<p>I recently began my junior year of high school. I often hear about how important leadership experience is when applying to college; however, as of so far, I have very limited leadership experience. I plan on being an assistant teacher next year in a program called the Senior Instructional Leadership Corps. I have also considered founding a Red Cross club at my school. Do these sound like good ideas for leadership experience? What else can I do? Also, what kinds of leadership do you all have? Thanks.</p>
<p>My kid got into University of Chicago, Swarthmore, Harvey Mudd, Carleton, and several other schools with great merit aid with pretty much NO leadership on her application. She was never a captain, a teacher, a club officer… She did excel at her specialty in a couple of team activities, had some other interesting (but not jaw dropping) ECs, and had great test scores. There is more than one kind of leadership, and it doesn’t always come with a title. Sometimes it is taking an unpopular stand that you know is right (can be used in an essay sometimes), or leading by example, or quiet leadership that influences people without being the outgoing person who may have the leadership title…</p>
<p>Thanks for the reply. I was just curious because a lot of the schools I’m considering applying to emphasize the importance of leadership, but maybe I’m overestimating it. </p>
<p>It isn’t the be-all and end-all. Do activities because YOU want to do them and they are truly interesting to you. Colleges are looking for genuine, interesting people more than anything.</p>
<p>Mine had one senior year because the guy that left to go to Stanford asked her to become president of the club. I don’t think anything counts that much senior year. But the guy that left he said there were too many grabbers for the position for the title but nobody was interested in it for just the activity.</p>
<p>I agree with intparent. I’m actually kind of baffled at all this “leadership” talk. My D had no typical leadership stuff on her application, and got into great schools. And it’s kind of funny, because the school she attends pays a huge amount of lip service to capital-L Leadership -it’s a big deal there- yet the admissions officer for our region told my D she was “the quintessential” student for the school. Go figure.</p>
<p>Do what you are passionate about and interested in. Show commitment to it. That is the best thing you can do, in my opinion.</p>
<p>One of my kids got into Columbia with no “leadership.” I think it was a UChicago admissions officer who said that if we accepted only leaders then we would have no clubs, because anyone who wasn’t picked to be president of the club wouldn’t bother to go and do the work of the club. Interestingly, while in college, my kid did become president of a professional organization related to his major, but not in high school.</p>
<p>I agree with post#6. The minute my kid was selecting president, other officers quit because they were hoping for President. They were not joking it for pure love of the work just for positions.</p>
<p>I just have to provide a counter opinion. Based on my school’s history, the 3 people over the past 4 years who managed to grab tons of top leadership positions got nearly into all the top colleges they applied to (hypsm). So I think it definitely can make an application, although idk if it can break an application. These students didn’t really win any major awards in any of these activities either or major awards outside of them, the leaderships were the strength of their EC’s and they outperformed students who won major awards.</p>
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<p>That’s the essence of it right there. Whether as a leader or a participant, go and do the work. </p>
<p>An active participant is better than an armchair leader.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for the replies. If I do decide to pursue some kind of leadership, I’m going to do it because I care about it, rather than just to make my application look better.</p>