On September 9, the National Society of High School Students announced a Long Beach Polytechnic senior as a member of their organization. The NSHSS recognizes students with strong leadership, academic accomplishments, and community service participation. However, this may not be so.
The student had previously applied for the group in junior year, but did not get in. This year the NSHSS contacted the student and told her that they viewed her academic year and liked what they saw. The student then applied to join, paying a sixty-dollar “one-time fee,” and was selected after a few months waiting period.
“Our vision is to build a dynamic international organization that connects with the members with meaningful content, resources, and opportunities,” said NSHSS President James W. Lewis.
The organization itself was founded in 2002 and currently has more than 830,000 members in over 160 countries mentioned in a press release.
Ms. Sylvia Womack of the College and Career Center did not believe this opportunity was legitimate. When students take the PSAT or SAT, their scores are not only sent to potential universities, but find their way into the hands of questionable organizations. Scholarships and financial aid is often free to all students.
“For them to charge students is unethical,” Womack said. “If students come to me about paying any fee, I tell them ‘don’t do it.’”
Womack suggested that Poly students seeking scholarships and aid should come to the College and Career Center, where the staff can easily help them many scholarships they can qualify for. She also warned that FAFSA.com, which asks for a fifty-dollar “submission fee,” is often mistaken for FAFSA.gov, leading students down the wrong path.
There are many other websites such as fastweb.org, Zinch, and College Board that provide genuine help.
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