<p>Hi everyone. I am a senior this year, and for the past two years I have been rejected from my school's chapter of the National Honor Society. I think it is clear that I am qualified to be a member, and I just don't know what my options are now.</p>
<p>Basically, as far as I know, there is a faculty council composed of 5 teachers who vote on whether I should become a member. The decision is based on the majority vote. I do know that I had a fairly bad relationship with one of the teachers who was on the council, and that most likely affected the decision.</p>
<p>When I received the decision of rejection back, the reason cited for my rejection was "does not have enough leadership." This is obviously not the real reason, because everyone who knows me also knows that I am the drum major in the school band, arguably the school's most demanding leadership position available. I went through the formal appeal process, writing a letter to the principal stating how I fulfill each of the aspects of leadership that NHS expects. However, he upheld the decision of the faculty council, without providing any real reasons.</p>
<p>I know that I am much more qualified than many people who are either already members or were recently expected. I would not put it beyond my extremely fickle school or teachers to have rejected me based solely on the fact that I am not their favorite person. I have no disciplinary record, and since the reason cited for my rejection was "leadership," I just don't know what to do right now. This has been extremely frustrating for me, and I feel like I am being severely mistreated and I feel like I have nowhere else to turn.</p>
<p>NHS is not a big deal whatsoever. While it CAN be a nice EC, many top students opt out of it completely for a wide variety of reasons. Some school's NHS is a complete joke. For some, it can be very rewarding. </p>
<p>It's not some GREAT honor that you MUST have in order to be considered by the top schools. It's like being on the "honor roll" due to its commonplace nature. I was not courted by my school's NHS, never bothered to join. Still got into all schools applied, eventually matriculating at one of the HYP colleges.</p>
<p>Ignore your experience w/NHS and move on to enjoy the rest of your HS experience. You won't miss it. The colleges won't care either. How's that for a satisfying post-rejection option?</p>
<p>Not to mention that some schools don't even HAVE a NHS.</p>
<p>Though here's a somewhat funny NHS related story. </p>
<p>I know a guy who was duped by some spam emailer telling him that he got into the NHS despite our school not even having it. Eventually, the guy got so obnoxious that someone had to pull him aside and tell him that he had been had. </p>
<p>A little anecdote for you. But seriously, NHS isn't everything.</p>
<p>yeah dont sweat, its not that big of a deal. It is a nice little thing to put on applications, but thats usually bout it. NHS isn't going to make or break a college decision..it's just not that big of a deal. if all schools chose NHS students equally, i think that it could be a pretty significant deal, but selection varies greatly from school to school. i know a school that allows any students in so long as they have a 3.25.</p>
<p>NHS is seriously a joke. Our school accepts pretty much all members. Yes, even those below a 3.0. I went to like 2 meetings sophomore year and decided it wasn't worth it.</p>
<p>Yoshikiu is you are a senior this year as in class of 2012, you should
not be impacted by NHS membership in any way. </p>
<p>If you are class of 2013 (meaning you will start senior year in HS in
september this year) it is a different matter.</p>
<p>In this case you need to augment your community service profile over the
summer and make sure that your recommenders are not influenced
by whoever you have managed to PO.</p>
<p>NHS membership in itself is a little sub bullet on your extra information sheet
with your common app and is next to meaningless as others have pointed out.</p>
<p>What you do - as in community service- is meaningful. This can be more than
a sub-bullet?</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice guys. Yeah, I'm aware that it's pretty insignificant as far as applying to college is concerned. But the graduation ceremony always makes a huge deal of the students involved in NHS, and they get to wear nice sashes and everything. I know this sounds extremely vain, but I am near the top of the class and I am getting very jealous of people who are far less qualified than I am getting recognition for something I feel I also deserve to be a part of. </p>
<p>As far as the appeals process goes, do you know what my next step should be? Would asking to meet with the superintendent be out of line?</p>
<p>OP, your story is the perfect example of why NHS should be boycotted/banned by every high school. If qualified students are denied membership, then the organization is a meaningless sham of favoritism. If I were you, I would direct my anger into educating the administration, faculty and student body about the inequity of using subjective criteria to deny qualified students eligibility for scholarships (which are open only to NHS members).</p>
<p>Knowing the extra curricular habits of some NHS officers,
one could very well call it the non-honor society. Maybe it is
easier for someone who has a sash to value it less.....but the
schools you are admitted to and the merit awards you get
are a greater honor than any sash on any dress.</p>
<p>If you want to put some energy into this purely to pay it forward, start a campaign to have members selected on a blind application basis. </p>
<p>At my son's HS, the student puts his name on the first page of the app and the page for teacher recs. The other pages (to list ECs, leadership positions) just have the student's ID number. On the rec letter page, the student lists all his teachers, then chooses two to be asked; the NHS sponsors choose two more to ask. The rec letters are rated 1-5 (bad to good), and the student's ID number put on the total. It sounds like it truly is a blind process. If you care a lot about this issue, you may try to get your school to change, even if it won't benefit you.</p>
