I am from India and to be frank there is like no fixed idea of community service like that in the U.S. So I just had a few questions.
1.What qualifies as community service?
For example: 3-4 times a month I volunteer as a server at my nearby temple when they feed people for free. Does this qualify as community service?
2.How is community service verified?
Around in the Chances Threads I’ve seen people say they have so and so hours of community service. How do colleges verify these claims?
Plus any more information and details will be welcome.
Community service is an extremely broad term and has no universal definition. I’d leave it as, “unpaid work that is designed to benefit others.” In your case, the volunteering you described qualifies.
You’re right: colleges can’t exactly verify these hours. Usually, an applicant is able to describe his/her volunteer work in enough detail that AOs believe him/her. Perhaps to increase legitimacy, many nonprofit organizations and such dole out certificates or verify their hours via certain governmental organizations which, in turn, grant awards (ex: President’s Volunteer Service Award) to those who have attained certain criteria.
@anonpenn2022 so if describe the work that I do as a volunteer in detail I wouldn’t have to verify it, since it is not regulated or formal?
Some high schools require supplemental essays describing the community service experience, as well as contact info from your supervisor. At least in my southern state, a high school student volunteers at least 20 hours at a non-profit (place of worship, animal shelter, etc.)
@sour18 If the work you’re doing is legitimate, I wouldn’t worry about “verifying” them per say. Just describe what you did and your biggest accomplishments in the common app’s activities section and you should be fine.