Admissions Tip #5: Avoid NJHS

During middle school, many students are offered the chance to join their school’s chapter of the National Junior Honor Society, also known as “NJHS.” Some students believe that this will help them build up their resume and gain admission to TJ. The harsh reality is that NJHS does not help in the TJ Admissions process, and is usually a waste of time.

To join NJHS, many schools require a few teacher approvals and the collection of 15+ “one-off” volunteer hours. This is not to say that volunteering is not valuable. However, collecting several hours scattered across different projects typically does very little to support your community. Instead, if you are truly interested in volunteering, we recommend spending your time on a project that is truly meaningful to you.

Because there are so many students already involved in NJHS, this program does not help you stand out in the context of TJ Admissions. Instead, it takes away valuable hours that could be spent developing your extracurricular profile or working on a project that is really meaningful to you. We recommend doing activities that you are actually interested in, or will actually increase your chances of being admitted to TJ. Because NJHS does neither, avoid it.

Check back in soon for another insider application tip!

Questions? We are happy to chat with you about your application. Please reach out to prep4tj@gmail.com!