<p>Everything looks good on your college application if you are passionate about it and it shows. Better to be a drum major who is in love with drum-majoring than President-of-Everything who does it just to fill the application with impressive-sounding stuff.</p>
<p>Being a drum major will likely take a lot of time, including fall semester time when he will likely have a lot of homework etc. So it is good that you think these things through. Another factor to consider is which opportunity would be better to hel refining college choices.</p>
<p>I do advise students to do what they love. But I also think if on the fence, it doesnāt hurt to pick something that avoids the issue of leaving the āleadershipā field totally blank on college and scholarship applications. For my son, we realized that his beloved music composer/conductor gigs could be stretched for that purposeā¦ and that was helpful.</p>
<p>Most colleges donāt factor ECs, leadership into admission. At most, they factor such things into merit aid. Most colleges overwhelmingly select students based on studentsā stats and ā for public colleges ā state of residence.</p>
<p>That being said, a student should pursue whatever productive ECs the student is interested in. The major benefit of ECs is that they help students strengthen their skills and learn about themselves, the world, and what they may major in or pursue as avocations or vocations.</p>