<p>I dont have any ec’s that relate to leadership, simply because I’m not a leader, I dont like being in charge of things, I like to participate and try my best. I dont like being the one telling people what to do, I’m a little shy but I believe that everyone should be able to share their ideas.
Is this gonna put me at a disadvantage when I apply to colleges? My Ec’s are simple, but that’s who I am, a simple person, who enjoys the little things in life.</p>
<p>What is ‘leadership’ anyway? Persuasion? Charisma? Just because someone is in some position of responsibility doesn’t make them a good leader. If you are some kind of natural leader but were never allowed to actually be THE leader by the powers that be, perhaps due to nepotism, entrenchment, bad timing, or for whatever reason the position never came open, then you’ll be considered insubordinate if you are not a good follower. Are dictators and tyrants ‘good’ leaders? I think ‘leadership’ is the most over rated, ill defined trait that society and college admissions pretend to look for.</p>
<p>I pretty much agree with mrego. I think that leadership, at least as far as colleges are concerned, means that you are taking initiative, and are not simply joining clubs and sitting silently at meetings. I think an essay about your simplicity could be really interesting…</p>
<p>Not having leadership positions will hurt you if you go for the Ivies or other top tier schools. Looking for such positions is one of the quickest ways the admissions office will cut through the applicants, after GPA and ACT/SAT scores. At other schools, it won’t matter nearly as much.</p>
<p>i agree with Mrego in that leadership isn’t important just be virtue of the term. What it means to the admissions officers is that you have that “charism” that they’d want at their campus. If you can convey that you have charisma to them on paper (you essay; this is very important) i think you’d still have a very good shot. I’d be wary though of writing an essay about simplicity and that being the reason why you aren’t a leader. You don’t really wanna say anything that could potentially expose those flaws. you may want to write on something else. </p>
<p>Ps.I got into Stanford without any real leadership and my test scores were ehh… Don’t sweat it, you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>I was going to ask the same question, but then I found this thread.
This is more of a philosophical matter, rather than just a college matter, for me. Some people just do not aspire to be a leader. We may have good ideas and suggestions, we may offer enthusiastic participation and support, but we may not necessarily have the qualities of a leader. Maybe it’s ambition - we’re content with being actively involved. Maybe it’s charisma/assertiveness - we’re lacking what it takes to persuade people to cooperate or what it takes to reconcile problems.
Does that mean we’re not meant to be a leader?
And if that’s the case, should we even look at top schools? The way I perceive it, the top schools are catalysts for leaders. They look for and attract future noble prize winners, scientists who’ll cure cancer or AIDs or the common cold, senators or even presidents. Well. What about the rest of us? If we’re not aiming to necessarily change the country and/or world - does that mean a top school isn’t the right “fit” for us?
I recently came upon a new term - “courageous follower”. I’m still looking into it, but it seems to fit the bill. If the “courageous followers” do not belong at a top school, but are neither content with an nonintellectual learning environment - what does that leave?</p>
<p>I’m sorry I couldn’t really offer an answer. I’ve actually been thinking about “leadership” for a while, but I haven’t discovered a satisfactory answer. I just thought I’d add my two cents, even though both cents were questions.</p>
<p>The overwhelming majority of colleges make admissions decisions primarily using one’s stats and (for publics) state of residence. It’s only the very top universities like Ivies and Amherst that get so many high stat applicants that the universities can use ECs and leadership as admission factors.</p>
<p>For those colleges that do use leadership, the position isn’t as important as is what you accomplished. For instance, being president of an organization that did nothing doesn’t count for much. A student who lacked an office, but ran a fundraiser or organized a successful project for a club would have demonstrated more leadership than did a person with a title who did nothing.</p>
<p>ur a communist</p>
<p>Only if you’re applying to top colleges. It’s not too late to found a club that you are passionate about, though.</p>
<p>I personally think this whole leadership thing is dumb. Half of the people in leadership positions in clubs don’t do anything, anyway.</p>
<p>nvm 10 char</p>
<p>do your thing</p>
<p>totally agree w/ saugus. Heck, even I founded 2 clubs in High school and didnt do anything with them except write them down on my common app and remind myself how good these leadership ECs will look to admissions officers.</p>