<p>What is meant by "Oh well everyone has community service!" Does community service even matter to colleges anymore? I'm a rising senior and I have my share of community service. But throughout cc I see that people tend to view community service as a typical and expected thing. I agree that a lot, or even mostly everyone applying to top schools has it. </p>
<p>What would colleges think of this? </p>
<p>How unique does one get?</p>
<p>I strongly believe what makes community service unique is your passion and drive behind it. You can have 300+ hours of community service, but it won't mean a thing to colleges if they see through your application that you did it because it was something that "everyone did." However, if you had only 50 hours of community service, but it really opened your eyes to something that you weren't aware of (and conveyed it in your essay, for example), that would mean a lot more to adcoms than the first person that did 300 hours of community service without putting their heart in it.</p>
<p>And definitely not everyone volunteers. You're on CC so people would tend to say that community service is a "given." </p>
<p>I think it's beside the point to ask how favorably colleges would view your community service. As I said, I think it's a question of dedication, not of sheer numbers of hours. If you are really committed and dedicated to what you did, colleges could probably see that through your application/interview, and your passion would shine through that way. However, if it were the opposite, I think they would know too, regardless of what the number you put down on your app.</p>