Is it the kiss of death if adcoms correctly perceive lack of leadership ability?

Applying to College
1

<p>My son has Asperger’s Syndrome…he’s smart, highly creative, sweet, quirky, but easily overlooked. He’s not the type who will EVER be elected to be an officer in any organization…not even in his church youth choir. He has yet to be elected leader of his Boy Scout Troop; he’s only a project away from Eagle, yet boys 3 years younger are being elected ahead of him. Basically, his peers don’t perceive leadership potential in him and they are correct. If “leadership” is important to adcoms, he’s not their guy. </p>

<p>Is this the kiss of death with adcoms? I’m not going to make him join every club in the school in hopes of him being elected parlamentarian of something. He is what he is.</p>

2

<p>I can’t imagine it would be. Can you imagine a school full of thousands (or tens of thousands) of people, all of whom were leaders? It would be a total disaster.</p>

3

<p>I have a son in a similar situation, Believe me, not only is he unlikely to be elected captain of anything, it is the last thing he would want. However, I do think AS kids can develop leadership capabilities; it just takes them longer, and high school is too early in their development to expect it.</p>

<p>He may do well in some offbeat roles; mine loves refereeing soccer and has worked hard at advancing in the ranks. The real challenge for him is not memorizing the rules, but learning to deal with the situations that arise. Have your son do what he loves, and keep a lookout for opportunities for him to advance slowly in structured social settings. When the time comes, he should look at schools that are numbers-driven, or very science/tech oriented, where the admissions committee is used to kids who are not outgoing. He might also do well in a smallish LAC, where the students are like a family.</p>

4

<p>Thanks! I’m pretty amazed that your son is a soccer ref…my son is WAY too ADD for anything like that. (Sounds like an SNL sketch…The Extemely ADD Referee.)</p>

5

<p>He could mention it in his essay or something. People with AS could often shine through other ways.</p>

6

<p>Most colleges don’t consider ECs when it comes to admission, though they may consider ECs when it comes to merit aid. This particularly is true of state universities, which tend to do admissions based on stats and state of residence.</p>

<p>It’s only the very top colleges – places like HPYS – for which ECs count a great deal in admission. That’s because they have such an overabundance of high stat applicants that the colleges can afford to admit based on creating a well rounded, active class.</p>

<p>The majority of students in this country who apply to college are accepted to their first choice college whether or not they are leaders.</p>

7

<p>Given the fact that he has Asperger’s Syndrome, I don’t think any adcom could hold a lack of leadership against him. I would advise that he discuss the condition in his essays. :)</p>