Are honor societies worth it? What honor societies are the best to apply to?Answered
Hey guys,
I'm a rising sophomore this year, and I missed the deadline for NHS. I was wondering if honor societies are really worth it and if there are any honor societies that majorly boost your college application. I'm interested in medicine so I would also like to be a part of a medical honor society if anyone knows of any.
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3 answers
Hey!
NHS is a really good program that colleges love to see, but it is primarily because being involved shows that you had the required GPA and volunteered in your community, which you could easily do on your own. I was involved in NHS at the beginning of the year and I decided it was not for me for reasons strictly related to my local chapter (I felt they were being unfair to minorities in our group and they did not really respond with enthusiasm to fix the issues) however, there are some benefits of being in a prestigious organization. Your school will probably give you a second chance to join next year if you maintain your GPA. I'm in NSHSS, which gives access to scholarships and other discounted college readiness tools, along with experiences and consulting that is good for your application. NSHSS itself is not a big deal but the tools it gives are pretty useful (there is also a $75 fee). If you're interested in medicine you might look into HOSA, my school is involved in a chapter so maybe look around to see if you are near one.
Good Luck!
I really think that things like NHS are really what you make of them!
At my school, some kids do NHS purely to put on college apps, and then do the bare minimum, easiest things to get service hours. I really think this won't help too much, but if you take advantage of it, you can get a lot out of it. I organized a monthly event where the kids in NHS make blankets to donate to foster homes and hospitals. I also became the Vice President of Service and helped organize many more service opportunities.
If you take advantage of it it's great. But, you can do things like volunteer completely on your own. Look into hospitals that accept teen volunteers, my sister played with kids at the children's hospital once a week one summer, and it was not involved with NHS at all, she found it on her own. You could even just reach out to your local organizations who might not have a public teen volunteer program, but need people to help out! My best friend is going to be a senior and she's volunteered with the Red Cross for years, so I'd check that out too.
Good Luck!!
I'm not sure if honor societies are worth it for everyone. But I do suggest try joining the stem-related ones like math and science as there is no harm in experiencing those clubs and you might actually like it.
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