<p>My son (a junior) has started receiving invitations to attend (allegedly selective) leadership seminars. While I imagine these would probably be good experiences, I'm not so sure how much of a true "honor" they are for the kids, and I'm wondering what W&M thinks when they see these on applications. Thanks very much.</p>
<p>W&M Admission can obviously speak better to this than I, but I’d imagine that you should push your son to achieve actual leadership in school and community activities than to attend leadership seminars and listen to other people talk about leadership.</p>
<p>From which leadership seminars, specifically, is he receiving invitations?</p>
<p>I agree with wmwunderkind. I think the only “exceptions” may be Boys and Girls State, as they are a highly competitive program, whereas many of the leadership programs that are advertised are open to whomever is willing to pay the thousands of dollars to attend. I am not saying these programs are worthless - I do not have any personal experience with them. It just seems as though one could achieve a meaningful learning experience without a high pricetag. (i.e. - what wmwunderkind suggested.)</p>
<p>Many of these experiences can be very worthwhile for students regardless of how admission officers feel about them. So if your son is interested he should definitely pursue them. </p>
<p>What we can tell you is that because our pool is full of wonderfully high-achieving students, many of them attend such programs. So many such honors become less distinctive and more commonplace in such pools. That being said, some are more selective (meaning there’s a competitive process to attend) and we try to make note of those programs.</p>
<p>Bottom line, as we said initially, if your son’s interested, encourage him to attend but encourage him because he’s interested, not because it could impact his admission. Attending or not attending a leadership program will not be what makes or breaks any decision we make.</p>
<p>Thanks, W&M. Appreciate the feedback!</p>