<p>My public school is pretty new - it's about 9 years old right now, 6 when I first came. When I entered as a freshman, there were almost no clubs that I liked (those involving law, public speaking, and politics).</p>
<p>I started Mock Trial, Amnesty International, and Forensics Team over the past 3 years, and will try to get Model U.N. for senior year. But along the way, I've gotten very few awards or honors (besides winning county champ. for mock trial after 2 years of complete defeats), since all my advisers are also completely new to how these clubs work. </p>
<p>Most of the things I've done for these clubs concerned their infrastructures (setting up meetings, entering tournaments for the first time, etc). Will this be a significant disadvantage in college applications over, say, someone who joins an established club and wins more awards?</p>
<p>I would say that actually taking the initiative to start not one, but three and potentially four new clubs would be taken into consideration. I would value that over the awards, or at least put both applicants on the same level...</p>
<p>Starting the clubs is impressive. What have the clubs accomplished? For the relatively few colleges that factor ECs strongly in admissions decisions (Those tend to be places like HPYS that have an overabundance of high stat applicants, so can afford to admit students based on creating a well rounded campus), the colleges could be impressed by your starting clubs if it seems that the clubs were more than resume decoration.</p>
<p>Lots of students "start" clubs that are clubs in name only, accomplishing nothing, not even having regular meetings. If the clubs that you started got a sizeable # of active members, did things like participate in competitions, hosted competitions, raised $ for charity, etc., then as long as your application reflects those things, those accomplishments would be far more significant than those of a person who stepped into an office in an already well functioning organization.</p>
<p>I started Mock Trial in freshman year with a few friends and an iron-blooded teacher. We now have about 30 people trying out for the various parts (witness, attorney, etc) every year, and the 15 people with parts end up staying for most of the school year (until the competition is finished). We participated in the NJ Mock Trial Competition this year and won county championships for the first time (slaughtered in regionals though) - we went 6-1, 7-0 for plaintiff and defense teams this year, respectively. We only had one victory for all of the last two years, so we were quite elated (I was lead attorney this time, ha).</p>
<p>Amnesty International was started in sophomore year, and it's had more of a cult following than being a really popular club. We have around 5-10 people regularly attend meetings, and we've tried to set up events to fundraise and raise awareness of various human rights issues. The administration, however, is less than receptive about showing R-rated movies in school (genocide-related movies tend to be rather graphic; think Hotel Rwanda) or giving our club a large stipend for trips--we're seen as a political organization.
However, this little club still breathes, powered by a radical teacher and some dedicated students (me included). </p>
<p>Forensics was the latest club I started, as a junior. This was harder to start than the other two because Forensics is really expensive to have (tournaments cost about $10 per person, and some schools have 20-30 people going to certain tournaments). But, with enough asking and some support from a really wonderful teacher of mine, we managed to secure $2000 in next year's budget to cover all expenses. This club has about 10-15 people, and we've only been able to go to 2 tournaments this year because of money and distance constraints (next year will be much more fruitful; maybe we can even host a competition!).</p>
<p>That's the nitty-gritty of my three current clubs. </p>
<p>Model U.N. is in the works, since a couple teachers have been asking about a club of their own (every other school in our district has one). I really like the idea, and I'm pretty sure that it would be an interesting club to make.</p>
<p>So there you are. The focus of my high school career.</p>
<p>Just a note: if you are planning on participating in major Model UN conferences, those cost anywhere from $200-$500 per person for a 3-4 day conference.</p>
<p>Our county's school budget recently got passed; I think the administration will be a lot more lenient about money now that there's a bit more leeway. Thank you for the tip, though. I had a general idea about how much I would need to ask for, but I had underestimated the true conference cost.</p>
<p>If you're looking for awards, you have an impressive profile for scholarships, particularly leadership and community involvement. I would definitely be applying for lots of scholarships during your senior year as that is the prime time to win them. Start researching now, and you'll have plenty of time to prepare for that. </p>
<p>Regarding Model UN, I started the club at my school during my junior year after transferring from another school. My new school already had a good number of clubs so it was a little slow going at first; but, three years later (and after I graduated), it's still thriving and has attended three conferences. During my senior year, this experience actually opened up an opportunity to join a community organization with an international focus as a board member. My term gave me tremendous leadership experience, and I was able to win several scholarships as a result. You have tremendous potential--good luck with Model UN!</p>
<p>I had no idea that doing this sort of thing was award-worthy. What type of scholarships/awards would I be looking at (I'm extremely naive when it comes to scholarships; I have no idea about how to win any other than submitting an essay and resume)</p>
<p>There are online resources for finding scholarships to apply to; Fastweb is one of them (though I don't personally like it; they try to sell you stuff all the time); College Board also has a scholarship search engine type thing (link</a>). </p>
<p>You can also talk to your counselor or other faculty member at your school who may know something about that sort of thing. (At my school we have, in addition to a counseling center, a "career center" where most of the information about scholarships is, along with job postings from the community, college/vocational information, etc.) </p>
<p>It's really impressive that you've started those three organizations! If it's college admissions you're worried about... well, stop worrying, because they love to see that kind of dedication and initiative. It's far preferable to just joining a dozen already-established clubs at your school.</p>