High school leadership programs: advantage or high-priced gimmick?

April 20, 8:24 AMCollege Admissions ExaminerLauren Starkey

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As the parent of a high school student, my mailbox is flooded not just with college brochures, but with dozens of glitzy offers for leadership training. Some of these mailings look like invitations to a presidential inauguration—best quality paper, plenty of gold embossing, calligraphy-esque font. But look closer, as Diana Jean Scherno does in the New York Times today, and you’ll discover little more than a sales pitch.

There are two interesting myths at play with these programs. The first is that colleges are looking for leaders. I’ve written about this before in The Myth of the Well-Rounded Student. Of course schools are looking for leaders, but they’re also looking for many other types of students. Even Valedictorians aren’t all leaders. Think of it this way: if school X accepts an entire freshman class of leaders, who will follow?

The second myth is that attendance at one of these pricy programs will enhance your chances for acceptance at a selective college. There are two things at work with this fallacy— money and lack of selectivity.  Leadership programs such as the ones singled out by Scherno (the Congressional Youth Leadership Council, National Student Leadership Conference, and the National Young Leaders Conference) cost thousands of dollars to attend, and while they might rely on teacher recommendations, the teachers interviewed for the Times all said they’d recommend anyone who was interested.  There is no GPA requirement or any other bar for acceptance.

To the parents of B students with average scores: college admissions officers know all about these programs. They know they’re prohibitively expensive for most families, and they’re not selective. In other words, they could infer that you’re willing to spend money to make one type of student look like another. And it will probably backfire.

I’ll end with two observations. The first is that all leadership programs are not created equal. There are legitimate programs, such as Hugh O’Brien Youth Leadership, that are highly selective and charge only a nominal fee. The second is that not being a leader isn’t such a bad thing. Concentrate on what your student is good at, and help provide opportunities to encourage and support those interests.  You’ll save a few thousand dollars in the bargain, and perhaps hit on something that makes admissions officers sit up and take notice.