<p>epiphany --
It's sad to hear that your d's school isn't serious about the real characteristics of NHS and doesn't pick candidates by a more fair (or at least less biased) process. Shame on the dean for failing to pick truly qualified candidates.</p>
<p>allie'smom --
You sound like an awesome advisor! It's great that you have made NHS at your school an honor and not a popularity contest. Your "ten-cents" was informative about what NHS is like from an advisor's standpoint.</p>
<p>It's a joke.</p>
<p>At my d's school NHS is a big honor and a big commitment time wise. Each member has to participate in planning one of the projects: leadership seminar, blood drive, Relay for Life, Coffee House evenings, Trash Bash, tutoring sessions, etc. It's very competitive to get into and requires not only the gpa but community service, leadership and character (which is the controversial piece of selection) and then those things need to be maintained to stay in the club.</p>
<h2>"yeah nhs is a joke... a third of my class is "eligible" for it based upon gpa and basically every1 just goes and does their 15 hrs of comm. service a semester and checks it off on their "things to put on my resume that will make me appear smarter than i actually am to admissions officers" "</h2>
<p>I agree with this, but do you (anyone) think that that means it would be better NOT to have NHS on a college resume? I know I'll be in it and was hoping on running for president, (at least it's better than just being in it and not going to any events, like jissell1013 said)... still a smart idea?</p>
<p>I think the norm is </p>
<ul>
<li>It is not great if you make it to NHS at your school.</li>
<li>But you may need to explain why you couldn't make it to NHS at your school.</li>
</ul>
<p>It's better "not" to have NHS on your apps if you have a limited amount of space on the app and you have other, more interesting, activites to list. NHS isn't "bad", per se, but it doesn't say a lot about who you are. Colleges will be able to look at your GPA anyways, so the minimum GPA requirements don't mean anything to them. If you have an extra space or two to fill, NHS fits the bill. But unless what you are doing in NHS is so interesting and unusual that you write about it in your essays, it's just filler. I'd be interested to hear how AdComs treat it.</p>
<p>If you have limited space on your app, but you were the President of NHS, should you put THAT?</p>
<p>If you're president, you should definately put it on there. Leadership positions are always a plus. But joining NHS just for a shot at being president isn't the best idea- I would put my time and effort into being president of something else that shows passion and personality. It's a good, solid EC, but not a stellar one.</p>
<p>Alright. Well I'll join and run for president and be active in it and everything, and if I have other ECs that would "outweigh" NHS then I'll just leave it out. =)</p>
<p>That's not really true at all. For my school you not only have to have moderately impressive grades, but you also have to be involved in 3 or more clubs as well as having at least 35 hours of community service (approved by the school, of course).</p>
<p>Then once you're inducted into NHS, you must earn a total of 20 points each year (so from junior to the end of senior year, you'd have earned 40 points)...
To receive points you must go to NHS activities, which usually include volunteering and tutoring. </p>
<p>I'm the historian for my school's NHS, and we're probably one of the most active organizations at our school. However, many high schools do not have NHS' like my school, and colleges will see that through your resume if you send one.</p>
<p>Oh wow... My school isn't that competitive so we have like a minimum 2.0 GPA requirement and that's it. The principal and advisor do not care, so it's basically, whoever wants to join can join. Ha... And once we're in the club, all we have to do is show up and get our cords upon graduation. And that is exactly why I am not in it :).</p>
<p>epiphany: thanks for the reiteration of the procedure, Katek. That's the way it should be handled, and congrats to you for getting in, because in your area they are obviously more concerned with adhering to a formal & less biased process.</p>
<h2>I remember that my older D also had to fill out the application you describe. Her qualifications were so abundant & her standing in the class so high that it was one of many examples of what a sham it has become at our school. (She, and a few other equally deserving students, did not get in. And those numbers have gotten worse each year.) Really it's just about the whims of the Dean, who also (I kid you not) hand picks the student body president each year, according to whom she likes among the candidates. There's no integrity to the voting process: just like a military regime in some totalitarian country. I should be laughing but I'm not.</h2>
<p>now maybe you understand the objections to holistic admissions.</p>
<p>If you're in 3+ clubs, colleges will be able to see that on your transcript without having to join NHS. If you're doing community service, colleges will be able to see that without NHS. If you have a high GPA, colleges will see that without NHS. If you actually do something at NHS that's interesting, (i. e. not the typical blood drive, bake sale) it can be worthwhile. Then you can write about all of the interesting, extraordinary things you have done in NHS. But as just one more thing to thunk on your application? Skip it.</p>