ACADEMY ADMISSIONS: SMALL(ISH) HIGH SCHOOLS
It is a fact that Academies are obsessed with leadership. They love talking about it, practicing it, and seeing it on your resumes. The problem is, how do you demonstrate that you are a leader to admissions?
The answer: You need leadership positions. We heard the USNA Dean of Admissions say, “We believe you get good at leadership by doing it, so we look for applicants who have experience leading.”
We believe small(ish) schools are a “hack” because it’s difficult to get quality leadership positions at a school with 1,000 students in the class. However, if you are a member of a school with 200-300 students, it could be easier to earn Team Captain and Class President.
One huge caveat: Notice we said “ish.” Class size is taken into consideration. Taken to the extreme, this analogy breaks down: obviously, if you only have 5 people in your class, your leadership positions will be taken with a grain of salt. However, its not taken into consideration enough, and therefore, students of small-ish schools are still given a slight advantage over students in huge high schools.
