At Jackson-Reed, over 150 students proudly belong to the “prestigious” National Honor Society (NHS). However, as applications for upperclassmen close in October, the fervor to join fails to symbolize a pursuit of honor, but an artificial and time-consuming title that fosters unhealthy habits.
The National Honor Society aims to promote service, leadership, and character while inspiring an enthusiasm for scholarship. However, as college applications become hyper-competitive, and admissions become slimmer, it is increasingly apparent NHS applications are not made with the intention to grow, but simply to enhance college resumes.
The exclusive club promotes the perspective that to attend prestigious schools, high-achieving students must find excellence in loading on golden ticket clubs rather than finding hobbies and extracurriculars they are truly passionate about. While the pursuit of the NHS may be to promote character development, the result is much more shallow.
Along with the unhealthy habits of working for admission rather than working out of passion, joining the society is not as impressive to college admissions as one might think. Most universities search for well-rounded applications that show genuine commitment to interests and pursuits. Rather than incorporating disconnected and stand-out extracurriculars, it’s important an application tells a story. The National Honor Society often doesn’t contribute to that narrative.
Furthermore, membership in the society is becoming more common among applicants due to the pressure to have a standout application. Ironically, in an effort to make an application more unique, adding NHS to a resume can have the opposite effect.
Not only is the chapter seemingly ordinary to admissions, but the effort to join the society seems more trouble than it is worth. The application process includes finding three teacher recommendations, a minimum amount of community service hours, a statement of purpose along with a letter from your community service sponsor, a resume, and a minimum of a 3.0 GPA. The process resembles that of a college application, which for many busy and overloaded juniors and seniors, is a lot to ask.
The work doesn’t end there. While serving the club, members are instructed to tutor and gain more community service hours among other expectations.
With too much work for too little reward, is the NHS all that it seems to be? While the regalia attire worn at graduation may make the club look enticing, the benefits that the National Honor Society brings are slim to none. If you are already overloaded with senior year college applications or junior year APs, take a breath. The National Honor Society inspires unhealthy habits and poor results, unessential to any college resume.
