Leadership Postions?

Applying to College
1

Hi, I’m currently a Junior in high school and I’m really worried about my current situation with leadership positions in clubs/ECs.

So far, I’m planning on being in 8 clubs (Key club, NHS, leo club, varisity quiz, science bowl, debate, orchestra, and Math honors society/tutoring) , I’m very sucessful in my instrument (Cello, competitions, State orchestra, honors, youth orchestra etc.) and debate also (I’ve won a lot of tournaments in state/out).

I’ve been led to believe from many of my peers that club officer positions mean almost everything in your resume to make/break your chance. Many of my friends have leadership positions in clubs, and although I’m in lots of clubs and EC, I don’t have a leadership position in them, and I feel like a total loser. The problem with officer admissions is its based off of favoritism and popularity.

In debate last year, I’ve worked extremely hard and sacrificed many things to help the team with wins and such. I applied for a captain spot for my event (expository speaking) this year because I know i have the ability to be a good leader and help others, since I love helping others. The people who did get selected for captains are his favorites (I’ve noticed). It is always these situations where I don’t get any leadership positions, and I do think i deserve it, so it’s very unfair :(. I’ve even talked to my coach about it, and he said he picked based on who did the best, but i have done just as good as the others, if not, more! I’m a very hard worker and I’m dedicated to all the things I do.

I also applied for orchestra secretary/treasurer because i want to make orchestra a more enjoyable place, since a lot of people (including myself) have felt left out, but again, I’ve lost to it due to popularity and favoritism.

My question is, do colleges look at more than just officer positions? i only have one year left in high school with NO officer positions. I plan on tutoring for free maybe at an elementary school, and volunteering independently once i find time, but throughout my high school years, I would love an officer position, whether it be treasurer, secretary, etc. (anything to help out the class/club.)

PS I’m not trying to brag or sound conceited, i would love some information on how colleges (specifically UC colleges are what I’m aiming for, and whether NO officer positions in clubs would make/break my chance.) look for. :slight_smile: Thank you!

2

"I’ve been led to believe from many of my peers that club officer positions mean almost everything in your resume to make/break your chance. "

It’s not true. Don’t buy into it.

Accept leadership positions in situations in which it comes your way and makes sense, but stressing about it is unnecessary and useless.

3

One of the typical signs of a to-be-rejected applicant is an extracurricular list that includes nothing but leadership positions, honor societies, clubs, and more clubs.
For the purpose of college admissions, leadership should be defined broadly as anything done on one’s own initiative.

4

@1golfer1 Can you elaborate? I am also a junior who’s working on getting more leadership positions (I currently have 2). More clubs and leadership positions can hurt my admission chance next year? Why?

Or are you just referring to Ivies and similar schools? I’m not really planning on trying to get into those, but I entertain the thought every now and then.

5

@neoking Imagine being an English teacher at the annual AP Language reading. There, you’re expected to read hundreds of essays each day for eight hours. Would you prefer to read a short, concise essay that has a clear focus, or a dense, rambling essay that merely touches on a few key points?
College admissions officers are in a similar situation. To get through all the applications, they have to read through each application in less than fifteen minutes. Students whose activites, essays, etc. point to two or three main interests are apt to have more success than students who compile a “laundry list” of clubs and volunteer work that they think will impress colleges.

6

@1golfer1 That definitely sounds valid, but it seems like it’s a lot more applicable to Ivies and similar universities. In this article (http://blog.prepscholar.com/how-to-get-into-harvard-and-the-ivy-league-by-a-harvard-alum), Harvard alum Allen Cheng (also heads prepscholar) claims that what you said is what the top schools want to see, but normal schools (like state schools) are fine seeing a well-rounded person.

7

I am pretty much in the same situation, and I think it’s totally unfair that some students seem to get all the leadership positions due to their popularity. I’ve also noticed that a lot of the time, deeply involved members contribute much more to organizations than the leading officers of those organizations.

Having no leadership positions may look bad to some people, but I think that as long as you emphasize your deep commitment to these activities, you will be recognized by colleges. Try to stress your initiative and involvement in your essays about extracurriculars, and make sure to list all your awards/recognitions :]

8

@1golfer is 100% correct. And no, ‘normal schools’ don’t care in the slightest if you are ‘well-rounded.’ They want to see that you are someone who is likely to contribute to campus life and takes advantage of what is available. That’s it. They don’t care how many leadership boxes you checked or ECs lines on your app they can fill. In fact, most schools really care whether you can pay the tuition and if you have the academic preparedness to do the work. ECs is way down on the list of what’s important.

People grasp onto the idea of ‘leadership’ meaning officer positions in clubs like drowning swimmers grab on to anything that floats. It’s something they think they can control so they expend all their energy doing it - and its actually a waste of time. It would be much more constructive to find two or three things you really like and make a meaningful contribution to that area. You’ll get more out of it, you’ll enjoy it more, you’ll have an impact, you might even learn something important about yourself - and as a happy by-product you are a more interesting applicant to college who will be remembers by adcoms as they read through hundreds of applications that all sounds alike.

9

This. For a longer version, [url=http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/applying_sideways]here[/url].

This is true for all colleges that consider ECs as important- not just the super-selective ones.