What leadership activities do NYU applicants typically include on their application?

NYU applicants typically include leadership experiences that show initiative, responsibility, and impact, not just a title. Strong examples are things like founding or co-leading a club, captaining a team, organizing events, mentoring younger students, running a community project, or taking on real responsibility at a job or volunteer site.

For NYU specifically, it helps if the activity shows some connection to independence, creativity, or engagement with a broader community, since the university values students who make things happen and contribute in visible ways. If you helped build a new initiative at school, led fundraising or outreach, managed a shift team at your part-time job, or trained new volunteers, those are all solid leadership experiences to highlight. Even smaller roles can matter if you can show what you changed, improved, or influenced.

When listing these activities, focus less on the label and more on your impact. For example, “organizing weekly tutoring for 15 freshmen” is stronger than simply “member of tutoring club,” because it shows action and results.