<p>Again there is a difference between what colleges want (because they are more holistic) and scholarships. Both would consider officer positions and similar positions leadership, but only colleges would be willing to consider the more nontraditional leadership that has been mentioned in this thread.</p>
<p>So basically I screw myself over by not being in EC, and screw myself farther by not having a stronger leadership role?</p>
<p>P.S. I forgot who but yes I was at one point the principal cellist.</p>
<p>“principal cellist” - leadership role.</p>
<p>You may be able to go to a state school with no ECs. Most school claiming holistic admissions look for ECs.</p>
<p>^I didn’t think that really count because it was an elective… and for a grade.</p>
<p>Again you can get into college without leadership, but it will severely limit your scholarship options and the rest of your application needs to be stronger to compensate for your lack of leadership.
Top colleges expect their applicants to have high GPAs, high test scores and strong ECs (including a lot of leadership and community service).</p>
<p>“for a grade” You go to school for grades too. why do they need any leaders in the school?</p>
<p>@artsy: I already got into college. It’s the scholarships that are hindering me. </p>
<p>@Texas: I’m sorry but I don’t understand?</p>
<p>I don’t really understand why there’s such an emphasis on leadership for everyone. It’s not logically possible for everyone to be a leader in a million things. I thought colleges were trying to create diversity by admitting different kinds of people with different interests and not just favoring more extroverted/charismatic people.</p>
<p>@halcyonheather You have to remember that the population on CC/applying to these top schools and for good scholarships are a minority compared to the world as a whole. So you are right, not everybody can be leaders, but the small percent that are applying for these types of things tend to be. Also you can have diversity among leaders, for example I would be viewed as a leader in the sense that I do yearbook editing. That does not mean the a college is going to except 500 yearbook editors, rather there could be a few yearbook editors, some captains of sports teams, some NHS presidents and so on.</p>
<p>Leadership isn’t merely holding a title; it is what you do with that. Eg, plenty of kids are Stu Gov president-- and can’t show any significant responsibilities (or don’t elaborate. Or, if they do, it’s somehow limited to a few routine things like running meetings.) For the more competitive colleges, adcoms are looking for a sense of your readines for their environment- the way you identify and take on challenges, commit over time and have some impact. So just having a title can be zip.</p>
<p>In contrast, plenty of true leadership challenges/commitments never get a “leader” title- BUT are clearly about vision, responsibilities and results. OP needs to see if he has anything of this sort. </p>
<p>“different kinds of people with different interests and not just favoring more extroverted/charismatic people.” Top colleges are looking for kids with “get up and go,” the sort who will actively add to the campus life- not just different personalities. You can be quiet and still accomplish a great deal.</p>
<p>The scholarship committees (that focus on leadership) like to find kids they can see are motivated, able to climb past ordinary, make a difference- even if it’s in a string of small ways. Again, that’s what OP needs to find in his/her experiences.</p>
<p>I have some “leadership” back in middle school though. I’m not taking the time to look back and think on some “leadership” roles since I KNOW I had done little. </p>
<p>But to me it seem stupid to determine how a child will perform in the future based on what he/she did in the past and how he/she did it.
I know for a lot of top schools people make themselves look good by doing these things but can we be sure that they will do these things in college. I feel like a lot of those people set themselves up to fail at a later point.</p>
<p>Create your own club ;)</p>