Tough choice

Pre-College Issues High School Life
#1

<p>Hey guys...i have a question relating to extracurricular positions. How differently do highly selective colleges view the position of President (or captain) as opposed to co-President (or co-captain)? Also...if i am technically co-captain, what would happen if i just wrote captain on my app.</p>

<p>The reason that i am asking is that i belong to a club that has only a few members. We all contribute a lot of time to the club and we are basically equals...so the advisor does not name an official President. Instead, each of us are free to write whatever we want on our apps. I talked to the other members and they are all going to write co-President...but they are not applying to the top schools. I am...and im thinking about what i should do to improve my chances and what the consequences would be.</p>

#2

<p>I think you'd be far better off telling the truth. What's important is not what your title is, but what you are accomplishing with and for the club. Describe that. If it's a small club with a big impact, and if you're a major force behind that impact, that could be an impressive EC.</p>

<p>If it's a small club which does next to nothing, your title will not matter. The most selective colleges are very interested in students actions, not just titles.</p>

<p>I also think it would be a big mistake to try to fudge some title. Adcoms from top colleges have been known to call GCs and to spend 45 min. to an hour discussing individual students. If you have put a sham organization or sham title on your applciation, more than likely it would come out then.</p>

<p>Another place where you might be revealed is during the interview. As an alumni interviewer for an Ivy, I usually do ask students what exactly they do in their clubs. If they are an officer, I ask lots of specifics, including how big the club is, how they got selected as an officer, and what they have accomplished. When things don't add up, when I write my report, I use quotes and details from the interview to allow the adcoms to draw an appropriate conclusion about the student's integrity.</p>

#3

<p>i'm in the same situation, i founded a club with someone and we both became the presidents, i am currently a soph and he is a junior, since we wont be applying during the same year (to an elite school) can he put down founder and pres for his junior and senior years and then i put down founder and the pres for soph-senior year? or do we have to say co-founder and co-capitans. </p>

<p>note that this is not a small club as we are gathering about 20+ members</p>

#4

<p>bump that...yeah</p>

#5

<p>For college admissions telling the truth is always top priority. If youre cauget lying, even after they have accepted you (before you actually attend), they can still withdraw theif offer. Ive seen it happen with people lying about community service. Anyways, I would ask the people in the club if they would like to start getting organized and maybe electing a president. </p>

<p>Just my two cents
Darren</p>

#6

<p>"Ive seen it happen with people lying about community service. Anyways, I would ask the people in the club if they would like to start getting organized and maybe electing a president"</p>

<p>What constitutes "lying on community service"? Is merely rounding up your hours to the nearest whole number "lying"? Or is it more like making up complete BS?</p>

#7

<p>Lying (i.e. putting captain instead of co-captain) will hardly have any effect, but if you get caught, it would be very bad. So don't do it. Trust me, an adcom will not think of you any less just because of the letters "co."</p>

#8

<p>If you're a co-founder or co-pres, say so. I don't think they'd look down on it, but might even be impressed that you're able to share such an important leadership position and be effective. Shows you can be a good team player too.</p>

#9

<p>How would they know how much community service I had? What if there is no documentation or logging (except some crude estimates)?</p>

<p>do those hours appear on your transcripts?</p>

#10

<p>Vancat- I meant completely making something up to make them look better. But it may also be that you put down an unreasonable amount hours (upwards of 300)</p>

<p>13351- At my school, you have to document each and every hour you had and get a signature for them in order to graduate (we need 75 to graduate from HS).</p>

#11

<p>put co-captain, many positions have it. think about sports, i play(ed) lacrosse, and we had 3 co-captains, 1 for midfield, 1 for defense and 1 for offense so i don't think they would look down on it at all</p>