High School Drum Major

[36falcon36]

Hello everyone, I had a very general question... is being the drum major of your high school marching band looked highly upon as leadership experience? Will this improve my application if I were to audition for my senior year? I am currently a junior in high school and am heavily involved in band at my school, and thought that pursuing a leadership role in that will be a good experience for me. I just wanted to know if the academy recognizes this as leadership and if it would improve my application. Thanks for any advice or help!

 

[FMHS-79]

IMHO, the deciding factor should not if it would improve your application, but if this a role that you are passionate about and one that will provide you a meaningful opportunity to hone your leadership skills... Good interviewers will typically identify those items that are merely résumé padding which may, in turn, serve to undermine your credibility.

 

[goforspaatz]

Great advice above from FMHS, but yes - drum major is a leadership position and will help your application. Marching band counts both as an extracurricular and an athletic activity, so leadership in that is great for your application. Obviously, it shouldn't be the only thing, but it can definitely help. There will be spots in your application for listing the leadership positions USAFA recognizes, and there will also be space to list non-traditional opportunities. You'll get the chance to talk about it.

 

[time2]

Various things can count for leadership on your application. However, none of the SA's count band as a sport/athletic activity.

 

[AFFwdTX]

Various things can count for leadership on your application. However, none of the SA's count band as a sport/athletic activity.

DS, now at UPT, was a drum major and that is the only position in band that could remotely be considered an athletic activity. I was never in band but flapping your arms around for between 80-120 beats per minute for 14 minutes per show and hours upon hours during the week for practice does get you into shape. As a result he says he did well in his combative s class. As for leadership he gained a lot of great experience while directing his peers, solving problems within small groups and setting an example for other section leaders to follow. You should try out for it but it’s a lot of work. I echo FMHS-79’S response.

 

[jennvberg]

I am a Senior in high school, I am drum major at my school, and with all of my interviews for the academies, when I told them I am drum major, they seemed very excited about it. It is a huge leadership opportunity. I also attended USAFA SS and am a candidate for USAFA and USNA. If you are very passionate about music (which I am as well!), then I highly suggest trying out for Drum Major! Good luck to you!

 

[RedDragon]

Go for it. DS was a drum major but also played 3 sports and was a captain for 2 of them. His leadership positions definitely helped him as his ACT was good but not stellar like many. His nomination interviewers honed in on the drum major position. He ended up with appointments to three academies.

 

[fencersmother]

. I was never in band but flapping your arms around for between 80-120 beats per minute for 14 minutes per show and hours upon hours during the week for practice does get you into shape. QUOTE]

Your definition of "in shape" might be different from mine. My son, whose name is on the field house wall since he got a perfect score on the physical fitness tests at USAFA, has said that the activity which put him into "good shape" was his flirtation with the boxing team. An accomplished athlete, he will still tell you that despite marathons, Iron Man, Tough Mudders, fencing, boxing was what put him into the best "shape" of his life.

As a mom, I say "round is a shape."

 

[fencersmother]

*** Please change your screen name. Do not use your name as your screen name. ***

It is a public forum - thousands of lurkers.

 

[msg5841]

I am a Senior in high school, I am drum major at my school, and with all of my interviews for the academies, when I told them I am drum major, they seemed very excited about it. It is a huge leadership opportunity. I also attended USAFA SS and am a candidate for USAFA and USNA. If you are very passionate about music (which I am as well!), then I highly suggest trying out for Drum Major! Good luck to you!

Do you feel this had a huge impact on getting selected to the academy?

 

[fencersmother]

when I told them I am drum major, they seemed very excited about it.

Hm. Fencersmother has some doubts about this. Yes, Drum Major is a leadership position, often requiring hours of EC work. It is NOT an athletic position so make sure you've got your sport nailed down.

 

[McGNJ]

when I told them I am drum major, they seemed very excited about it.

Hm. Fencersmother has some doubts about this. Yes, Drum Major is a leadership position, often requiring hours of EC work. It is NOT an athletic position so make sure you've got your sport nailed down.

Agree that it is a stretch to consider Marching Band a sport. Nevertheless it is an impressive leadership position, particularly if overseeing a large number of students. My DS was Drum Major this fall, supervising a dozen section leaders and over 100 participants, and he found many of the interviewers on the congressional panel to be quite impressed with this. One even said "It seems like you are downplaying the significance of your role as Drum Major." He was involved in other leadership positions and athletics as well, so not drawing any conclusion about the value of Drum Major position by itself. Just thought I would share the fact that it garnered a fair amount of attention during interviews.
Note - DS is an appointee to USAFA class of 2022.

 

[fencersmother]

I seem to recall several threads years ago about drum majors in particular and band as an EC in general. For those musically inclined, a search will probably garner you plenty of information and tons of opinions on the value of band and especially, as drum major-hood, as an EC.

One of my sons had a roommate doolie year who played trumpet and he spent hours and hours and hours getting ready for games, etc., at USAFA. I think he quit playing in the bugle corps after 4* year - it took up that much time.

McGNU, congrats to your son on his appointment! Sign up for web guy as soon as it's available! You won't regret it! (My two sons were in the class of 2012, now both ADAF, pilots, married with children. Egads! That didn't take long!)