I am currently a freshmen in high school and would like to attend Yale University. At my school, the students are not so much involved in clubs nor sports. Others might see this as a bad thing, but I’ve come up with a plan to overcome this. Firstly, I would like to major in law when I graduate high school (Being involved in debate helps admissions enormously get to know me). It is for this reason I would like to be founders of Model Union and a Mock Trial club… As you might notice, these clubs are heavy tied into the “law” aspect of clubs. My question is if being founders of these clubs will help admissions understand that my main interest and passion lies within the goal of becoming a lawyer in the future?
I mean it would help, but it won’t guarantee you admission to Yale or any colleges for sure. These schools involve excellent GPAs, SAT/ACT, SAT II’s, E.Cs, essays, etc. Is starting a club good? Yes, it shows leadership and passion. However you have to think about all of the sports, clubs, awards, etc. other applicants will be involved with. You are in 9th grade. You have time. Will it show to them you want to be a lawyer? Maybe?
It is a huge advantage in my opinion
It’s a very good advantage if you can get it off the ground (also, did you mean Model UN instead of Union?). FYI, it would be VERY hard to start these before you’re an upperclassman just because most upperclassmen don’t want to join a club led by a freshman/sophomore.
However, if you ACTUALLY have a passion for this and aren’t just doing it as a resume-booster (be very honest with yourself about this), it can be a MASSIVE boost. I founded 3 organizations/clubs in my area and it’s been one of my biggest assets in college and scholarship applications. However, all 3 are based on the same topic and I have a genuine passion for the cause. If you don’t have that, you’ll end up having to fake it, which is really not optimal (even if it does help your chances).
Everyone says they have a passion for their teams. If you’re gonna found one (or two), make sure you really do.
it’ll be really hard for you to get it off the ground; people don’t respect freshman or kids that are younger than them, especially when he/she has a higher position in the club and commands him/her. however, if you have a group of friends that are dedicated go for it.
One thing you could do which is sort of political and a little risky is find a senior or junior (junior is probably better) who’s willing to get it off the ground with you (along with a teacher) and go into it as cofounders. The issue you’ll face is maintaining your status as a cofounder and taking over the team as a junior.
Also, in my personal experience, a lot of seniors didn’t want to go to a team that had a junior captain… so even a year might be too much. It really is tough. The best scenario may be to found a team but get a teacher really on board who then is the “face” of your team. Just make sure that you can prove you’re the founder.
My son started a couple of clubs as a freshman/going into sophomore year. To do this, first find some friends who would join with you. You have to get some like minded students and make sure they are aware of how important this can be to your resume. Then you need to find a good, dedicated sponsor. Mock trial season is pretty much started/getting revved up so you are most likely too late for this year, but you can get a good start/prep for next year. IF you can get a team set up that wins, and/or goes to regionals or states that would be huge. DO NOT let people tell you to wait. Freshman year is the beginning of a three year resume, by senior year, you should have your main accomplishments done, especially for early action.
FYI there’s no major in law.
Also, I founded a club as a freshman, so go for it.
For what it’s worth, the activities you mention are VERY time-intensive. Do you have a faculty member willing to give of that much time in order to moderate? And is there money in the budget for the travel that both require for competition?
I will be honest… I don’t see that starting school clubs is a ticket to HYPS. Get on your city council, get a law passed by your state legislature, etc.
To be completely honest, simply founding the club won’t make you sound accomplished. It’s what you achieve within those clubs. If you can get Model UN and Mock Trial to compete in competitions and win awards (including winning awards yourself), then you’ve accomplished something. Otherwise, you’re wasting time and energy being a founder of those clubs.