My friend and I applied for the National Honor Society. I got in, but she didn’t. I was really surprised because she was even more active in activities and got better grades than me. I didn’t really care about getting in, but my friend just cried for three straight days about not getting in. She stopped talking to her friends and got depressed. I told her that NHS is not a big deal, but she couldn’t calm down. Her teacher told her to write a letter to the principal to request for why she didn’t get in. Why is she making this a big deal? If I got rejected, I wouldn’t even care. Is there any way I could do to make her feel better?
<p>No, at least not at my school. Pretty much everybody with a high enough GPA is accepted and the only thing they do is organize community service projects around holidays and voluteer tutoring. Unless you need volunteer hours or enjoy service projects you’re not missing much. At my school, the only difference between NHS and Beta Club is the GPA requirement, with Beta club being slightly lower.</p>
<p>So why would my friend want this badly?</p>
<p>Because she wants to be better, and get good stats. Why else? Maybe, she’s just trying to make her parents proud I think.</p>
<p>In a word? no.</p>
<p>NHS has become so…standard–as in, most everyone is in it, and, at my school, at least, most everyone can get into it (i.e. I don’t imagine it will make or break an application). I didn’t get in last year because band didn’t count or something, even though it was on the list. I qualified this year, as well, but tossed the letter. The members have a few annual obligations (community service, etc.), including attending the inductions, and you get out of class every so often. Obviously, the organization is simply overflowing with perks…</p>
<p>Tell your friend she’s wasting her tears.</p>
<p>No, practically everyone is in it</p>
<p>I know alot of qualified people at my school who DIDN’T get in. At our school, you need a B average (which is top fifty percent, ha ha). then of course, activities. I know of alot of 3.9 and 3.8 people and even a near 4.0 person who didn’t get in. Meanwhile, some fat idiots who haven’t taken 1 AP class but play on the football team got in (with B averages in the crummy classes). Our school’s NHS is F’d up; completely takes away the “honor” part of NHS.</p>
<p>And i don’t believe it’s a big deal? do colleges pay much attention to whether or not you were in it? my guess is no…it’s just a glorified community service thing. And there’s really no national standard as to what you need to accomplish. I doubt it’s that important.</p>
<p>Just tell her she could apply next year. :]</p>
<p>she can’t because she will be a senior. NHS already accepted (and rejected) people for next year.</p>
<p>Yea you can. Next year as a senior, you could still apply if you have the requirements they want. My friend got in as a senior of NHS.</p>
<p>no, its not hard to get in</p>
<p>i got ISS 2 times.
so i wasnt in.</p>
<p>i MAxed out their score of application</p>
<p>but i still couldnt get in</p>
<p>No, it is not a big deal, especially in the opinions of most people here because they have great stats. Nevertheless, NHS might be the most prestigious and selective honor society available at your school, so perhaps it was her intrinsic goal to reach for the best. </p>
<p>But she has to look at the bigger picture. Being in NHS might be being the best at your school, but compared to everyone else, it is not a big deal. Many others are in NHS. Many others are not. I can tell you that for my graduating class, the valedictorian (full ride ucla), the salutatorian (full ride usc), and another student who is now attending caltech all DIDN’T get into NHS. So it might be a disappointment now, but tell her to look at the bigger picture. It’s not a big deal.</p>
<p>NHS is really nothing big. In my school, 60 people applied and 60 people were accepted. Only 3 people in the history of NHS in my school were ever denied. Also, a lot of brilliant, collegebound seniors didn’t apply because they were simply too lazy to fill out such a large application</p>
<p>Yup. Kid with near perfect PSAT and SAT didn’t get in because teachers hated him. Some of our top students didn’t get in. One of the smartest girls in my grade forgot to apply and did so a day late…they wouldn’t let her. She plans to form her own “NHS” in our area (Neighborhood Heroes Society)</p>
<p>It’s a big deal at schools in which very few students get grades over “Cs” and students are made fun of for wanting to join things like NHS.</p>
<p>It’s a very big deal if a student is a member and takes on major leadership such as instituting a school-wide or community project that has a big impact. An example would be instituting a tutoring program or having a major fund raiser.</p>
<p>It’s a big deal if one is applying to a college that gives merit aid automatically to NHS members.</p>
<p>It’s a big deal if one holds statewide or national office.</p>
<p>It may be a big deal to third tier colleges.</p>
<p>Otherwise, belonging to NHS is not that big a deal. Certainly (unless one meets some of the above factors), whether or not one belongs to NHS is of no concern to the country’s most competitive colleges. That’s because virtually all of their applicants have the gpa, scores, service, etc. to qualify for NHS – whether or not the students got in.</p>
<p>Northstar mom said it perfectly.</p>
<p>National Honor Society is so typical at many elite universities that I cannot see it being as impressive as it may have been years ago.</p>
<p>I can only imagine NHS possibly being a stand-out on someone’s application if they attained some sort of leadership position.</p>