Many students and families have bought into the idea that only “leaders” get into elite colleges and universities. But leadership is an elusive term that means many different things to many different people. Having ambition and ingenuity will never go out of style in the elite college admissions game, but leadership roles are not always as beneficial as many people would have one believe. So, what sets apart the leaders who get into elite schools and those who do not, and what are viable alternatives to traditional leadership roles that are just as effective?

Leadership on College Applications Must Serve a Singular Hook

We might sound like a broken record on this, but we at Ivy Coach are nothing if not honest. Students with a singular hook oriented around a unique passion or pursuit are the ones getting into the top schools these days. Colloquial knowledge would have one believe that well-rounded students fare the best, but this is simply not the case. The same goes for students in leadership positions. Are you a budding politician with a knack for political science? Then a leadership position in student government is a great activity to list on your application! 

The same cannot be said, however, for the math whiz who wants to contribute to the field of calculus, or the writer with dreams of becoming a best-selling author. In these cases, being student body president will only serve to make you appear well-rounded to admissions officers, thus decreasing the odds of admission. But this does not mean that leadership roles — broadly construed — should be avoided altogether.

Show Leadership Within Your Unique Discipline to Wow Elite Colleges

“Leadership” does not, and should not, always take the form of traditional roles of power and prestige, i.e. membership on the class council, student representative to a community organization, etc. It’s all about excelling at your thing, whatever that may be. Are you a future philosopher who worked with a team to develop a unique philosophical theory? Did you take a stand in your community against an unfair corporate practice? Was your art cited as an inspiration to your peers? All of these are examples of leadership that fall outside of the traditional boundaries of the “leader-applicant,” and yet all of these students would be regarded as highly competitive applicants by elite college admission officers.

Taking initiative, blazing your own path, and unabashedly sticking to that one particular thing that makes you tick are all forms of leadership, whether they come with the label of “president” or “founder” or not.

Admissions Officers Can See Through the False-Framing of Student “Leaders”

Admissions officers are, quite literally, professional application readers. Every school must sift through thousands of applications each cycle. So believe us when we say that admissions officers can tell when an application is not coming from a place of honesty. The future economics major certainly did not demonstrate leadership by playing 3rd violin in the orchestra, so why include this detail on an application? It will only make the student seem disingenuous and well-rounded (the bane of a competitive college application!). 

What’s worse, phony displays of leadership that actually require no special commitment or responsibility make a student seem less likable. And for better or for worse, elite college admissions is a game of likability as much as it is a game of numbers. Don’t roll the dice on your future with an application that makes certain activities out to be more significant to your personal development than they actually were, especially if they do not contribute to your singular hook. You’ll thank us later!

How Ivy Coach Brings Out True Leadership in Our Students

Ivy Coach knows how to highlight the leadership qualities of our student experts and specialists. After all, we pioneered the singular hook strategy in the first place!

If you’re interested in optimizing your child’s case for admission to elite colleges, fill out our complimentary consultation form, and we’ll be in touch.