I recently moved to IL and now I lost all the positions I had previously held in clubs or was going to eventually hold. I may have 1 or 2 positions now if I’m lucky when I apply next year. How will this hurt me? Will colleges understand? Will it be ok to write the positions I just held until sophomore year before I moved?
Colleges care about what you did with the opportunities that you have available to you. Make the best out of the situation and you will be fine.
You can show those previous positions, and mention in additional info that you changed schools and it impacted your ECs.
Your transcripts , GPA and test scores will mean more than most EC’s.
^It depends on the schools. At top schools where everyone has a great GPA and test scores, ECs make a lot of difference.
Are you suggesting this student cant get into a “top” school because of their situation? Must have grades scores and transcript as well? or not? What are schools looking at first?
Keep in mind, OP, that’s it depth not breadth that matters on ECs - the quality of what you do, not the quantity. Rather than worrying about being president of 2 clubs instead of 4 - which really doesn’t matter - think instead about how you can really make an impact on something you care about. It might be via a school club or it might be something else in entirely. This is an opportunity to consider the possibilities outside of the usual school-based options.
You may still end up going the school club route, and it’s a nice way to meet people at your new school, but don’t do it without thinking about the opportunity cost. You could be reinventing yourself in an entirely new way…
You forfeited those spots. Those spots are now inhabited by living, breathing people who would not enjoy you coming in and bumping them.
I don’t understand where you think the embarrassment is coming from? You moved, you forfeited the spots, other people took the spots. You came back, those spots are not available. That doesn’t mean you’re not still good at chess or whatever the other spots are; it just means you don’t get to be on the board for those clubs.
No you cannot ask for the spots back. If a advisor/club chooses to add you back into a leadership role, it would be at their discretion. But given that you know all the people involved, you should be in a good position to earn the positions back for your senior year.
I don’t get why you should be embarrassed - you moved with your family when your father’s job required it. It’s not like you chose to switch schools and come back again.
During my four years in high school marching band, I learned two things.
- The floor of a band room is unimaginably disgusting.
- People don't like to give up what they perceive as "their" authority, legitimately earned or otherwise.
You didn’t want to give yours up when you moved. The people who have those positions now won’t want to give theirs up either. Asking would appear obnoxious and probably earn you some ill will. “Ethical” I wouldn’t even consider; the important thing is how an entitled-sounding grab for power will affect your relationships with the people in those clubs, which is presumably part of why you enjoyed being in those clubs in the first place(?).
You seriously overestimate those roles’ affect on anything – ANYTHING for you future.
You inadvertently were jerked out of the resume padding rat race – and now you want to jump back in.
Prove to yourself that you’re not a resume padder. Join each of those clubs and be the most serving MEMBER.
Being on the board of these clubs is not that meaningful. Admissions committee members are aware that there may be clubs where a majority of the members have some assigned job title-- in a 10 member club there might be a president, VP, and 8 board members. Being a ranked chess player is a great accomplishment. Aren’t you excited to see your friends again and get involved as a useful member of all these clubs?
You can explain the change in the additional info section in your applications if you want to. Just that you changed schools for the start of the school year junior year, then relocated back partway through the year. And that the time away had an impact on your club leadership positions. You are not entitled to have them back. Be the best club member you can be, and you may earn some back next year.
No, do not expect to get them back and DONT ASK; that’s tacky.
That’s kind of like saying you left your manager job for 5 months, came back, got rehired, and ask to become the manager again. You have to work your way back up the ladder.