I ran a small student organization on campus from Spring quarter of last year to Fall quarter of this year. Unfortunately, 2 of our officers had to leave due to personal circumstances, and it seems that I’ll have to shut down the organization due to not having enough officers to run in. 2 Questions about this.
Is this worth listing on the AMCAS? Should I address why it was cut early/before the end of the academic year?
Who would I list as my contact? I’ve talked to my organization adviser who said they’d be willing to do it (they have no involvement in the organization whatsoever, more so acting as a person to talk to logistics/organization issues about). Would a VP be a better idea since they were involved in the meetings, etc.?
Update: Seems like I might be able to get the officers to come back and help this and next quarter, so the club seems like it will be okay, but I’m still curious anyways.
List it if it’s your only leadership position/experience, or if you’ve devoted a large number of hours to the organization, or if it fills some other void in your CV. You do not need to explain why your association with the organization/club ceased.
It’s always best to list an organization advisor for the contact person, rather than another student. Academic personnel are easier to get ahold of and are judged more likely to be truthful than a student.
Contact persons are not usually asked more than:
a) to verify the existence of the club/organization
b) to verify your involvement with the organization.
Rarely (e.g. if your number of listed volunteer hours seems excessive), a contact person will be asked to verify the approximate number of hours you have volunteered with the club/organization.
I’ve devoted a good amount of time to the organization (I’d say I’ve spent about 60 hours and counting running the organization for 2 quarters so far, not including the process of making it and general club management outside meetings/events). It’s one of my two leadership experiences. I’m inclined to put it down.
With regards to the organization adviser, my only worry is that she does not know nearly anything about how the organization operates other than that I am a verified officer for it, and that the organization was active part of last year as well as this year. I just figured AdComms might ask my contact about whether meetings occurred, and that she would not be able to verify them (whereas a VP would). Is this something I shouldn’t worry about? Thanks!