I’m currently a sophomore and am the captain of the varsity volleyball team. I’ll also be captain of the soccer team once we have awards in the spring and the cross country team next year. In addition, I do boxing and rock climbing, which are, as you probably know, individual sports. However, I know leadership positions are very important on college applications, especially for the most competitive ones like the Ivies. I do boxing outside of school and as for rock climbing we do not really do any competitions, but do you think college admissions will hold it against an applicant for not “striving to be the best” in everything? I mean, it’s still technically a boxing and rock climbing “team” but since we don’t compete or have awards, it’s not really possible for there to be a captain or MVP. However, colleges don’t know this, and it’s stressing me out.
You seem to have plenty of leadership positions already. Not every activity needs to be competitive.
Leadership positions are important. They will have more impact if you refer to them in your essays. And by that, I mean not just mention them, but talk about what you did and how it made a difference.
Do not worry about this, you have plenty. Leadership isn’t just about having the title of “captain” or “president”. One of my kids did not have any positions like that, but was able to address this when asked by talking about being a leader by example – she was the top performer in a team academic activity for her team and led them to a couple of very successful seasons (appearances at Nationals), she recruited a lot of people to join the team, and she was a kid who practiced as hard as she played in competition. She was also confident, but not cocky, in taking a leadership role in classroom discussions, which I suspect her teachers called out in her recommendations. She did very, very well in admissions (accepted everyplace she applied, including some top schools). Also, colleges don’t expect you to be tippy top in every single activity. They want some commitment and passion to your top activities, but they also like a student who goes off the beaten path and takes some risks, too. Don’t stress out about this at all, you are fine.
… you don’ t have to make them the centerpiece of your essays either. What you bring to any college can be more than those positions. I had extensive leadership. Didn’t mention it at all in any of my personal statements. Didn’t affect me at all.
I think if you are proud of your leadership accomplishments it would naturally take a center position in an essay at some point. Every college representative and I mean every one has latched on to that topic when my kids have mentioned it. Of course, if it doesn’t mean much to you, it would be a mistake to attempt to highlight it.
You can mention it… but don’t forget that there are more than 20,000 volleyball captains, 20,000 soccer captains, etc. applying for college the same year you are. If you want to stand out, honestly, emphasize something that there aren’t 20,000 of. Read Cal Newport’s “How to be a High School Superstar” for more thoughts on how to make your ECs stand out.
However, there are NOT 20,000 team captains who tripled team turnout, or who led an inexperienced squad to a state title or who resurrected a dying club and won honors, etc., etc.
You don’t have to be a team captain to do those things, though. My kid tripled turnout for her academic team, and was NOT a captain. She led her team to a high finish in their state tournament and a respectable showing at nationals, and was NOT a captain. You don’t need the title to be a leader. Of course if you have been a captain, put it on your application. I would say to be careful about using it for your essay topic for top colleges, though – captains are a dime a dozen, and they see a lot of cliche essays about how much a student learned and overcame in their sports experience. You do better at a top school going against the tide… for example, if the OP is female, I would say an essay on her experience in boxing has the potential to be a MUCH stronger essay than one on volleyball. Admissions officers like to have their interest piqued and to find genuine, unique, interesting students to admit. Stand out from the crowd if you can.
Agree with intparent. And Cal Newport is an amazing resource. Don’t think about ‘leadership’ in the conventional way. Think about the activities you love and how you can apply your creativity, insight, analytical skills and commitment…if you are a rock climber, how do you demonstrate your expertise? What’s the most challenging climb you’ve done? What made it challenging? If you are a boxer, what’s the toughest thing you had to learn? If you are an artist or a gardener or a musician, what makes you a good one? If you play a sport, you can be a leader without being a team captain, just be being the person who keeps the team’s morale high during a losing streak or making sure the newbies feel welcome or helping someone whose skills are a bit weak so they don’t quit. "Leadership’ in the conventional sense of ‘president’ of some school club is simply over-rated as a ‘get into college’ requirement.
It’s obvious that you don’t have to be a team captain to be a leader or to talk about your successes in that area.
Getting “Most Inspirational” would be additional correlation as would having a GC or a recommendation confirm it.
Just having a leadership position won’t do you any good. Just be passionate about whatever that you’re doing and you’ll be alright. Don’t fret over whether you will get a leadership or not; don’t join an activity just because you can get a leadership position in it.
I had only one leadership position and I was able to get into a highly competitive school. Quality > Quantity