College Success is for All, not just Leaders by David

College Success is for All, not just Leaders by David - March 2015 Scholarship Essay

Taking on a leadership role in college is a great way to challenge yourself. As a leader, one can discover their strengths, learn valuable skills, work with a team, and improve time management. Being a leader in college is a great way to fill up a résumé, which can give an advantage over other graduating students when applying for a job. There appears to be more reasons to have leadership skills than not, but it is not a necessity for college success. College is a level playing field that provides opportunities for all to succeed, not just leaders.

College success is determined by grades, not leadership skills. The ultimate goal for every student enrolled in college is to graduate. To receive a degree in any field, a student must earn a required number of credits and must maintain a certain grade point average. Acquiring roles as a leader does not help a student earn their degree, because it does not give them the grades they need.

Take for example a valedictorian. Being named valedictorian has come to represent the highest of honors one can achieve as a member of a graduating class. It is basically the ultimate symbol of college success. Valedictorians are not honored for their achievements as leaders, but for their academic accomplishments. Typically, the student who has the highest academic achievements in the class is named valedictorian.

The first step of college success is actually getting into college. It is hard for me to say that being a leader is necessary for college success, because I currently have a leadership role. I am president of the class of 2015 for St. Rita of Cascia High School. As class president, I can say that being a leader did not boost my ACT score or get me accepted into a college. My college acceptance was based off of the hard work and hours upon hours of studying I put into my education.

Leadership skills are more of a necessity for life success than college success. Being a leader provides so many advantages at any point in one’s life, especially during college, because college is a time to discover who you are and what you want to do in life. As a leader you are challenging yourself and are looked up to by others. If you are able to take on a leadership roles through out life, than you have taken on more responsibilities than expected and have learned some valuable skills that can only be taught outside of the classroom. Although having leadership skills in college does not guarantee a diploma, it does make a well rounded person who is more prepared for the future.