<p>I know some people who have over one thousand hours of community service, does this significantly increase their chances? Or does anyone really care?</p>
<p>lol for a second there i thought cs meant counter strike</p>
<p>Only if they show some passion for what they are doing, have demonstrated some leadership, have given evidence of growth as a result, etc...It's the same with any EC. It's not what you do or how much, but what you bring to it and learn from it.</p>
<p>Lol, but does it?</p>
<p>M's Mom, how do you ''grow'' from it? I don't get it, working at the hospital, you don't grow? Working at the library, you don't grow.. I don't understand.</p>
<p>You need to show passion. That doesn't mean showing up for every possible CS event which you can get your hands on, but it means dedication. For example, volunteering at the same soup kitchen for 20 hours a week, every week would be impressive. Just doing 1000 hours of Community Service, without it being focused in any way doesn't count any more than your standard EC.</p>
<p>You grow from your community service experience (or other ECs) by: </p>
<p>1) showing creativity and initiative in your role (presenting ideas to your boss, taking leadership roles, supervising and training newer volunteers, recruiting volunteers and donors, etc...)</p>
<p>2) meeting people that you would never otherwise come into contact with in your own neighborhood and developing an understanding of their values, struggles, and problems-and hopefully seeing some extraordinary people making a difference with very limited resources.</p>
<p>3) developing new skills, like how to run a meeting, organize and publicize an event, speak in public, etc...</p>
<p>4) you show commitment (as mentioned above-1 or 2 activities for several hundred hours each, not 100 activities for 2 hours each)</p>
<p>5) you get experience working as part of a team, with all the trade offs and compromises that entails, including when to stand up for yourself, and when to 'go with the program.'</p>
<p>6) you encounter ethical issues in any number of guises.</p>
<p>As I said above, any extra curricular activity can provide this, but community service is 'real world,' so the lessons are apt to be more real too.</p>