Students interested in becoming members of National Honor Society must participate in a selection process. The process is described below.

To be eligible to participate in the selection process, students must meet 3 criteria:

*They must be a sophomore, junior, or senior.

*They must have been in attendance on or before the 8th day of, and completed the entire previous semester at Vista Ridge High School.

*They must have at least a 4.0 (90) cumulative GPA.

Students who meet these criteria will receive a letter inviting them to an information meeting. Attendance is required. Students will receive further directions at the meeting.

To be admitted into our chapter of NHS, candidates must reach a minimum of 70 points. Students will be given points based on the 4 standards of NHS: Scholarship, Leadership, Character, and Service. Below are guidelines for each of the 4 areas.

All students who are invited to participate in the selection process have already met the scholarship requirement. They will automatically receive 25 points for this standard.

Candidates are given 2 points for each elected or appointed leadership position they have held since completion of their 8th grade year, with a maximum of one leadership position per organization per year, and a maximum of 25 points in this area. They must have been directly responsible for managing or motivating others. Examples include being an elected student body, class, or club officer, a committee chairperson, a team captain, a newspaper editor, a supervisor at a job, a community leader, etc. Candidates will document their leadership positions on the Student Activity Information Form that they receive at the information meeting. Decisions regarding which items listed on this form receive credit are determined by the Faculty Council.

Candidates are given 25 points for having good character, and then points are deducted based on the candidates discipline record.

There are 4 areas of service that candidates may receive points for, with a maximum of 25 points in all areas. Candidates will list these items on their Student Activity Information Form. Decisions regarding which items listed on this form receive credit are determined by the Faculty Council.

1.Co-Curricular Activities (School Related)-Candidates may receive points for having participated in various activities during high school. This can include clubs, teams, musical groups, etc. They must have participated for a complete season/year to receive credit.

2. Community Organizations-Candidates may receive points for participating in community organizations since completion of their 8th grade year. These include organizations outside of school, such as church groups, non-school related clubs (including club sports), Boy or Girl Scouts, etc.

3. Volunteer Experience and Internships - Candidates may receive points for any unpaid volunteer experiences or unpaid internships that they have had since the completion of their 8th grade year. There is a maximum of 10 points that may be earned from this section of service.
Fundraising efforts may only be listed if the money raised was donated to charity.
Volunteer hours may only be counted if they were not required or used for credit in another club or organization.
Service done for family may not be included (i.e. caring for family members, work done for a family business, etc.)

4.Recognition/Awards - Candidates may receive points for any individual honors or recognitions that they have received since completion of their 8th grade year. Academic awards may not be included (i.e. Academic All-District, A/B Honor Roll, Ridge Scholar, etc).
Class Superlatives may not be included (i.e. Most Likely to Succeed, etc.).

This chart shows how many points may be awarded for each of the 4 areas of service.
classroom.leanderisd.org/webs/VRHS.NHS/upload/possible_service_points.pdf

Selection of members is done by a 5-member Faculty Council, after throrough review of each candidate in the areas of Scholarship, Character, Leadership, and Service.