Tigerway: HOW to demonstrate Leadership on your College Applications
Public Strategy by Coach Larry and Program Officer Jasmine Ngo
📍From Boston, MA
Dear Tigerway Team Members, Parents, and Prospective Families,
One of the most important characteristics to develop when it comes to college admission is showcasing a person’s ability to lead.
Now, most folks believe that leadership is only about “leading others” or managing others in an organizational capacity.
That is not true.
In fact, even though I view myself as a leader among people, I classify the type of leadership that I employ to be “thought leadership.”
It’s true that I manage a group of amazing and talented Coaching staff as their Manager. However, to classify leadership only from a managerial standpoint is a limited perspective - in my opinion.
I wish to show you what it means to demonstrate thought leadership.
Zooming out, I believe that high school is the last opportunity for most young people to have a “liberal arts” education. Most people decide to specialize in certain areas (called majors) once they begin college. Their specialization and scope become even deeper once they finish school.
What this means is that most people once they are older ironically have more life experience but are potentially in a situation where they are not as exposed to broad learning opportunities.
I want to use this email to remind parents and Team Members about the importance of having a broad set of knowledge.
This is the only way you can demonstrate thought-leadership, which is one of the most powerful forms of influencing others (in a good way).
Let me provide you an example.
Many high school students will prioritize Mathematics, Science, and English classes over their History and Foreign Language classes. In fact, college admissions officers might even do the same (much to our dismay). STEM classes are typically more heavily weighted in admissions, but that misses the entire point.
This learning dynamic forces teens to sometimes question the value of humanities-oriented classes like History. But as I will show you in a moment, the value of History classes has a long-tail benefit that only the most sophisticated people can leverage later in life.
And I wish that to be you.
Last week, in a public letter to more than 6500+ people who follow my emails related to the Economy, Markets, and Investment Strategy, I wrote an email very focused on History.
Specifically, the Paraguayan War (the War of the Triple Alliances) and how that is a powerful metaphor for a person’s life-long journey. Here is the email if you wish to read it.
Without getting into too much detail, the Paraguayan War was one of the most deadly wars in Latin American history, YET most U.S. students do not even know about this event.
For this reason, having a knowledgeable understanding and perspective on this pivotal Historical war will bring you tremendous respect from readers who are from a Latino background.
This is the value of History.
Being able to connect with other great folks from different cultures in a deeper and more authentic way than traditional advertising can ever achieve.
Being knowledgeable in History (or any major subject, for that matter) puts you in a position to become a thought-leader.
And with the position of a thought-leader, you are able to take your reputation and brand to the next level.
This is among one of the ONLY ways to stand out in a business environment. To be respected for your knowledge and insights.
And this is also one of the ONLY ways to stand out when it comes to college admissions.
Every applicant is smart. You shouldn’t compete on intelligence.
You should compete based on thought leadership.
Book a brainstorming session with our team today to talk about how our SAT and College Consulting program can help you achieve this.
On top of this, if you are a Tigerway Alumni, and wish to join our Staff Team, please send Larry and Jasmine an email (larry@tigerwayprep.com and jasvngo@gmail.com) as we are hiring more former Tigerway students to join our Program for exciting roles.
Here are some examples of Team Members that have gained leadership experience with Tigerway’s long-term guidance:
Ray Kalleley: Rae Kallely came into Tigerway hoping to find new academic and life application skills. Rae started Tigerway with a 1300 SAT score. By the end of the program, Rae scored a 1500+ and learned life-long skills that change his life forever. Rae learned how to become a stronger leader and a better public speaker through our training in Tigerway. These skills set him up for success in landing an Officer position at his high school club, DECA-an extremely selective team where only 8 out of 300 applicants get chosen.
He now attends UCLA.
Tina Lei: Tina came into Tigerway hoping to increase her SAT Score. Out of her experience, she not only increased her score but also learned life-long skills that helped her with college applications and future internships. She learned the skills of verbal influence, critical thinking, and planning. At the end of the program, she got into Boston University and the skills that Tigerway helped her with brought her to secure an amazing investment internship at Sun Life Investments.
Tigerway Alumni