<p>Don't worry, you're just like me. I'm near the top of the class and got rejected from NHS as well. Imo, don't worry about it. Make them jealous over which college picks you, not over who wears the sash ;)</p>
<p>It's not like you'll be reciting to your employer that you were in NHS in High School :)</p>
<p>T26E4, I don't think is jealousy is in one bit immature. We've been in the school system for 12 years and you ought to be honored accordingly at graduation. It would be a shame not to wear those sashes and it's right to be jealous of those less qualified than you getting an honor you ought to have as well. I'm not saying that the OP is or is not more qualified than the other students, but if he is, I think it's only fair for him to be honored at graduation. Although I understand that in the long run it doesn't mean anything substantive, I would be ****ed if I were in his position.</p>
<p>As for your options you should take it higher up, involve parents, and if you feel passionate enough, threaten with legal action. If your school is a public school they'll concede if you're even somewhat justified. If it's a private school, beware they can do basically whatever you want.</p>
<p>NHS is pretty much a load of ********, at least it is at my school. i havent done ANYTHING extra for it besides being a member and maintiaining the same amount of community service that i always have. dont worry about it too much, its really not a big deal</p>
<p>FFB: we'll have to agree to disagree. External honors and a three dollars will get you a Starbucks coffee, IMHO. Kudos are nice -- I like 'em too cuz I'm human -- but I try not to hang my hat on them. I'm trying to instill the same to my kids. It's a philosophy I'm trying to live by. </p>
<p>Sure, don't be a doormat -- but why lose energy over something like THIS? I can't name you ONE person in my graduating class who wore the sashes. I know they did. But I sure didn't notice and didn't feel anything because I didn't have one. I was very happy with the "top circle" of kids. We cheered each other on, had massive study parties, and were very supportive of each other come college time. In subsequent reunions, our class has maintained a very supportive and non-competitive atmosphere -- even though we attended the city's most prestigious and rigorous high school.</p>
<p>Like I said, there are more important things in which to place one's energy and time. I wish the OP the best for his/her remaining time at HS, the last summer before college and a wonderful 4/5 years as an undergraduate. Why instigate a catty and snarly fight for something so ephemeral as a yellow sash during a 1 hour ceremony that will lie moldering in an attic for the next eighty years?</p>
<p>During my junior year, the senior members of NHS voted to not admit any juniors. So there was no NHS my senior year!!! Right before graduation, anyone with the required GPA was admitted, and we had one meeting at which we (a) elected the officers so that they could conduct the induction ceremony, and (b) the officers conducted the induction ceremony. Since we were members for all of a day, we didn't admit any juniors either. Wonder when/if my high school got that fixed. When I think about it, I can't believe that the seniors were allowed to not admit any juniors and I have no idea why they did it!</p>
<p>Yes, I think NHS is completely overrated. I was offered induction junior year, but I never filled out the paperwork, so I never got in. Senior year, I didn't fill oout the forms as well. and all you need in my school is a 3.5 gpa and one extracurricular. I just don't understand the point of a socity, why does a person need a certain GPA in order to participate in community service? This year, for NHS "Day of Giving" our school's NHS ended up cleaning an adult bookstore (long story). Surely the colleges themselves must realize that NHS is nothing more than a name or a sash, a superficial representation that distorts individual achievements. So yeah, I also think NHS shouldn't exist in schools.</p>
<p>The application for NHS at my school is a formal letter to the principal about why you should be admitted based off academic achievement, grades and community service. A minimum 3.8 weighted GPA is required just to apply. Even then, I don't think the program at my school was an experience that helped me with my college apps. I even left it out of most of them.</p>
<p>It seems that the regard for NHS varies greatly from one school or region to another. In our school system, it is held in a rather high esteem.
I had a nanny one summer that was from Nebraska and dummer than a box of rocks, yet she was a NHS member..
2006 graduate daughter had an easier time getting inducted that 2008 graduate did. A lot of students got denied, mostly based on the legitimacy of their community service.
One of my daughter's former friends got in for what.. I can't imagine. She was at one time designated to be one o the top three in the class, until she made some terrible life choices ( drugs, alcohol and such ) Her only community service was a breast cancer walk she participated in when she was in middle school.
I think she got removed.
But it seems if you are already a senior, and you were denied it serves no purpose to you anymore..other than the sash and gold tassle at the graduation ceremony.</p>
<p>Obviously, if OP was denied membership in his high school's NHS, then his chapter is, in fact, an elitist chapter that requires more than filling out a form for membership. </p>
<p>I think OP's feelings in this situation are righteous, and he is not being immature. It is more than shameful that a public school club, whose purpose is to "do good" and recognize good work, would reject a qualified student who is interested in being a part of it. Such elitism is indefensible, imo, and if anyone here would like to defend it, I'd be very interested to hear your point of view.</p>