Is leadership experience essential for getting into Ivy League colleges and top LACs?

I’m thinking of applying to:

  1. Harvard
  2. Yale
  3. Stanford
  4. Wharton
  5. University of Chicago
  6. Cornell
  7. Swarthmore
  8. Pomona

My grades (IB) and SATs are surely adequate for these colleges, but my extra-curriculars are quite modest. Also, I have not really held any leadership positions, while many other candidates will be presidents of student councils, captain of sports teams, chairpersons of clubs etc.

Is it necessary to have leadership experience to get into colleges such as those listed above? Has anyone gotten into one of those colleges without good leadership record?

Leadership is more than a title. It’s about taking on some responsibility and that’s not limited to hs clubs. The idea is to show your maturity and willingness to commit, to have some impact.

If you rethink it, you may still have been part of something that did some good, somewhere, somehow- or a project or performance, mentoring or tutoring, job, research or volunteer, etc. Music or some cultural involvement? Think it out. It gives adcoms a fuller picture of who you are and how likely you are to add to their campus, outside class. At top schools, they like kids who have some energy and use it- kids who can climb out of their comfort zones.

Sure, i’ve. been involved in various extracurricular activities like piano, badminto, cross country, MUN, and volunteering. But i haven’t been president, chairlady, or captain.

Your schools are all reaches. With this list, you may not get into a single school even if you have leadership roles. You should diversify the list to include some safeties and reaches.