Extra Curriculars and Leadership positions?

Applying to College
1

<p>Hi guys.</p>

<p>I'm about to become a junior next year, meaning SATs and ACTs are coming up.</p>

<p>That being said, I have a questions about extracurriculars and leadership.</p>

<p>I aspire to hopefully go to one of the engineering schools, like MIT or Georgia Tech for Computer Science.</p>

<p>One thing that lots of people had told me was "Be the president of a club. Get a position. Demonstrate your leadership. College love that..."</p>

<p>At first, I was hooked on to this hoax, so I decided to try to run for a position at my Mu Alpha Theta Club and my Science Honor Society club. Both of them I lost. The positions were given to kids who had contributed little to nothing to the club; they simply won because of popularity.</p>

<p>I realized by then that leadership was impossible to achieve unless you were "popular," which obviously showed that I wasn't.</p>

<p>So my dilemma is if colleges recognize leadership as such an important thing, why do kids who perform so well for their clubs not get recognized for the club and lose their positions to people who didn't even put effort into the club?</p>

<p>It seems that the people who get elected simply want to talk about it on their resumes and college apps; they had no concern towards the club whatsoever.</p>

<p>For example, in my Mu Alpha Theta club, I represented my school nationally and won 2 trophies for my school (individually, but represented my school). However, I lose my officer position to a person who simply has more "friends" in the club and therefore has more "popularity." Now that person has something to write about when I can only say that I placed nationally. How is this deemed fair? </p>

<p>Another thought that I've pondered is that even though people gain leadership positions, they don't even anything for the club. But it doesn't matter to them, all they simply have to say is that "Oh, I'm the president of my club, blah blah blah." Colleges won't even know if he/she actually put effort in helping the club. All he/she needs is a leadership position.</p>

<p>My problem is that I do so much for the clubs I have joined, and I am well respected and recognized by others, but I cannot seem to win a position in my club. Its as if all my hard work and dedication means absolutely nothing. I cannot seem to demonstrate that spark of leadership that colleges are looking for.</p>

<p>Any thoughts about this would be greatly appreciated.</p>

2

<p>“I can only say I placed nationally”.</p>

<p>Relax a little. Placing nationally will look excellent to colleges. There is no reason why you couldn’t write about your contributions to a club as a member. Yes, leadership positions can be popularity contests, etc. That is why colleges don’t accept students just because they were the president of a club. They accept students based on many factors, and demonstrating strong commitment to a few ECs will enhance a good application.</p>

3

<p>@sw0206 thanks. That makes me feel a bit better now.</p>

4

<p>I can already predict gibby posting in this, but…</p>

<p>Colleges aren’t necessarily concerned with leadership positions in clubs but more leadership qualities and leadership in the classroom. They expect this to be shown in the impact you have on your environment, from your peers to your teachers, and the community around you.</p>

<p>Besides, I personally would rather have two national awards than simply an officer position at a club. That shows more skill and work than winning an election. Maybe the adcoms don’t necessarily know how little effort is often put in to clubs by officer teams. Maybe they do. Regardless, it’s going to be the bigger picture of your impact and efforts as a student. </p>

<p>The same thing happened to me throughout my three years thus far in my high school career. Though I may have friends in my clubs, I’ve lost every club election that I’ve participated in (besides one that I practically fulfilled myself even though someone else was the officer… Again with the lack of effort by many officers). Because of this, I decided not to focus on leadership positions (as they get rather trivial for things like FBLA where there are chapter, section, state, regional, and national positions) in school clubs and more on making an individual impact within my extracurricular activities that have to do with my passion. I believe you shouldn’t worry about it either and do the same.</p>

5

<p>Similar situations at my school where a majority of the presidents show no interest in being dutiful to their position, but only to realize that “hey, this will look good on my apps”. </p>

<p>But I assure you that the event that happened to you will not impact you, because teachers will see through your achievements and write it down on the teacher evaluation. Colleges will definitely see through you and I wish you the best of everything :))</p>

6

<p>I struggled with situations like that throughout high school. It’s something you may have to deal with the rest of your life–coworkers putting less passion into their work than you but making the same amount of money, for example. It sucks. Yes, you can put on your common app that you placed nationally, and colleges will notice that and respect that. Even better, however, you are able to sleep well at night knowing that you have given your clubs as much passion and effort as you can give. People will recognize it, and it will pay off for you in the long run.</p>