An important questions to consider is: how are the applications evaluated?
Each application will be judged using a blind evaluation. Once applications are submitted, each applicant will be randomly assigned a number. The title page, the only part that has the applicant’s name, will be removed and replaced with a new title page with just the applicant’s number. From there, the applications will be reviewed by a teacher committee. They will be evaluating the students on the NHS tenets on a scale of 1 to 4 (4 being the highest score).
The NHS application includes the following components that are submitted for review:
Document |
Transcript/GPA |
Essay |
Resume |
Reference Letter |
These documents give applicants several opportunities to demonstrate and talk about how the four tenets of NHS are incorporated into different aspects of their life-inside and outside of school.
Staff volunteers use an evaluation form and provide feedback on the applicant and how it pertains to each tier. It is very much like the rubrics our students see in their classrooms. Each tenet is on a 4.0 scale, one being the lowest score while four is the highest. Think of it as our grading scale:
4.0 = Exceeds
3.0 = Proficient
2.0 = Basic
1.0 = Not met
They are also asked to make their judgements based on the information the student chose to provide. This is where it is important to really take the time to think about and explain why you'd be a great fit for the NHS chapter.