s considering my schools hpa is on a 6.0 scale)
-Essay demonstrating accomplishments in either service, dedication, or like 3 other options i can’t remember
-Must be a sophomore going into junior year or a junior going into senior year
-Application with community service work,special talents etc…
-Letters of rec. from two teachers
-The way applicants are chosen is from a group of 4/5 teachers and the adviser. They have our names on them but to minimize bias, if the teacher has the student then she is prompted to pass on the application to the next person. I think they use a point system and there’s a threshold. Either way there are people who should be in nhs that weren’t accepted and vice-versa.
I enjoy nhs and I’m running for VP/Treasurer this year in fact elections are this week wish me luck haha.
Wow, extensive requirements! At DS’s school, it is 3.5 GPA (out of 4.0), 2 hours community service that must be cleanup/landscaping days at the school, $6, and fill out a form. (There’s a separate 60 hours community service requirement to graduate.) No essay or recommendation. Classes don’t have to be honors. Freshmen allowed after 1st semester. Tons of kids are members. They don’t do any activities. Just a tassel at graduation.
It’s been a while for my D, but in her HS students with the appropriate GPA were invited to fill out an application. It wasn’t particularly onerous. Once elected, there were a couple of meetings and they had to do a small number of service hours,mostly tutoring or math/writing resource center. Then, my daughter FORGOT her medallion (not a tassel) for graduation! About 30 seconds of angst, but really little meaning after that.
GPA (3.8), service hours (60?), leadership (up to kid to explain how their stuff shows that), no disciplinary issues. It’s a 4 page app with min-essays and ECs. Good practice for college anyway.
Some kids didn’t get invited (GPA or discipline) and some didn’t get in once apps were turned in (mostly for service/leadership and they could apply again senior year).
At our school, it’s gpa to put in an application. Then your name gets circulated among teachers, who each pick their 4 favorites. In the meantime, the student puts together a ridiculously long and detailed application where each and every volunteer duty has to be verified with a signature–I spent hours hauling him around getting all the signatures. Only, of course, to find that he didn’t make it through the teacher popularity contest. He decided it was the biggest waste of time he’d spent in his entire high school career and didn’t reapply the following year. Younger son saw what his older brother and decided not to even try.
Found out later that at our competitive surburban high school, NHS is for the nice kids who can’t compete at the top levels academically. Teachers choose accordingly. Would have been nice to know that from the start.
Both boys got into fabulous schools without NHS. Daughter won’t bother with it either.