Certainly not every chapter is a joke, but I can see that enough are that it doesn’t hold a lot of extra weight with admissions. Our public high school requires a 3.0 GPA and an application listing some kind of service…even just a few hours…and you’re in. They require pretty much nothing of the kids once they’re in. The private high school requires a 3.6 GPA, many hours of service prior to being inducted and letters of recommendation and they still turn down more than they let in. Then they require at least two service projects a year while they’re in. Totally different experiences, but same “Member of NHS” on the college application. Unless the admissions office knows the high school it’s hard to say if it was something noteworthy or not.