Clubs and Student LeadershipAnswered
Hey! I'm a rising junior, which means that next year I'll have the opportunity to run for leadership positions in clubs and student council on a greater level than I did this year, where I could only run for a few positions. However, I'm worried that because I don't have the popularity vote that I'll lose elections.
I just finished running for Secretary of Literary Journal, and I did a whole speech with plans on what I want to improve the club and a detailed summary of how I will do it. I lost the election to a girl that talked for two minutes without a prepared speech and spent the entire time laughing with her friends who were screaming and cheering with her, who probably all voted for her.
I'm pretty introverted and I don't have many friends, and I know that these elections are just popularity contests, but I know I need to hold leadership in clubs to get into the colleges that I want to go to. Any tips on how to improve my chances of getting elected?
Earn karma by helping others:
3 answers
Yeah, this has been frustrating for me too. I have run for class officer positions for the last two years, and both times lost to a cheerleader who's dating a football player. But, that's ok! I looked in other places, and have started my own film club and I'm currently working with a panel of teachers to restart a national honor society. This go around, I'm running for president because why not! My philosophy is if you keep running you'll eventually win, but I know that's annoying to hear. For now, just do what you're passionate in, you could do something out of school too. I do my county's youth committee and we work with county execs and all that, and the kids I work with are so much more dedicated than the ones running at me school, so it's working out ok for me, and it will for you too! Good luck :)
Hi!
I understand your frustration!!! I feel like getting leadership positions is almost always a popularity contest, which sucks. But don't worry, leadership positions are not that big of a deal at all. Colleges don't care about titles, they care about what you've done. Just focus on maximizing what you do and do it well. At that point, the title does not matter at all!
After falling victim to the popularity contests, I personally chose to do ecs that did not deal with popularity, like starting my own initiatives online with people all over the world through social media (no longer in the toxic school zone). I also focused on merit-based activities like the chemistry olympiad, where popularity did not matter. all that mattered was the hard work i put in. i feel like i should mention this because it really helped me: i got ideas for most of my ecs through a free mentoring program called learners empowered, so let me know if you are interested! they really did help me get my ec profile in line, taking my individual interests into account.
Best of luck, I hope i could help!!
Leadership in clubs isn't always the most important thing that colleges are looking for, and if you are more introverted, you can always try for leadership positions at nonprofits that operate virtually. School club elections are essentially always popularity contests, and I honestly would say that the best advice I could give you is pursue something outside of school as well if you are looking for leadership, and that you could also try passion projects that combine a few interests or your application "theme". I hope this helps!
Your chance of acceptance
Your chancing factors
Community Guidelines
To keep this community safe and supportive:
- Be kind and respectful!
- Keep posts relevant to college admissions and high school.
- Don’t ask “chance-me” questions. Use CollegeVine’s chancing instead!
Thanks !!!!