Hello all,
I am a rising senior and I play Varsity tennis at my school. There is a very high chance that I am going to be a captain this year, but the sport is in the spring, so I won’t know if I am captain until after I apply to colleges. I feel being captain will help me a lot with my admissions, so what should I do? Do I just straight up ask my coach if I am going to be a captain? My app will go out November 15th so he might not even think about it by then.
Why do you feel it will help “a lot” with admissions? Did the Admissions office at your school of choice say it would?
Honestly, if it’s very likely, I would just put it on the app now. I think it could help- not a LOT, but it’s noteworthy. I don’t think this is lying on the app, really. The “captain” title just signifies to the reader that you have significant leadership skills. It sounds like you’re a strong team leader. While it may not be super ethical to do so, I genuinely don’t think it’s a big deal to write “captain” if it’s nearly inevitable unless there’s another way to demonstrate those skills.
I doubt that being captain would make much difference, certainly not enough to justify lying about it, which is precisely what @novafan1225 is advocating.
You can always email an update to admissions if/when it happens for apps you have already submitted. That is what my kids did with accomplishments that happened after apps were submitted.
Ask your coach maybe and see what he says. I don’t think writing down before being made captain is a smart choice.
My son is in the same situation. I would not advocate claiming a leadership position that you’ve not been awarded. He has asked the coach of his spring sport to talk with the guidance counselor about his expected leadership role on the team - that provides the coach an opportunity to confidentially let the GC know if he expects the student-athlete to be captain. If he does, then the GC can mention it in his/her recommendation. If he doesn’t, then it helps avoid an awkward situation.
Writing that you expect to be captain next spring, is as useful as writing that you expect to get a 2350 on the SAT the next time you take it.
It is only meaningful if the coach mentions it in a recommendation.
You sign a statement at the end of most applications which says everything you have written is true and factual. It is not true at that moment that you have been chosen captain.
Being captain will not help you significantly enough to lie. Lies have a way of coming back to haunt us.
Being captain is not that big a deal. It doesn’t “show leadership”. It shows that the coach thinks you are an upstanding, good kid. Nothing wrong with that, but those who think that racking up “leadership positions” is the key to admissions are misguided.
What might actually help a lot is winning a high level tournament or competition.
Being Captain of a sports team is a pretty good leadership position… and definitely is somewhat of a big deal.
Does the coach choose the captain at your school? Most people seem to be assuming that. At my D’s high school the captains are elected by the other members of the team. The coach does have veto power but generally the people who get elected are the people you would expect - seniors who are good at the sport, dedicated, and with leadership abilities. But there is no way anyone can know with certainty before the election happens.
I had 2 kids get into a super selective school that played varsity sports - and neither was Captain. You could check the Common Data Set for the schools you are looking at and see what is most important to the school. FWIW I agree with those that advise NOT to lie about it.
Sorry to hijack this thread a tad, but @ucbalumnus do you think that taking second in the Minnesota club soccer tournament is 1) a really positive thing on my app and 2) a good reason as to why I didn’t play for my school during that time? If you don’t have an answer that’s fine it just sounded like you might know, haha. Thanks 
There are a lot of schools where captains being elected is a popularity contest and the coach has no veto power. I have seen this at multiple sports at my kids schools where some students go so far as to recruit friends to join to stack the vote in their favor. My D is the best distance runner in her school and as also been a class officer since freshman year but was not elected captain in any of the three track seasons.
It also depends on what the captain actually has to do. If all you’re doing is leading the pre-game chant then it’s not a big deal.
I would just say “Candidate for Captain; decision to be made early 2016.”
Re: #14
Depends on how high level the competition was, and how much of a role you had on the team.