How to Get into NJHS
- Inspiring Teens Magazine
- Jun 4
- 3 min read
How to get into NJHS
By: Olivia Bush
Getting into the National Junior Honors Society is a great honor. It shows that you have the Leadership, citizenship, service, and character skills to represent your school. You are eligible to become an NJHS member in eighth grade, but what you need to know is that preparation does not just start at the beginning of eighth grade. It really starts at the beginning of middle school, but you just don’t know it. Your grades and attitude toward others from the beginning of your middle school career are considered. One thing that most middle schoolers don’t know is that it is not just based off grades. To get into NJHS you need to have volunteered, taken up leadership skills and maintained a 3.5 GPA. You also need to know what would make you a great NJHS member.
On your application, there will be a space for you to list your volunteer opportunities that you have done. You will also have to list the hours that you have volunteered there and you will need a signature from someone who oversaw your volunteering or a parent who drove you there. This place can be a nursing home, or even planting trees. Local public libraries also have some fun volunteer opportunities over the summer where you can shelve books, sign kids up for a summer reading program, and do fun arts and crafts! The library has something for everyone! If you are having trouble finding places to volunteer, my recommendation would be to talk to your Family Consumer Science teacher! Most likely they will have soup kitchen sign ups once a month or a Nova Thrift Shop sign up where you can volunteer. Participating in these events can help you fill up that section on your application form. Even if they don’t have these sign-ups through the school you can always ask your teachers if they know any good places in your area to volunteer.
Another section on your application will be a leadership section. Here, you will list all the leadership skills you have acquired. When filling out this part of the form, you will have to list out what activities you were a leader in. This can be anything from choir, Relay for Life, or sports! You will then have to list out the leadership position you had. This can be a lead singer in your choir, a soccer captain, or a Student Council homeroom representative. Then, list your accomplishments from being the leader in this specific activity. It could be having the top per person average in fundraising for your Relay team or it could just be winning a soccer game.
You also need to be involved in your school or around your community. This box on your application can simply be achieved by participating in extracurricular activities or summer camps. For example, you can play field hockey and soccer for your school while being involved in your church choir and having done 2 summer camps the previous summer. This will help you check one more box off your list, you just have to think ahead!
Moving on to grades, the minimum GPA you must have to get an application letter is a 3.5, so grades do matter. But as you have seen, this is not the only thing they look for out of a contributing NJHS member. Anything lower than a 3.5 GPA and you will not receive an application letter. To get a 3.5 GPA, you do need to put in effort and study hard, do your homework, and pay attention in class. If you don’t understand a topic you are learning, don’t be afraid to ask you teacher for help!
The last part of the application is the essay. You will have to write an essay on what makes you a good choice to become a member of the National Junior Honors Society. This essay must be typed and cannot be over five hundred words.
Once you have filled out all parts of the application that you can and have proofread your form, you are ready to turn it into your school. Remember getting into this organization might be a lot of hard work but it will only help you grow as a person and make many friends and memories!
