<p>Extra-Curricular Activities: Please note that there has been a change in policy. Students are now allowed to be president of only one club. This enables more students to be involved in leadership roles.</p>
<p>I was not really too excited about this. Any thoughts?</p>
<p>ummm wow. that’s really not cool.</p>
<p>I would probably mention this somewhere in your app. I would also look for more community based activities.</p>
<p>I believe hmom05 once said on these boards that the best activities are those done outside of school, and that was certainly the case for me!</p>
<p>true leadership does not have to have a title</p>
<p>so, just rename the head position of a club. Be the Prime Minister. Or el Presidente of the spanish club. You get my drift…</p>
<p>hahaha wow, i can’t tell if you’re ■■■■■■■■ or serious</p>
<p>Actually, that’s a really good idea your school has. Then, it all can’t be taken by one or two students, and it gives a wide variety of people a leadership role.</p>
<p>Just consider yourself lucky that there are such things as “presidents of clubs” or “clubs” at your school. I would be really happy if such things were at my high school. (we have about half a dozen clubs, and no leadership positions).</p>
<p>Well your school is ■■■■■■■■.</p>
<p>Leadership roles in high school clubs, just like leadership roles everywhere, are selected by a meritocracy, not equity.
Who cares if a wide variety of people get a leadership role? It should go to the kid who works hardest, does what he does best, and is most capable of successfully leading the club. Semi-independent high school clubs aren’t frickin chances for stupid kids to learn how to be leaders of something they’re neither interested nor good at.</p>
<p>But to the OP - how are club heads generally selected at your school? Usually picked by the Teacher Advisor, by an election of all club members, by the previous club heads, or what?</p>
<p>Why does anybody need to be president of more than one club (maybe two)? That just smacks of collecting leadership positions to hang like scalps on your EC leadership list. </p>
<p>I would ask the OP this: Are you still going to join clubs you can’t be the anointed leader of, or are they not worth your time now.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>No, my school is dirt poor. Starving children in Africa would laugh at my school.</p>
<p>“.” </p>
<p>Sorry to hear :(</p>
<p>Yes, I am the OP. Generally, my school runs elections for club positions. But it varies: platforms reviewed by past presidents, teachers, etc. or winners of certain tournaments. </p>
<p>Anyways, I will definitely continue to attend clubs since I can still be the ‘Vice’ President…hahaha. And plus, I found the announcement on my school profile, so I think colleges will see that, correct?</p>
<p>Just keep in mind the title of “president” or “vice-president” truly means nothing. If you are acting as a leader, with or without a title, schools will know about your leadership because of what people have to say about you in your recommendations not what you list on a form. Believe me colleges are well aware that applicants try to collect titles hoping that will be their ticket into their college. </p>
<p>Imagine for example which is going to be more impressive to a college:
Student 1 who has no title but in their recommendations that teachers speak to how this student brought the school community together and how the school has been better for having this student in it.
Student 2 is president of NHS with no additional comments</p>
<p>Colleges are going to want student 1 over student 2. </p>
<p>D was President of NHS her senior year. She actually was interested in what her NHS could do for the community and decided to try and get the group more active in its fundraising. When she went to her fellow board members for support, the response that she got was that they had run for the positions for their college applications and were not planning to do any work. She coordinated everything. Consequently, I know that the NHS teacher liaison spoke to the GC to include information about her leadership. Now yes D had a title, but what she did could have been done by any member of the NHS. Don’t feel you have to have the title to lead and don’t think that that colleges can’t see through the leadership lists. They get plenty of similar applications.</p>
<p>The above was just one example of many I could give.</p>
<p>Good response, Smoda61. Thanks. But how are one’s actions in a particular club transferred to a recommendation? Do I have to ask that teacher for a rec?</p>
<p>^That’s an issue for me too. Most of the clubs here re pretty student oriented and my teachers are probably not going to say anything about it in my recs. So I’m relying on what I can say in essays and interviews.</p>
<p>I don’t see what the problem is. If one takes a club presidency seriously, it would take a lot of time. Very few colleges care about ECs. The ones that do – places like HPYS with an overabundance of high stat applicant – care far more about what you accomplish with your ECs than what your title is.</p>
<p>I like your school’s idea of allowing many students the opportunity to have leadership positions and to grow from that experience.</p>
<p>
Hahahahaha, no. Most of the time, not just at school but everywhere, it’s a popularity contest or it goes to the person who’s best at dealing with the higher-ups. The idea of true meritocracy being plausible is just ridiculous.</p>
<p>" Most of the time, not just at school but everywhere, it’s a popularity contest or it goes to the person who’s best at dealing with the higher-ups."</p>
<p>I agree. Even when it comes to political offices, popularity is very important. People don’t vote for candidates whom they don’t like. People also don’t follow leaders whom they don’t like.</p>
<p>Ok I agree with that, but winning a position by election would, at least theoretically, count as a meritocratic procedure (the interested parties decide who is the best for the job).</p>
<p>For instance, I would still rather have a club leader be someone that all the club members elected to hold the office, than some kid who the teacher has to pick because all the other potential club heads already run another club.</p>
<p>The greater choice that comes from an election (where certain students aren’t preemptively excluded from running) inherently produces a more capable club head.</p>
<p>Ifisher18 and Millancad - I can only tell you what I saw go on from my daughter’s recent application process. </p>
<p>First of all there are three recommendations that you will be having submitted on your behalf, two teacher and the GC. Fortunately for my daughter, during teacher conferences I had noticed that the two teachers, to whom may daughter was going to approach for recommendations, both spoke to me about her in class actions. The english mentioned how he did not know how he would have done the class without having her in it as she spoke up, led class discussions, asked the questions no one else would ask, etc. She was not the #1 writing student but definitely contributed the most to class. The science teacher said pretty much the same thing. Now, we never saw the recommendations that they sent in but I would assume that they said much of what they had said to me. So in a sense these recommendations spoke to a particular type of leadership.</p>
<p>Then there comes the guidance recommendation. That one typically deals with you as a student as well a member of the school as a whole. In october, the GC sends in the first recommendation which is written with just some broad input from the student. D had nothing much to add at that time. Over the next few months, D became NHS president (described above) but also was drum major for the marching band season. Here again she was very active in supporting the band. The music director stated to me how fantastic she was as the drum major - and I know from 8 years (2 kids) of marching band that she was one of the most active drum majors over that time. When it came time for the mid-year report, the GC now has the opportunity to add additional information about the student beyond what was stated in the fall. Since D had received these compliments from music director and NHS liaison, she suggested to the GC that these two individuals might have input that could be included in the mid-year report recommendation. I know that the GC went to both staff members. </p>
<p>So that is how this input was shared w/ the colleges to which D applied. Hope that was of some help.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>My thoughts exactly. Further, there’s a greater risk of failure when one overloads on responsibility.</p>