<p>I'll be a junior by the time school starts in September.
I'm really unsure about where I should go for community service. I did some research, and it sounds like TOP colleges would rather see hours from organizations fighting poverty/hunger/etc, as opposed to hours for volunteering at a gym or golf course (which was what I was planning). So should I direct my time instead to helping, for example, the elderly?
I also heard that colleges want to see 3-4 years at the same place because it shows dedication. As a rising junior, I only have 1 1/2 school years and 1 summer for community service. Would that be too late? </p>
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<li>I mentioned "TOP colleges" because I'm aiming for Ivies and other excellent schools (Berkeley, Duke, etc).</li>
</ul>
<p>Volunteer in a way that is meaningful to YOU, not to the college.</p>
<p>chill out, community service beyond graduation requirements isn’t mandatory. So long as you have ECs that show you haven’t been watching tv all day long, you’ll be fine.</p>
<p>“I’m really unsure about where I should go for community service. I did some research, and it sounds like TOP colleges would rather see hours from organizations fighting poverty/hunger/etc, as opposed to hours for volunteering at a gym or golf course (which was what I was planning). So should I direct my time instead to helping, for example, the elderly?”</p>
<p>The top colleges don’t require students to have done community service. What top colleges care about is that students have done something that they care about – work, research, commujnity service, participation in a religious organization, sports, school clubs – with impact on themselves or others.</p>
<p>If students can’t do that because of family responsibilities, the colleges take that into consideration. Indeed, students are at an advantage for admissions to top college if they’ve had to work to help their family or if they’ve had to take care of younger siblings while their parents work.</p>
<p>You should do volunteer work that you are interested in doing- your interest will shine through. That interest will be more attractive to them than some generic activity that you secretly hate but are just doing it for Brownie points on your app.</p>