Not worth the risk, IMO. I told my daughter to edit activities off her resume depending upon which college was considered. What colleges say they want and what they actually reward are two very different things in my experience.
FWIW, I am a grad student at one of the supposedly most liberal Us in the country. I know for a fact many of the students in the course I teach are conservative. (It is a class where it is literally impossible for politics not to come in.)
With that said, if you were to put that you were working with an organization that is known for radical, destructive politics (on either side), it could be held against you. That is of course assuming the people reading your file are even familiar with said organizations.
If you are out campaigning or working for the party, you can leave the specific cause or candidate off. You can say that you volunteers for x hours for a state ballot referendum, and these are the types of things you did. Or for a state house race, etc. Or worked to get a bill passed. Colleges don’t care who the candidate is or what the cause was as much that they want to know that you engaged in your community to improve it.
The OP’s daughter is not applying to college now. She’s a sophomore deciding how to use her free time. She should use her free time on activities she enjoys and cares about, period. Questions about how best to present herself to colleges should come after she’s built the life she wants in high school.
Too much looking over one’s shoulder here, certain Mr Man is out to squelch your voice.
Why just found a cub of other young folks, each still trying to figure out their own ideas, when you could (also) be involved with some existing organization or cause, put some muscle in your efforts and learn from mature others?
Look, hs kids rarely have fully formed political, philosophical, religious, or other beliefs. The applications aren’t asking you to expound on what you (think you) believe today. But top colleges do want to see what sorts of actions you do pursue, your choices. Wanna be a doc? Go vol with health delivery, don’t just start the “I wanna be a doc” club. Wanna be an engineer, do something math-sci. It’s not just getting together with buds for an hour or two, when the afternoon bell rings, to talk. It’s not just “passion,” but the actions that ensue- and their quality.
@ucbalumnus sometimes, I think maybe your perspective is theoretical, the what ifs. One can be firmly planted in a school of thought and still entertain discussion, value that. It’s not all about pounding kids into identical forms. Not…at…all.
However, it would be a mistake for a kid to use the app as a platform for extreme (or extremely certain) views. That’s not what gets you an admit. It’s not a debate competition. Showing them you are exploring and testing beliefs and open to growth is more valuable, can do more to show you as open to dialogue. And that’s a value for top colleges- applicable to both conservatives and liberals, atheists and believers, etc.
Try to look behind the more simplistic labels and stereotypes.
The saying I’ve heard is “If one is conservative at 20, it is because s/he has no heart, and if s/he’s liberal at forty, it is because s/he has no brains”
While there are some variations, none I’ve heard used US political party labels such as Democratic or Republican.
I also don’t necessarily find it true as I’ve known plenty of former HS classmates who were HS conservatives/extreme-right libertarians(including Ayn Randists) who have in their late 20s-early 40s became much more progressive.
One example is a younger HS classmate who was an adamant young Republican/Randist in HS who maintained that affiliation through undergrad and law school.
It was his experience with what he perceived as corrupt but legal actions by large corporations/employers at his former biglaw firm which caused him to go almost the polar opposite politically and switch to working the employee-side of employment law.
A couple of serious risks to this strategy:
- You risk leaving off activities which may actually push your D's application over the admission threshold. Especially at colleges like Oberlin where applying as a conservative can help.
- Leaving out the use of the rejections on basis of political leanings as a means to filter out colleges which are undesirable for the applicant. If a college rejects you on such a basis, would you want to attend? Should you?
Including, or not including anything, is always a risk, and there is no way of knowing for sure what will help or hurt, unless you are on the admissions committee. In my experience, colleges are often disingenuous at best in what they say they want ("take risk! explore academic alternatives! try new things! but heaven help you if you don’t succeed in those risks). Same is true politically. To use your example, how many conservatives, for example, does Oberlin really want?
Not knowing what Oberlin “wants” doesn’t mean they’re disingenuous. But lots of people do think that way, when they don’t feel they have an idea. Of course, one could dig further.
It’s good to explore and stretch. But there’s competition for the admits. Yes, maybe just trying isn’t enough, if they need kids who stretch and succeed. It’s kind of a law of the jungle. Just dipping your toe in isn’t making it across the pool. You may not get on the team.
It really sort of boils down to “Think.” There are colleges where just showing up is good enough. Doing a few hs things, collecting some titles, etc. And then, those that want more- and are well able to satisfactorily build a class.
FWIW, I work in a very “liberal” college and I don’t think it would hurt her at all. I don’t work in admissions but I know the office well, and I have a hard time believing they would reject her based on that fact. She should do the activities in which she is interested. That passion is what makes her a stronger candidate.
@fredica -
I would recommend she start the club, and like others have said, be selective as to whether she mentions it in the application process. Remember that many colleges stock their admissions department with undergraduates on need-based scholarships or work-study grants as well as recent graduates that have issues finding outside employment, so the admissions departments may tend to be more liberal and/or activist than the general student population. She might face an admissions minefield if YAF is a highlight or even a footnote of her application.
Another thing to remember is that founding a group like YAF might impact the quality of her teacher recommendations. High school teachers are typically unionized and, in our experience, some are highly political and judgmental. She will be need to be careful as to who she asks for recommendations.
