How Important Are Leadership Positions?

apumic
Sat, 03 Apr 2010 18:37:28 +0000

whoa… don’t put so much stock in calling a given set of leadership positions “low” “middle” or “high” tier. It’s totally relative. Nothing is black or white here. If something is what I called “middle” tier, it can still be quite valuable. (It’s what you got out of it that counts.) It’s just not that unique or interesting inherently. If you started a medical NGO that serves the underserved Native American community in a local rural area (off reservation for instance) and ended up recruiting physicians, nurses, PAs, EMTs, etc. to assist in this effort and successfully made a difference in that community’s healthcare needs, you could probably just about ride that experience into medical school (assuming you weren’t deficient in other areas and assuming you got a lot out of it – which is precisely why such an experience would be so desirable as there is plenty one could take from that experience). It would make you unique and quite interesting, potentially making you a highly-desirable candidate at many schools. OTOH, most applicants haven’t done those things, so obviously people get in w/o that kind of experience.