What is NHS?

National Honor Society, or NHS, is for high school students nationwide that strives to teach and enforce the four pillars of NHS: scholarship, leadership, character, and service.  When applying to the honor society, these are the four main pillars sought out in students, and each portion of the application allows students to demonstrate how they have achieved success in those fields.  Every year, students have the opportunity to apply to National Honor Society and join the chapter to keep up their scholastic and service achievements, while also getting the opportunity to apply for leadership positions and become more involved in community- and school-based things.

Requirements

The basic requirements to NHS fall into the four pillars, and each student must show how they are exemplary in each of the qualities.  For scholarship, students at Hauppauge must have a weighted GPA of above 93.0 for two years of high school.  Participation in school activities and clubs, specifically with leadership roles, shows character and involvement in the school community.  As for service, community service activities are required (and they oftentimes must be verified, so try and keep your signed slips from each time you volunteer), but the actual number of hours are dependent on each year; for me, I applied in 2019 and did not have a set number of hours, but this changes depending on the year.  It is recommended that students have ample “quality” community service hours; meaning, doing a large chunk of hours in one program shows dedication and commitment to that cause or group.  The last major part is an essay, in which students have to answer the question asked on the application; the most important advice is to be truthful, as teachers know when students are writing things that they believe the NHS committee wants to hear, says NHS advisor Ms. Lynch.  Students need to make sure they show balance on their application, meaning that they balance out good grades with volunteer opportunities and school involvement.  Additionally, Ms. Lynch explained how it is important for students to try and begin community service and school-activity participation in their freshman year sophomore years, since service hours and clubs/sports from all high school years can be included on the application.

Once in NHS, students have a few requirements they must commit to.  They must maintain their grades and behavioral standing, attend every meeting they are able to make it to, participate in homework club, complete a total of 20 hours of service, and take part in approximately one half of the NHS mandated/run events during the school year.  These criteria will be discussed at meetings, so there is no need to worry about them and when you’ll get them done- the advisors and officers are here to help!

How and When to Apply

The application process begins in the beginning of eleventh grade, and letters will be sent home to students who are eligible to apply (typically based on grades).  After receiving a letter, you can join the google classroom from the code sent to you and follow the instructions on the classroom to apply.  Everything online is pretty self explanatory and explained in detail, so you should be able to complete the application just from the directions.  If there are any additional steps that are not listed above, they will be explained in the letter to make sure you know what to do!  And always, if you have questions you can reach out to anyone you need.

*A special thanks to Ms. Lynch for participating in an interview to answer questions and help clarify certain ideas about National Honor Society!*