Oops, work study kids are not making admit decisions. Sure, they may answer the phones or do filing. And you realize even young adcoms are vetted for a fair perspective, right? This isn’t like some jobs where they’ll take anyone, are so desperate and ignorant.
Some here are really widening the divide between liberals and conservatives, making some strong assumptions, especially that liberals can’t abide by conservatives. You realize that?
You really think there are no deeply conservative kids on top campuses?
I disagree with the assumption unemployed grad = liberal. 
The student may affiliate with the GOP and not YAF. It’s broader and still conservative. Local conservative politics are a great avenue to pursue. Volunteering for conservative candidates is also great and a HS club could coordinate volunteering efforts, organize local speakers (ie., avoid national controversy and be easier to keep in check).
What matters is actions and impact.
It goes both ways. How many conservatives really want to go to Oberlin? Or how many liberals want to go to HIllsdale?
At many of the private college campuses known for their politics, my guess is that there’s a lot of self-selection going on. Oberlin (for example) likely doesn’t admit a lot of conservatives because not a lot of conservatives apply.
She is in 10th grade. Let her do what she wants and explore her interests. Let the chips fall where they may with regards to college admissions.
^ yes. And an unrecognized plus in volunteering in this way is that, for many kids, it steps them out of their hs comfort zone, that nest. They’re dealing with ideas and the group’s goals, not just their own. Many shy away from this sort of involvement. See how MYOS suggests doing something purposeful?
Yes, it is disingenuous @lookingforward , and frankly downright unethical. The unspoken caveat to taking chances Is, only if you succeed. So if you are a STEM kid with an interest in a photography class or Arabic, you better not take it if it could seriously hurt your GPA. Likewise a humanities kid needs to think long and hard about differential equations; it might be a great class and an opportunity for real intellectual growth, but your university wouldn’t accept a student with a C in it. So the message really is feel free to explore as long as you succeed equally in all ventures, or can at least hide the ones you don’t succeed in from the admissions office. And while I know from personal experience that there are certainly conservative students at the Ivies, I don’t think many of them highlighted that aspect of their life in their application.
Are you sure about that?
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2009/12/08/secret-lives-of-admissions-officers.html
There is plenty of evidence of that.
http://www.manitoumessenger.com/article/under-the-radar/
You can see for yourself.
^ actually, top schools would love stem kids who take photography/art (as long as they don’t skip core classes.)
Imagine a six-period schedule for a junior or especially a senior : the five cores are taken care of, you still have one free period and you live photography… Take it.
This is even more true if your day has seven or eight or nine periods with zero/lunch…
Your GPA won’t move (remember that top schools use your uw) and if you can talk about art or photography even better.
Obviously this doesn’t work in Texas but otherwise no reason not to take a class you’re interested in.
As for being conservative I absolutely think that doing something political - actual positive action based on political principles - would be very beneficial to an applicant 's chances.
Some posters have said she shouldn’t want to go to any school, which would reject her for her political beliefs. I strongly disagree with this. Figure out which colleges are most likely to advance her career goals. Figure out which colleges are matches. Without knowing your financial situation, figure out where she could afford to go and where she would get the best financial aid package. Determine what schools are in a location she would like to live for four years. Only after finding schools, which are a match for all of the above, would I even start to worry about whether she is too conservative for the rest of the student body.
- If this is something that your daughter is very interested in and might want to pursue actively for many years into college and beyond, then you should let her and then let the chips fall where they may. As others have said, if this is the case she wouldn’t want to attend a college that would reject her because of her political views.
I would just remind her that people who join a club like this might end up espousing pretty obnoxious stuff. High school students can have pretty poor judgement anyway and can be even more easily influenced by propaganda or extreme viewpoints than adults; if you get a bunch of high schoolers together who listen the pablum that people like Rush Limbaugh spew, then who knows what will happen.
- On the other hand, I think it will probably hurt her admission chances a small to moderate amount at many of the more selective colleges. Politically, the people who work on college campuses tend to range from left of center to extremely left of center. Now, I am sure that admissions officers would deny to their dying days that they would ever discriminate on the basis of politics. But unconscious bias can be pretty strong, and there have been studies that have documented it. For example, researchers will send out resumes that are identical except one has a generic name on it and one has a stereo-typically African American name on it. The ones with stereo-typically African American names on them do not get the same level of callbacks as the others. HR people would also deny to their dying days that they would discriminate on the basis of race, but there seems to be lots of evidence that it happens.
Nowadays, political passions can be pretty strong, and many of the more liberal people who tend to work at college campuses are completely crazed since Trump was elected. When you have such a high level of inflamed political passions I think it is likely that this will bleed through to their decisions at least unconsciously, regardless of how much they imagine they are trying to avoid it.
- I also wouldn’t be surprised if students who participate intensely in liberal political activities find that a few admissions offices aren’t as welcoming this year as they once were. There have been lots of protests at several colleges, and administrators might wish to lower the temperature on their campuses. A few have mused about not admitting so many activists in a “will no one rid me of this troublesome priest” way
If the OP’s daughter starts her club and ends up being able to speak like David Brooke and George Will (conservatives on radio/TV for decades), what colleges won’t want her? I think what I and @cobrat quoted shows that conservatisms come with experience and age, just like Brooks and Will use lots of history in their analyses. Unfortunately the meaning of “conservative” isn’t what it used to be.