<p>i looked at the factors for admission, and an important one is being a first generation college student. however, i am not. does this hurt my chances? also, is NHS that important. i hear everyone has it. if you have community service though, is it really necessary?</p>
<p>To my astonishment, the Common Data Set for the University of Washington does indeed list being “first generation” as an “important” non-academic factor in admissions–more important than state of residency!</p>
<p>I would not worry about this. (Honestly, I suspect somebody in Seattle just checked the wrong box!) The University of Washington is trying to admit students. The most important criteria will be grades and standardized test scores. Having educated parents will not be an impediment.</p>
<p>And a lot of people greatly overstate the importance of being in the National Honor Society. Folks are getting into Princeton and Stanford without being in NHS. It won’t make or break you for Washington.</p>
<p>Community service? Also completely unessential. Colleges that care about extracurricular activities want to see that you did something productive with the time you didn’t spend in class or studying. It’s good if what you did shows a capacity to be a leader, or some kind of personal growth or development. Community service is one way you could do that. So are ballet, Model UN, playing basketball, performing in musicals, being an Eagle Scout, and working at a job for pay. If your community service is nothing more than a tally of the hours you spent, it’s worthless (unless your school requires you to tally some hours for graduation). If your community service has shaped the person you have become, or materially benefited people around you, then it may have some significance for getting into college. But the test is probably this: were you doing it for personal or altruistic reasons, or were you doing it to “look good for college”? If it’s the latter, it’s probably worthless.</p>
<p>I’m in NHS, I didn’t even list it on my application, and I got into UW. I’m pretty sure NHS is overrated.</p>