All depends on what DS wants out of the deal. If it’s merely to look good on paper, with the aim of racking up points on the admissions algorithm, then President usually looks better than Vice President. If it’s to make a true leadership impact in which he leaves a legacy by making the community a better place than when he took office, then perhaps either one could do. If I were advising my kid, I’d ask which role allows them to actually get something meaningful done.
This is absolutely great advice above from
@MidCakePa!
Also, IMO there is a big difference in the two roles in both what is expected from the office holder as well as potential scope of influence. I would recommend he get as much info as possible from the SGA teacher advisors at his school and current SGA office holders.
My DD faced a very similar decision. She was elected class president during her 9th, 10th and 11th grade years while also becoming a very active member of her schools student government (ASB- Associated Student Body) during this same time. At her school each group of class officers also work as a committee under the overall ASB umbrella. She said she was able to perform well in both roles during these 3 years as the individual class president position duties responsibilities did not consume crazy amounts of time and in many cases there was some overlap with ASB.
However, as she became more involved and advanced in ASB leadership positions she realized that ASB alone required HUGE amounts of time and effort. While she enjoyed focusing on improving the school experience for her fellow classmates of 2021 as their class president, she came to embrace the fact that for her senior year she could make more of an impact for her entire school as ASB President concentrating on that role alone. She could have chosen to run again as class president and also as ASB president and wear both hats as there is no rule against it at her school, but she says it gives an opportunity for another student to take on that leadership role and laughingly she says it also now gives her someone else to delegate to. (I mentioned to her another potential upside is that in my day the senior year class president also was customarily responsible for organizing class reunions in perpetuity. So she's hopefully off the hook there!)
I would guess that your DS's school SGA may be similarly structured and as
@MidCakePa says it depends what he wants out of it. Also, as
@ProudDad17 alludes to with his question, being SGA VP may give him the experience and knowledge to step into the president position the following year. It seems to me based on what my DD has told me that this is likely the case as a person that has held other student government leadership roles is aware of how much of a commitment it actually is and will be better positioned (and willing to put in the hard work) to succeed as president.
I cannot express how much of a positive experience the opportunity to affect change and make things better for her fellow students as a student government leader has been for my DD's growth as a person. Her involvement has given her several chances to see that a single person really can make a difference by putting their mind, will and effort (and frequently a stubborn refusal to take a "that's not possible" for an answer) towards solving a problem.
Best wishes to your DS in his journey.
