Confused by the college application process? The National Honor Society is launching new tools and events to simplify the complicated process for high school seniors.
Over the next few months, NHS will launch more scholarships for its students, a college admissions help program, and a scholarship tool that will connect seniors with customized opportunities.
“Probably the hardest part is just narrowing it down and finding a place that is a good academic fit for me,” Madeleine, a senior at South Lakes High School in Reston, Va., told the Washington Examiner. “Honestly, I think they’re going to help so much,” she said of the new programs. “Having these resources at the forefront of what we’re spending our time on everyday is really going to kind of get our mind jogging on what we need to do, remind us, ‘Oh I need to go do that.’ … It’s so easy for us, our generation especially, to just go on Twitter and look it up and have it right there.”
For the college admissions help program, NHS will host a series of webinars and Twitter town halls so students can directly connect with college admissions officers and ask them questions. George Mason University and Southwestern University are already scheduled to participate. “We have been in conversations with public, private and highly selective institutions across the country,” Jonathan Mathis, Director of NHS, told the Examiner.
Hannah, a senior at Marian Central Catholic High School in Woodstock, Ill., mentioned struggling with the somewhat confusing Common Application — specifically how to send schools her test scores and letters of recommendation. It’s the kind of issue easily solved by direct contact with an admissions officer over the Internet. “I think with the extra resources they’re adding, that will be helpful,” Hannah told the Examiner.
In addition to connecting students with admissions officers, the NHS is launching a database of scholarships for its thousands of members. “We will be able to customize lists for students based off the four pillars [of NHS],” Mathis said. “So it takes a list of maybe 3,500 scholarships and generates something a bit more customized for students.” The search engine will be the result of collaboration with Get Schooled, a nonprofit supported by Viacom, the Gates Foundation, Google, and other corporate partners.
NHS is also expanding its scholarship program, with plans to award 300 high school students with scholarship funds this school year. The $500,000 to be awarded in total is double the amount given last year.
Jason Russell is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
