OP wrote: “Have rising Senior, top in class, top ACT scores, looking at top research/science colleges. Been touring schools last few months and as a parent I am a bit concerned over how much these schools are stressing doing community work and volunteer work.”
Sure sounds like he’s a high schooler looking at colleges.
My high school community service helped me get the doctoral fellowship I have this summer- which I absolutely love and am hoping gets turned into a full time position once I graduate.
I can’t actually think of any colleges off the top of my head that requires community service. But colleges want want people who are going to be good citizens, give back to the community/school, etc. I’m glad that schools are putting emphasis on community service. It shows that they want students who give a damn about something other than themselves.
thumper I interpreted it that way but it seems others are not, and on rereading it is still unclear.
Yes, this is about a kid applying to schools, and from a family that feels the expense of college.
However, it is unclear whether this is about colleges’ expectation of volunteering for admissions purposes, or whether it is about colleges expecting volunteer service during attendance (versus working, I assume) while they pay high tuition.
Responses are geared to different interpretations so perhaps the OP could clarify.
Very few colleges require volunteering during time on campus (I’m sure there are a few). I’m pretty sure this is about thinking a kid needs a lot of volunteer hours to get in from comments in info sessions at college visits.
DD’s HS requires 20 hours to graduate (I think it has to be in junior or senior year, but it might all have to be in senior year). There are also service hour requirements from HS freshman all the way through CC associates if you want to participate in the local CC’s Promise Program (tuition). That’s all in addition to NHS and whatever other clubs have requirements.
Harvard came out with a report relating to service not long ago. The basic gist was that they are considering ways to promote kindness, character and service because the current system favors “personal achievement over good citizenship”. And how! My take-away - pure guessing and speculation here - is that they will start favoring service (as evidence of kindness and character) in their applications more heavily (at least for those applicants who don’t have to work to help support their family), or making service hours a requirement of their own graduates, etc. Other selective schools have already started following along.
For a student targetting top 20 schools, Community Service is usually on of the last things they should work on.
Unless a student has done something extraordinary via their service, I think admissions doesn’t value it much, regardless of what the tour guides say.
Not true that it needs to be extraordinary.
I wouldn’t think a tour guide would know.
Btw, even kids who work can do service. Many do.
If it is high school community service we are talking about, it’s pretty easy to get hours. My kids needed 100 hours to qualify for Bright Futures, and also needed some lower number for NHS. They often got 5 hours or 10 hours for doing something for a teacher (handing out flyers, cleaning up after a presentation) when it only took them 30 minute or an hour. The teachers would give them forms and they just had to turn them in to an office.
The community service thing is difficult for some kids. Our district is 75% low income. It is the wealthy kids who have the means to be able to volunteer. Transportation is a big issue here. The school provides projects for students to do, but you will only see the privileged kids doing the big, splashy impact ones. Poorer kids without cars can’t compete.
Don’t forget many kids do things via their religious orgs or other available programs. Kids in cities use public transportation. I’m not saying it’s easy for all. But many lower SES kids are involved.
The OP isn’t complaining about high school community service — he/she explicitly says that there’s no problem with the student “continu[ing] the community service in HS” or doing it after “he’s graduated and he has a SALARY.” What the OP appears to object to is the (real or imagined) idea that the student would be required to do community service while at an expensive college, since the parent is “writing a check” for the kid to be there.
I’m very curious which schools the OP believes require community service of enrolled students, as well as why the cost of tuition should be a factor in whether or not students participate. The implication is that maybe it’s OK for a Pell grant kid at a cheap in-state school to be expected to do community service, but a student at an expensive private college should be exempt because the parent is paying so much more? I’m not following the logic on that one.
My kids had no transportation from their suburban high school. No public transportation at all except the school bus to take them home. However, they did community service at the high school or at the neighborhood middle school or elementary. One did reading to after school care kids, the other did a lot of Best Buddies stuff. They also had friends who went to the same activities that drove them.
OP, can you please come back and clarify what your exact issue is?
The end of the initial post indicates the concern with paying for volunteer opportunities during the first two years of college.
Most schools don’t require a specific amount of community service. If he does community service and it is a big part of his life, great. But if he doesn’t and invests his time in his passions and the community in other ways too, that’s great. You’re not paying him to go to college to do community service. At most colleges what he does after he is admitted is completely up to him. But community service is a great way to learn about the world, the issues affecting our fellow humans, and even develop skills/passions that will serve him well in the long run. But several candidates always get in without these traits as long as they have developed themselves in other ways and is not required at most colleges.
Community egagement or even on-campus involvement are values many colleges do hold. When you look at the kids they tout, it’s often not just about Bobby, who’s majoring in X. They include more.
Mine were part of a formal, national program, that’s adding more campuses every year. You don’t have to be involved (in fact, you have to be vetted.) You aren’t “paying” for volunteer work any more than you’re wasting your $$$ while the kid takes a position in some club or decides to write for the school newspaper, when it’s not related to his major. It’s not costing you if he likes to jog around campus or go to a game or a social event.
But if a college does value more than just your schoolwork and pre-professional activities, and it bothers you, why apply? There may not be a full match, if they’re looking for activation and all you want is career prep.
I agree with RandyErika, the OP seems to be referring to service during college, but many of the responses are about volunteering during high school. This is why I posted asking for clarification. If the OP doesn’t provide it there doesn’t seem to be much point in further responses.
I believe that the OP is referring to college. I also think that most colleges place a high value on volunteering/activities that are not related to studying… although to the best of my knowledge none (?) require it. I doubt colleges want a campus filled with students who only study, eat, sleep, and possibly party. They want a campus filled not only with students who study, but with students who are actively engaged in research, athletics, various clubs, giving tours, volunteering their time in the community, peer tutoring, etc. These activities… in their own unique way… serve the campus and local community. I see it at my own daughter’s school… one where the town and campus are fully merged. This is what adds to the campus culture, and these experiences/qualities are what students bring out into the world upon graduation. Also remember… students today need to build a resume, whether they are continuing their education or going to work.
My D’s school had the students doing community service at orientation, and I know it’s something that they value in their students and alumni… who often remain involved throughout the country.
I will be paying for the fall semester very soon. I am proud that besides going to class and studying, my D will also be doing a wide variety of activities that will not only enrich her life, but that of other people as well.
I still don’t see the issue with being actively involved in the college community and volunteering. As far as I know, it’s not “mandatory” anywhere. I volunteered while in college myself but one of my volunteer positions was actually tied to a class and I got credit towards graduation. It doesn’t have to be a daunting thing.
Northeastern University’s National Merit Scholarships used to require 100 hours of community service a year. I can’t tell if they still have that requirement from their current webpage. The scholarship was full tuition at that time (lowered the past few years).
When you work it out it is 2 hours a week, which seems manageable. They had relationships with lots of places in Boston to get those hours. It became hard to do (or impossible) during co-op or study abroad semesters. I think they were understanding of this and didn’t rescind scholarships if you couldn’t get your hours in.