<p>so basically at my school the club elections are all popularity contests. so being just average with people, i'm probably not gonna get elected T_T. any advice on what other things i can do in/out of school to make up for the shortage of leadership positions that colleges (like the really great ones) love?</p>
<p>Leadership doesn't mean being elected. It means stepping up and doing things.</p>
<p>Colleges know that anyone can get elected, not everyone can lead. Can you?</p>
<p>what things are you interested in </p>
<p>that would help</p>
<p>for instance- art, music, sports, dramw, science...narrow it down for us a bit</p>
<p>My latest absolutely refused to run for anything, or accept any position offered. He even campaigned against himself for prom king.</p>
<p>But his recs all talked about what a leader he is. Will your recs say similar things?</p>
<p>mu alpha theta, key club, student government, the usual</p>
<p>the usual is not helpful</p>
<p>what are you INTERESTED in doing...what are your passions? for instance, if you like drama or acting, you can work at a program with little kids, no easy task</p>
<p>or if you are political, you can volunteer in your town</p>
<p>if you are into sports, you can become a referree</p>
<p>so try again....we can't help if you don't give us better info</p>
<p>I use this word a lot on here, but being a leader means being able to take initiative. You might not have a lot of officer positions in clubs, but you might do things outside of school that require initiative from you. (For example, starting a program in an area of interest.)</p>
<p>I have a relative lack of leadership positions.
However, what I did do was join organizations and take part in things that might show my skill as a leader--working as crew in community theater, being a camp counselor, going to Girl's State.
So even though I haven't been class president or anything, I still feel that I took the initiative to do things in which I'd have to lead groups of people.</p>
<p>I'm sure there is something that you can find to do.</p>
<p>I have a similar situation as that of Meesh. On paper, my official leadership positions are minimal, however, I participated in groups which at least appear to require remote skills of leadership.</p>
<p>To the OP, I think the Student Government one is in keeping with what Meesh and myself have done.</p>
<p>i like science and also international relations (even though they're not exactly related)
i'm thinking about volunteering at the local hospital but i've heard that it doesnt let high school students do much
ideas? thanks =)</p>
<p>Try Model UN somewhere? Does your school have one?</p>
<p>The hospital thing... I had some friends try to do it and I think they were offered a position in the gift shop lol. They're losers anyway, don't be like them. ;-)</p>
<p>Model UN is international relations type stuff. Or, something similar to PeopleToPeople could be good, although PeopleToPeople itself is considered a joke.</p>
<p>ivyhopeful: Get a few friends who have similar interests to yours, find a smallish not-for-profit you would like to support, and organize a fund raiser for them. </p>
<p>For instance, I know some high school kids who care about the environment. They contacted our local land trust and organized a fundraising walk for them. They raise a few thousand dollars every year! </p>
<p>Walla! - a leadership position. (And you're doing something good!)</p>
<p>quote: "The hospital thing... I had some friends try to do it and I think they were offered a position in the gift shop lol. They're losers anyway, don't be like them. ;-)"</p>
<p>I always find this mildly amusing. Just what do you think a hospital is going to let an untrained high school kid do in the hospital setting anyway? Open heart surgery? Stitch up patients? Hand out meds? Draw blood? </p>
<p>The only things an untrained, non-employee are good for in a hospital setting are things like delivering flowers, answering the phone ( in some locations) , giving directions to guests trying to find a room, and delivering non urgent supplies. Maybe, you'll be trusted to deliver some lab work to the lab or asked to pick up something.</p>
<ol>
<li>start your own club.</li>
<li>if not, start a club outside of school</li>
<li>volunteer at places where many high school kids don't volunteer at</li>
<li>enter writing/math/science/whatever competitions. explore your talent?</li>
<li>charity events</li>
</ol>
<p>you don't have to be a leader. but you have to stand out.</p>
<p>Don't do something you don't feel for just for the application looking good. I didn't organize myself within college or high school clubs at all - however, I have always been an activist OUTSIDE of the school environment without expecting it to count towards anything, and I think this benefitted me in the end: I have extremely solid recommendations from people who saw that I knew what I was talking about and could take initiatives within campus and beyond campus. </p>
<p>Find something beyond your school. Preferrably something where there are a lot of people from different age groups being represented (one of the side effects of the educational system organizing students strictly after age is homogeneity - students become streamlined, and there's less chance/risk of any one student learning anything his or her peers aren't). Initiate your own projects, do a list over activities or causes you feel strongly about or love doing.</p>
<p>another question
should i volunteer at a hospital or volunteer in a science lab?</p>
<p>haha, i WISH they let me do surgery...not that it would be too good for the patient...</p>