National Honor Society (NHS) applicants submit essays about academic and personal successes. A junior or senior high school student applies for membership and waits for acceptance based on her scholarship, service, leadership and personality. NHS is divided into chapters, where each accredited high school in the United States country has -- or can start -- a chapter. The essays required in the application vary for each chapter, and topics range from personal family narratives to outstanding feats of perseverance.
Exceptional Service: Talk about your service and charity experience. Mention all of the church events, soup kitchens, Jewish community service projects and disaster relief projects you have helped with. The NHS accepts and celebrates students who excel both academically and as active, conscientious members in the society. For instance, if you have helped build houses with your church or synagogue, mention the experiences and the impact each had on you. If you volunteered to help survivors of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, describe how you had to overcome sadness, despair and fear to help people in need.
Making the Goal : Devote your essay to discussing your level of interest in a certain field, such as biology, and the academic achievements you have made that won you certain scholarships. For example, if your high school earth science class was awarded a scholarship for the best biology science fair project, talk about this process and your excitement in your essay. While you may concentrate on a singular scholarship accomplishment, also tie in how that accomplishment has helped you achieved or inspired you to achieve academic success in all areas. For instance, if you are interested in biology, this interest may have made you want to be a better math student. And, to write lab reports, you needed to be a good writer, so you excelled in this subject as well.
Transformative Moment: Remember a moment in your life when you decided to become a stronger person and go against all odds to strive for your ambitions. Discuss your upbringing, such as how your parents or guardians encouraged you or how you had to encourage yourself to succeed. Make sure not to go into too much detail about your childhood, such as your parents' marriage, abuse, neglect or any other trauma. While this is excruciatingly important to you -- and potentially crucial in your life as a student -- the NHS, at least in this introductory essay, wants to get a sense of your personality and behavior, not these dramatic events. Show your optimism for the future more than pessimism toward the past.
Once you finish your graduation, wear your 2011 graduation gowns and receive the diploma, you should start making preparations for the NHS scholarship.
