Is the co required?

<p>So I am/ hopefully will be the president of a few different clubs at my school next year. However, in pretty much all but one or possibly two, I will be the president alongside one or two of my classmates. In my college application, would it be fine to just say I was president, or could the lack of the word "co" cause problems for me? Also, would the "co" make the position less impressive than if I was by myself? I know that a lot of people on cc are very competitive/paranoid that there are thousands of people ruining their admission chances by "lying" on their college app, and that they always steer the person asking the question in the way that makes him or her look the worst because they claim it's "honest." To me, the difference between co-president and president poses absolutely no moral hazard, so you can all save your breath if you want to try and guilt me out of it. I just want to know if it can potentially cause any problems for me with the adcoms.</p>

<p>Put co-president.
It’s the truth.</p>

<p>^I explicitly stated that that isn’t what I’m asking.</p>

<p>And does co-president look worse than president?</p>

<p>Are the other co-presidents applying to the same schools that you are? Know that admissions officers are assigned to regions/specific high schools. If they see multiple applications where everyone from your school is claiming to be president of the same club, they may decide to call the guidence counselor to ask what gives. Is this highly likely or a big deal? Probably not - these guys are really busy and being president of something isn’t as important as what you accomplish in the role - but it could involve having to answer some questions that reflect on your integrity.</p>

<p>^That’s more of an answer that I was looking for. What if, for example, I were to put co-prez, and the other co-prez just put president? WOuld they assume that one of the applicants just didn’t wanna put the “co” in there, or would they call the GC?</p>

<p>Would it raise red flags if I put co president, but the other(s) just put president?</p>

<p>could I please have some more imput? (my way of saying “bump” because cc won’t let me just say it)</p>

<p>You are co-president, not president. Not what you want to hear. Yes, I read your post, you are not concerned with ethics.</p>

<p>Could it cause a problem? You seem to want to know if you can get away with making false statements on your ap. We are not in the admissions dept of the schools you are applying to. Would the schools likely contact your HS or cross reference. Not likely. And just so you know, my sons are already in college/grad school so I am not concerned with competition or lying as you seem to be. It’s your choice to exaggerate or not. I consider myself honest and ethical and hope I have raised my sons to be the same. I always felt that if you had to lie yourself into an acceptance than you may not belong there in the first place.</p>

<p>It sounds like you want to bypass honesty if you can. That’s your decision to make. (By the way, my opinion is that it will not matter one way or the other if you put pres or co-pres as far as it mattering at all for prestige.)</p>

<p>If it doesn’t matter, then why do you consider it an “exaggeration.” An exaggeration usually implies that something has been embellished in order to look better. If president and co-president are the same thing, then shouldn’t it be considered simple misinformation as opposed to an embellishment?</p>

<p>No need to discuss further with you. Do what you want.</p>

<p>While that’s fine and dandy, and I will do what I want, I still need my questions answered. If I put co-president and my other co-president puts just president, will that cause a problem, or will the officers just assume that I chose to tell the truth, while the other person didn’t?</p>

<p>There is no problem that all if you lie on the application. If you get caught we couldn’t care less really.</p>

<p>Co-president and president are not the same thing, as a co-president presumably shares the responsibilities with a partner. So a president is a position with more responsibility.</p>

<p>If you put co- and the other person doesn’t, the adcoms will either assume that the other person is lying, or will check with your gc to clear up the confusion. Asdcoms do communicate with gc’s.</p>

<p>Also, whatever you claim on your app should be substantiated by the letter your gc writes.</p>

<p>Lying is a risky idea.</p>

<p>Two letters won’t really make that much of a difference. Put co-president because A) it’s the truth and B) it is not in any way detrimental to your application.</p>

<p>so overall the consensus seems to be that co-prez is not any worse than prez?</p>

<p>It depends more on the actual work that is done than on the title or the office. Since you are asking this question, I assume you think the title matters. It does not. The work you do matters more, which you are required to mention in the Details and Accomplishment section. The title is hardly looked at, simply because it does not convey any real information about the role. </p>

<p>If you lied about the actual work you did, that would be a bigger issue. Do you intend to ask us whether you should lie about the actual work you did in the EC?</p>

<p>^lol, again with the undertone that every person on cc is a liar/unfair. How much room is there to list what uv done?</p>

<p>There is a small space for each activity, maybe 25 words. I don’t recall it being very long. But, if you are concerned about your “co” looking bad, the Common App also asks you to elaborate on one of your activities (I think they give you about 250 words). So if you want to get across to them the level of responsibility/dedication you have within a certain activity, you have that space. </p>

<p>As far as whether a “co” makes much difference, if I saw that someone is captain/president or whatever, I would assume that either they were the only person who applied or were the only senior or something like that, OR I would assume that they were elected/appointed by fellow students/faculty advisor. </p>

<p>If I saw that they were a co-whatever, I would probably assume it was a situation where there were a few qualified people, or it was an activity where there were a few seniors who had been involved in it since their freshman year, or something. So as you can see, whether there is a co- or not really doesn’t say much. </p>

<p>P.S. I’m not sure why you think you are being unfairly accused of wanting to lie here. It is a lie, regardless of whether it matters much. If you’re going to do it, own it.</p>

<p>Thanks for the insight. I’m not saying it isn’t a lie, I’m just saying that in my mind it isn’t immoral, so it is no use trying to talk me out of it or even mention it at all, seeing as it isn’t my question.</p>