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@RacheC
1 answer, 5 votes
 • 2 years ago •
Admissions Advice

NSHSS - Scam?
Answered

Hi -

I just received an invitation from a program known as the "National Society of High School Scholars". I've gotten many, MANY scam program invites, but this one probably looks the most legit out of any of them... google is giving me mixed results when it comes to the actual legitimacy of NSHSS. Does anyone have more details on this "invitation"? Thank you!

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7
@maruusa4 months ago

I also received many similar scam letters. I hope that the government will find a solution to stop those letters. fnf

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Accepted Answer
@CameronBameron
2,281 answers, 8,537 votes
 • 2 years ago[edited]

It's not a SCAM but an unnecessary credential or affiliation.

Since the bar to entry is set very low and there is rampant grade inflation in the US, organizations like this send out perhaps a million invites each year hoping that they get 100,000 paying subscribers.

Therefore, belonging to this is neither prestigious or impressive.

Good luck.

5
@Carter052 years ago

Thank you for letting me know. I also received an invitation, but something felt off and I also didn't feel like paying the $75 fee. I appreciate the heads up.

2
@Tricia
1 answer, 2 votes
 • 2 years ago

I got this invitation too. From my research, it is legit, just not very prestigious compared to the National Honor Society. The NSHSS is better for scholarships and poses that as their primary focus. When I got my invitation I looked it up and read an article from collegevine. I'll link the article below.

https://blog.collegevine.com/nhs-vs-nshss-whats-the-difference/

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@andrewkevin
1 answer, 0 votes
 • 11 months ago[edited]

sa

0
0
@Random
1 answer, 0 votes
 • 2 years ago

It's not a scam, per se. It provides limited scholarship opportunities. They provide a fair amount of networking events, but they all seem to lead off with the CIA. Which is fine, if you want to be a spook; but if you don't, I'm sure you have better things to spend $75 on. I wouldn't do it.

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@lovelyplumeria
3 answers, 6 votes
 • 2 years ago

Hey there! I just got the same email! After doing some research I pretty much found out just what everyone else has, it's not quite worth it.

To be invited to this, you need to have at least one of the following:

3.5 Cumulative GPA (4.0 Scale) or higher (or equivalent such as 88 on a 100-point scale)

1280 SAT score or higher

1150 PSAT score or higher

26 ACT score or higher

Score 4 or higher on any AP exam

Total combined IB test scores of 36 or higher

IGCSE Grade A or higher

Top 10% rank in class

this includes many students, making the nshss not very selective! As such it isn't really prestigious, and in my opinion, not worth the $75 fee to join!

(here's a reddit post that really helped with this as well! https://www.reddit.com/r/ApplyingToCollege/comments/6i2urk/the_national_society_of_high_school_scholars_scam/)

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