<p>What is the correct way to show your leadership to colleges? </p>
<p>Currently I'm a sophomore and I already have a lot of leadership. I have officer positions in clubs, a charity organization, and I also have a STATE officer position in a very important business club.</p>
<p>Also, my officer positions are all related to charity/volunteering, if that matters. I'm also a Girl Scout and I'm working on my Gold Award now, so by the time I'm applying to colleges, I'll have lots more leadership positions and they'll all be "focused" on volunteering. </p>
<p>Is it true that having "focus", especially in leadership positions, is almost like having a hook for admissions?</p>
<p>Am I doing enough to show leadership? What else can I do to demonstrate my leadership ability?</p>
<p>ALSO: I was thinking of starting a Key Club at my school. Would starting a club (and becoming president, naturally) be enough to show leadership, considering that I currently already have many leadership positions?</p>
<p>More to the point, collecting “officer positions” isn’t going to impress anyone at elite colleges. They know it involves a trivial amount of time and effort in most cases. Here is what Stanford says in its FAQ
Not at all! A “hook” is something like a building on campus named after one of your close relatives who donated the money, being a URM, being one of the top athletes in your state in a sport they’re recruiting you for. What you’re talking about is merely strong ECs, one factor among many in the admission decision and not something thats going to outweigh other factors the way a hook does.</p>
<p>This just sounds like an overly inflated resume.</p>
<p>You don’t need lots of leadership positions. You need meaningful leadership positions. One leadership position in which you worked hard and accomplished a great deal will always win out over a long list of leadership positions in which you failed to stand out.</p>
<p>If you’re starting a club, it should be because you want to start the club, not because you want to prove leadership on your college apps. If you don’t actually want to start the club, don’t. If you do, it shouldn’t matter what the colleges will think of it.</p>
<p>A hook is something that would cause a student who would otherwise rejected to be admitted. Strong ECs are a part of your application. They are in no way, shape, or form a hook.</p>
<p>“This just sounds like an overly inflated resume.”
Then how do I deflate my resume? </p>
<p>“More to the point, collecting “officer positions” isn’t going to impress anyone at elite colleges. They know it involves a trivial amount of time and effort in most cases.”
So does that mean officer positions are not worth the time, even if most of my leadership roles don’t take time at all? Does this mean colleges look down on leadership titles? I have lots of officer positions, so this really worries me…</p>
<p>your resume is not over inflated as many of those who apply to ivies have at least of what you have. it’s about how long you have been in the club and what you did. if I were you, I would go to common app and look at the actual college application/essays so you can start now.</p>
<p>Actually, my mom has already looked at the common app and other school supplements, especially the essay sections. If I start working on my essays this summer (summer before junior year…but I’ll also be doing a summer program at the same time), will that be enough time to write really good essays?</p>
<p>Also, I am planning to study for the SAT this summer so I can take it the October of my junior year. I will also be doing an internship on the side (intern for Congressman McNerney) and maybe tutoring some kids too (for volunteer hours, not paid). Would this be considered a good way to spend summer?</p>
<p>I know a lot of classmates who are applying to extremely selective programs and research positions at prestigious colleges and labs and conservatories and such, so I am not sure if my summer is comparable to theirs.</p>