<p>In one of my clubs, there aren't technically supposed to be any leaders (ie. captain, co-captain, etc). However, the club adviser and I are really chill (plus I participated a lot in his club) so he says I can put co-captain on my college apps if I want. Since my adviser says I can, I'm probably going to put it on. Still, would this be considered "lying" if there aren't any official positions yet my adviser allows me to put on a leadership position? Sorry if this was a stupid question =/</p>
<p>Probably safest NOT to bother putting it down, since “lies” have a way of tripping people up. Not much upside and considerable downside to putting that. It’s a small world and sometimes in casual conversation things come out–they may interview others applying to the same school as you and somehow it MAY come up. They may also know the GC at your HS (quite common). Why bother? Not a good slippery slope to start down.</p>
<p>Yes, claiming that you are co-captain of a club that does not have any co-captains exactly fits the definition of “lying.” </p>
<p>If there is no co-captain of the club, then you are not co-captain. If you would like to put “co-captain” on your applications then at the next meeting of the club you should move that the club establish co-captains and nominate yourself for one of the positions. If you are elected, at that point you could put “co-captain” on your college applications.</p>
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<li><p>The fact that you’re asking this question suggests that it’s lying, because you clearly aren’t completely comfortable with listing yourself as co-captain.</p></li>
<li><p>The advisor can have told you that you can list yourself as Grand Minister of the Universe for all I care. If you didn’t hold the position (i.e., if you had the same role as the rest of the club), you shouldn’t list yourself as holding it on your application.</p></li>
<li><p>Leadership titles are pointless. Leadership only really gets you anywhere when you can demonstrate that you actually accomplished something with it. Nobody cares that you were the president of 3418913471032987 clubs but did nothing more than attend the weekly meetings and eat food with everyone else without actually ever accomplishing anything.</p></li>
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<p>If you do not hold an official leadership position and did not carry out the duties of a leadership position, you should not report it.</p>
<p>I would, however, agree with reporting a leadership position if you first held a de facto leadership position and were then told by your advisor that while the position was unofficial, you could report it.</p>
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<p>Well said. You can mention your contribution to the club without necessarily having a title. It will be best to avoid the ‘co-captain’ part.</p>
<p>Should I just play it safe and say that I was the “unofficial” co-captain, because that’s true – my advisor considered me a co-captain. The thing is, there’s no official position so that’s why I asked this question.</p>
<p>Edit: Actually, whatever it won’t make a difference whether I held a leadership position or not. I’ll just emphasize the role I played in the club.</p>
<p>/thread</p>
<p>I am amused that you and your advisor seem to think saying "co"captain makes it acceptable. “Co” with whom??? I prefer the suggestion of Grand Minister of the Universe. Excellent.</p>
<p>You are correct, there is no official position, so **claiming **that you held an official position is, as you say, lying.</p>
<h1>firstworldproblems</h1>
<p>Anecdote time: At my interview for Harvard, I mentioned, in passing, something that showed I was captain of the debate team. The guy then casually asked if I was co-captain or not. I could have lied and said I was captain, because how would he know? Actually, my coach apparently wrote in my recommendation that I was captain, not mentioning that there is another captain. But wanting to be honest, I told him I was co-captain. Then his face broke out in a smile and he told me he’d interviewed the other captain of the debate team the week before. He seemed really happy that I’d told the truth. </p>
<p>Lesson to be learned: you never know if the adcoms of interviewers, etc have some other way of knowing whether or not you are lying. So just be honest, because if they do catch you in a lie, you definitely won’t be admitted.</p>
<p>Honestly, just put it down. if the CLUB ADVISOR allows it, just do it. Nothing bad will happen. These other posters are acting as if you just made up this title for yourself and want to put it down to pad your resume. The sponsor of the club said you can do it, which obviously means that you make a large contribution to your club. Just put it down.</p>
<p>@ugotserved834 For all you know one of the other kids in the club may mention in an app or interview that although there is no captain, he or she does a lot of leadership duties. Then this guy is screwed when they see he is the captain of a club that apparently has no captain. Like I said, my coach even implied I was the only captain, just like this guy’s adviser. But you have no control over what other kids will write.</p>
<p>Talk to your club advisor and see if you can figure out a way to instate you as the leader/captain. Obviously you’ve made some significant contributions to the club, so I’m sure he/she would understand your desire to have an official title behind it so you can put it on your application without worrying about being caught.</p>
<p>You should describe your involvement honestly and truthfully without inflation. You know this is the right thing to do, otherwise you’d not have asked. The likelihood that the pretend leadership position is going to tip the balance ANYWHERE is infinitesimal. And, by the way, when the same type of question comes up when you’re writing a resume, the answer is the same. Tell the truth. Make what you’ve done look as good as you can, but don’t try to make it something it isn’t.</p>