Have you gotten a letter in the mail from the National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS)? Is it the same as the NHS? Here's the buzz about it...

What is the NHS?

First, let's talk about the National Honor Society (NHS).

The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) officially established the NHS in 1921.  While many local and regional honor societies existed prior to 1921, no nationwide organization had been founded. This was the void that the National Association of Secondary School Principals sought to fill with the establishment of the NHS.  

The 4 pillars that are associated with the NHS since 1921 are the values of scholarship, service, leadership, and character, and being a member elevates a school's and member's commitment to these pillars. Today, it is estimated that the NHS has more than 1 million members throughout the United States, U.S. Territories, Canada and the rest of the world participating in their activities.  

Being an NHS member means the student does not only excel in academics, but the student also has to show good character, have qualities of a student leader, and actively connect with their community and be willing to serve. 

What are the Criteria For Membership to the NHS?

To be a member of the NHS, the school you are attending needs to have an NHS chapter. Then, students in grades 10–­­12 who meet the requirements for membership outlined by their school’s chapter are eligible to be invited for membership.

Each chapter is required to publish its qualifications for membership, which is based on the four pillars of NHS:

Students who meet the scholarship requirement will then have an opportunity to complete a form detailing their accomplishments in and commitment to service, leadership, and character. This will then be used to assess if they meet the criteria for membership to the NHS.  

What Are the Benefits of Membership to the NHS?

Aside from the high standards required to retain membership in the NHS and the recognition that comes with being a member, students who meet and pass the criteria to be a member of the NHS also get other benefits.

The NHS offers college scholarships to its members. In 2021, more than $2 million total in college scholarships were given to 600 recipients. Members also get access to college scholarship resources.

The NHS also offers Leadership Experience and Development (LEAD) Conferences which give opportunities to develop the students' skills and grow as leaders. These conferences are designed to encourage interstate communication among student leaders and advisers, strengthen leadership skills, and prepare those attending for leadership roles on the local, state, and regional levels. Along with this, there are also local state summits which are mentorship and networking events held exclusively for NHS members within their home state.

The NHS also offers college readiness webinars and services. Students can access webinars that guide students and their families through the college planning, search, and college application process. This even includes guides on navigating the FAFSA and getting financial aid for college. Furthermore, the NHS offers students guides that even help members with their future - from college to career and so on.

Finally, the NHS gives you many resources for participating in community service projects. They have a large database of community service opportunities that members can access.

Membership to the NHS is also free.  

What is the NSHSS?

Now, let's talk about the National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS).

Parents and students often confuse this with the National Honor Society (NHS) discussed above. While the NHS and NSHSS might seem like similar organizations - their acronyms even sound similar, they are not the same organization and significant differences exist between them.

The National Society of High School Scholars (NSHSS), founded in 2002 by Claes Nobel and James Lewis, is a much newer organization compared to the NHS. According to it's official website, it's mission is to recognize academic excellence and honor the high-achieving students from high school, and provide them with the resources and network to excel in their academic journeys in college, their career and their community by connecting its members with access to scholarship opportunities, internships, career connections, partner discounts, and more.  

What are the Criteria For Membership to the NSHSS?

According to the NSHSS website, high school students who meet any one of the following academic criteria are sent a letter in the mail congratulating them for their outstanding academic achievement along with an invitation to join the NSHSS:  

If you qualify for membership based on the above criteria but did not receive any invitation, you can still apply for membership.

However, unlike the NHS, it is not free to join the NSHSS. Students are required to pay a $75 lifetime membership fee to join the group. If you are unable to pay the fee, qualifying students without the financial means may request that the fee be waived through their fee-waiver program.  

What are the Criteria For Membership to the NSHSS?

If you qualify for membership based on the above criteria but did not receive any invitation, you can still apply for membership. However, unlike the NHS, it is not free to join the NSHSS. Students are required to pay a $75 lifetime membership fee to join the group. If you are unable to pay the fee, qualifying students without the financial means may request that the fee be waived through their fee-waiver program.

Additional benefits mentioned when you become a member of the NSHSS include:

NHS vs NSHSS - Which Should I Join?

Now that we've covered what the NHS and NSHSS are and what they possibly offer, the important question now is - should you go for membership to both the NHS and NSHSS?

The NHS only offers its free membership to individuals who meet all their criteria for membership. This not only includes the scholarship or academic/grade criteria, but also on service, leadership and character. On the other hand, membership to the NSHSS is open to students who meet any 1 of their academic criteria for membership. Therefore, in terms of exclusivity, it looks like individual membership to the NHS is more exclusive, harder to obtain and may be worth more in terms of putting on your college applications or resume.

In terms of effort towards getting into either of these 2, we believe your effort is better served towards working on academic excellence, leadership and community involvement or service rather than concentrating on trying to get into any academic honor society. However, going after these goals and being exemplary in them may possibly get you a free invitation into the NHS, and the good academics part will also probably get you an invite to the NSHSS, so you don't really have to exert any separate effort towards being an outstanding student and trying to join these organizations.

In terms of resources, both say they offer scholarships, seminars or webinars, events and conferences and other services. Joining the NHS is free, so there is no drawback to being a member. On the other hand, you will usually need to pay $75 to become a member of the NSHSS.

While it is an exaggeration and even false to call the NSHSS a scam since it's been around for decades and there is a collegiate component that has chapters on hundreds of college campuses, there are no guarantees of you receiving any of the benefits, especially any of the scholarships. They do give lists of scholarships to members and also access to some exclusive scholarships like the Claes Nobel Academic Scholarship. However, remember that you need to pay to even get a chance for this scholarship, and there will possibly be fierce competition for this since many people can get membership into the NSHSS.  

Ultimately, my advice is - DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THE NSHSS. There is little benefit to joining it unless you have the $75 to burn.

It is not an achievement. It is not impressive on a resume and should not be reported to your college admissions officer. It is nothing more than a membership to access scholarships.

As for the NHS, it is more exclusive, prestigious and harder to get even an invitation to. It may be worth it to join if you do get invited or have a chance to get membership.  

Where Can I Find More Scholarship Options?

In an effort to save you money on that  NSHSS membership, you can subscribe here to get a scholarship list sent directly to your inbox every Sunday! It also includes access to the Essential Scholarship Cheat Sheet.

While membership to academic honor societies may look good on your college applications and resume, it may not reflect well on you if that is the only achievement you can show. This is especially true if the honor society membership is paid. Find the easy and correct way to prep for college applications free without having to pay any membership fee.