<p>I want to join:
Philosophy club
Geopolitics club
Model United Nations </p>
<p>These are all clubs that were just formed this year so I'm deciding to join them. I know I can get a leadership position in geopolitics and philosophy club.
I am joining all of these clubs because I want to major in history and feel like these are the clubs I would really be intrested in. Would adding three clubs junior year just seem like fluff to colleges and be counterproductive?</p>
<p>I don’t think you should lead your life for college applications. While it is nice to have things that you do that are long term commitments, not every has that or has to do that as interests change. Join those clubs if they interest you. Doing something is better than nothing. And doing things can lead to other opportunities you can’t foresee.</p>
<p>I am definitely going to join these clubs but should I list them on my app is more the question.</p>
<p>It wouldn’t look like anything. Join the clubs. Contribute to them. Make a difference. Perhaps next year when you apply to college one or two experiences in a club will stand out. Then discuss those experiences in one of the essays. Then again perhaps nothing will stand out. Then you don’t need to say anything.</p>
<p>Sure list them. In practice a long list of clubs on your application will get little more than a glance from someone reviewing your application regardless of when you joined them. What matters is how these clubs made a difference and in what way you contributed to making that difference happen.</p>
<p>Thanks for the help :)</p>
<p>If you are going to join them regardless, I don’t see why you wouldn’t list them. After all, you would be truthful and not fluffing your app (since you are joining them out of interest and not because it looks good). The essays will prove that.</p>
<p>Admissions people are not fools. They see hundreds if not thousands of apps and they know insincerity when they see it. Join for the right reasons and do the club because you love it and they’ll know that too.</p>
<p>That said, there is WAAAY too much emphasis on ECs and trying to look good. Ultimately, do it because you really are interested, not because you think you need to check the box.</p>
<p>If you join now, can you list yourself as a founding member (and solve the problem of the late start)?</p>
<p>I can probably become secretary or treasurer or something like that is that fine?</p>
<p>^ I think what the poster is asking is could you call yourself a founder or a co-founder of a club? That would be the only way to explain why you suddenly decided to jump on all these clubs your junior year. Otherwise, on paper, it seems like fluff.</p>
<p>Make sure you tell the college that those clubs were only started in your junior year, because otherwise they will think it’s fluff (unless, of course, you are an officer).</p>
<p>How do I tell colleges that though?</p>
<p>No I just found out about those clubs but I’m really intrested in joining</p>
<p>* ^ I think what the poster is asking is could you call yourself a founder or a co-founder of a club? That would be the only way to explain why you suddenly decided to jump on all these clubs your junior year. Otherwise, on paper, it seems like fluff. *</p>
<p>Or it sounds like you finally got time to develop a long-standing interest. Or it sounds like the club just started and you wanted to join. Or it sounds like you became interested in these issues over the summer and decided to join. I think people spend too much time trying to figure out what admissions people “will think”. There’s no way to know, and no reason to assume, that admissions counselors will think you are “fluffing” your application. Are you supposed to know everything you want to do and everything you are interested in by the time you are 14 years old?</p>
<p>Do what you want to do. If you are genuinely interested in the clubs, join them! You will have an entire year’s worth of experiences to talk about.</p>