Does Volunteering Help in College Admissions?

[admissions102]

Hey!
I was wondering if volunteering help you in college admissions? What difference does it really make and do the amount of hours matter?
Thanks!

[newkidnewtrix]

Of course! Volunteer hours look great, but I think the weight colleges place on them has been lessened due to people faking or inflating their hours. I would say anywhere around 75-100-125 hours is very good and possibly expected, based on the school. If you reach around 200 hours or beyond, that’s quite impressive. I think the most I’ve ever seen a person have was 450.

[mikemac]

I was wondering if volunteering help you in college admissions?

Keep in mind that out of the 3,000 or so 4-year colleges in the US EC’s are important for admission at only a small fraction. Perhaps the most selective 100 or so. You can see what factors matter in admission at schools you are considering by looking at their Common Data Set filings. Most students worry needlessly about EC’s when they’ll play only a small factor or not even be considered!

The question about impressive EC’s comes up regularly on the forum. There is a thread with several posts by Northstarmom, a Ivy alum interviewer, about what constitutes impressive ECs from the point of view of the most selective colleges. The post is at The post is at [“Those ECs are weak…”- So what’s good?]("Those ECs are weak...."- So what's good? - #3 by Northstarmom - Chance Me / Match Me! - College Confidential Forums)

As you will see from that link, at the most selective colleges they are looking for depth more than just participation. Stanford, for example, says

Students often assume our primary concern is the number of activities in which one participates. In fact, an exceptional depth of experience in one or two activities may demonstrate your passion more than minimal participation in five or six clubs. We want to see the impact you have had on that club, in your school, or in the larger community, and we want to learn of the impact that experience has had on you.

To come back to your specific question, colleges don’t care if you volunteer or not. One of the myths you’ll here from your HS friends is colleges look for kids that “give back”. Nope. For ECs they care about leadership and achievement in any area(s) of interest to you.

[Lindagaf]

Volunteering isn’t essential, but it’s far better than doing nothing. It’s also helpful if it is something you are very interested in. Perhaps you love playing piano. You volunteer at a retirement home playing piano once a week for the residents. You teach little kids how to play piano for free. IMO, those are more impressive than a student who does several random ECs that are pretty routine. Volunteering has more impact if it’s treated as an EC rather than volunteering to put something on a college app.

Volunteering is also great for putting on job applications. Both myself and my daughter got jobs because we used our volunteer managers as references. In fact, the place I volunteer offered me a job.

[BunnyBlue]

Volunteering may give you growth experiences and insights that you can write about in your application essays. Sometimes kids who don’t have official leadership positions at school can demonstrate leadership and group organizational skills in volunteer settings.

[sherpa]

Most colleges don’t care about ECs.



Colleges that care about ECs aren’t going to value volunteering over other ECs.



If you want to impress an admissions officer with your volunteering project, forget about numbers of hours and focus on the impact you bring to the situation.