I just got a letter saying I have been selected to join The National Society of High School Scholars(NSHSS). Can anyone just help me out with the basics of it? What really is it? From the included letters it seems like they have a lot of scholarships available, is that mostly it or are there annual events and such? It seems pretty reputable from the packaging and the fact that it was started my Claes Nobel, but does it hold any weight in college admissions? Is it truly selective or do hundreds of thousands of people get this? I know I was impressed by my name and address being hand printed on the front of the envelope. Basicly I just want to know is it worth my 60$ and what do they do?
I got the same letter. Bumping this.
It’s not legit, just a cash cow. Not prestigious and not worth anything to admissions. They send it to anyone they can get the address of.
Use the search function on this site and you can find numerous threads on it.
It’s a scam.
Thanks.
Claes was my across the street neighbor in Milwaukee. He was the self styled “neighborhood environmentalist”. Although I did not keep tabs on him I know he never had a job. What he did was associate with the rich & important and beg for money for his two foundations united earth and nshss was my assumption (just a best guess). ((otherwisehow else how could he support 4 children (overpopulation apparently was not a concern of his) and a wife?)) Isn’t that what he is doing now essentially?(see his website)). I knew he flew in the plane of the Mexican president for example.
I gave him a book called “growth and technology the price we pay” copyright 1967. The writer ezra mishan was the first opponent of economic growth. By claes’s own admission he could not understand it. At that late date (i’d guess around 2000 or earlier) he seemed to think the environmental problems were fixable). He bought some land in door county, a pristine area in Wisconsin and put condos on it. He was quoted in the Milwaukee journal saying to the effect “that someone would do this anyway” but claimed his development as environmental. I wonder if it was. The article also said he might be destroying one of the last breeding grounds of lake whitefish.
Finally I’d like to know what claes ever said did or published on the e issue that really mattered. Also what financial contributions he’s made to this cause or any other and how much. I called nshss to inquire about nobel’s salary. Said they’d get back but never did. again I don’t keep tabs on him but I’d say he’s a phony a la Jacques Cousteau another phony environmentalist (just a best guess). My summary of claes: Like Cousteau he goes where the action is and where the money is but like Cousteau he never takes any personal risks political risks*
((did he kiss tail or take risk in opposing the powerful?)
@drewharrahill and @Hermit9 , I am moderator of NHS in my school.
I have a message posted on my website directing our kids to IGNORE any mail from any organization that claims to be an honor society.
My school does NOT submit names to any outside organization. (NHS never asks for a roster, or a potential roster.) NAHSS did NOT get their names from me, or from any school representative. (In fact, we won’t even know our potential NHS members until the fall.) So exactly how this “honor society” determines membership, it does NOT rely on grades.
It costs no money to join NHS. Do not send ANYONE money to join an honor society.
The National Honor Society constitution lists dues as one of the obligations of membership
They’re chapter dues. My school picks up the tab for that; it doesn’t cost our kids a dime.
I’ve gotten emails from some kids at my school who have been solicited from NSHSS. They said they were asked to pay $60 to become members.
It’s a different organization from National Honor Society, and one that does not consider grades when soliciting new members.
If, when school resumes in the fall, you’re admitted to NHS and the moderator lets you know about dues, that’s a different matter entirely.
Your chapter may have decided to pick them up, but Article IV, Section 3 clearly refers to student members.
In any event, the $60 being requested by the NSHSS is a bit exorbitant.
It may be an “honor society” in that it honors anyone whose address they can find, and who has the $60 to join.
But it’s not THE National Honor Society
Our school asks no dues for the NHS from its student members. Just another datapoint.
My school had dues for NHS ($10, partly for fees incurred running the program) and we had to buy our t shirts and stoles. I got one of those NSHSS letters and figured it was a scam.
OK, I concede… some chapters do charge dues.
But I’ll guess that the letter requesting those dues came from the school, right? From a name you recognized, from the school email address or on school stationary? And the check was written out to the school, right?
Once again, the $60 requested from NSHSS does not go to THE NHS.
Putting it on a college application merely indicates that you’ve been suckered in by a scam; it doesn’t indicate any of the qualities required for membership in THE NHS.
@bkjmom yes, our NHS dues were requested by our chapter sponsor and treasurer, not from the society itself. I don’t think ours were a nationally required fee, they were school specific and were used to fund our induction ceremony and subsidize t shirts and stuff.
I must admit I was silently laughing at people wearing the NSHSS stoles at graduation.
A lot of people seem to mixing up the National Honors Society and the National Society of High School Scholars. Fascinating.
A trend I have noticed across multiple threads is that a lot of people who claim its a scam cite reasons like “they don’t cite grades”. They do. It is just one of several criteria that can allow you to qualify.
Another thing I have noticed is that people claim that the NSHSS does not offer legitimate scholarships–they do. I have earned about $1500 worth from them alone, and almost 2 grand from the scholarships that they bring in from supporting companies. So no, they don’t just hand the scholarships to you, but they are fairly easy to get–I recommend trying it out.
Also, some seem to be claiming that “anyone can get in”. Ummm no. Not anyone can get in. That is likely coming from the people who weren’t ask to join. Strongly reminded of Thaddeus Bradley and the Eye of Horus right now.
If you have sixty dollars, why not join? It looks good on a college application, it can’t hurt…
There are some who will likely respond directly, saying I am being brainwashed, or perhaps that I am actually one of them, advocating for myself. No. I am a student who decided to take advantage of an opportunity that was presented to him.
I wonder if you took an honest poll, how many people who told you it was a scam do you think were actually invited? I suggest taking what you hear about this with a grain of salt. “The thing that the majority believe is usually wrong.” --Murphy
If you have a good resume, whether or not you are a member will not really make a difference. However, it definitely can help.
Cheers.
–Phoenix
Um, nope, I’m a teacher. Absolutely no jealousy on my part for not “getting in.”
But I did answer a number of emails this summer from kids who did get in-- despite the fact that NO ONE in my school recommended them. They didn’t apply, and no one from school submitted their grades or any sort of a recommendation.
How do you have an honor society that’s not based on grades or recommendations?? What exactly, are you honoring?
Answer: the ability to pay $60.
It may be a wonderful scholarship search service. Great. So advertise that and charge $60 for your services.
But it doesn’t meet my qualifications for an academic “honor society” since grades have nothing to do with admission.