NHHS's mission is to form integrity in students through leadership, community service, character, and scholarship. Service hours and participation in service projects are required. 

Membership is through application (due September 11), and requirements include a GPA of 4.0+ on a 5.0 scale (SCUGS 10-Point) and qualifying test scores: Stanford (90% on total battery), Iowa Achievement (90% composite score), SAT (1200), ACT (26), PSAT (1200), PSAT 10 (1170), PSAT 8/9 (1090 for 9th grade student or 1020 for 8th grade student), CLT (88), CLT 10 (97), or CLT 8 (97).