<p>Should I include transportation time in my hours per week for ECs? For instance, I have a volunteer position that's 3 hours a week but also a commute of about 1.5 hours roundtrip. It seems weird to count it as 4.5 hours since i only volunteer for 3, but people have told me this is the way to list it. Thoughts?</p>
<p>Nope, just the time you spend on the activity.</p>
<p>I think you would list the roadtrip... I mean, that is a big time committment. Though I dont have any experience or expertise. It would be nice to get more insight on this.</p>
<p>semantics really.. put whichever seems right to you and doesnt make you feel like you could be masking something</p>
<p>I don't have any suggestion, I just find this question interesting...because it seems like a very legitimate question that hasn't been answered six thousand times. I mean, that commute is a huge chunk of time...but you're not actually doing the activity (the fact that the activity is a community service, I think, enhances this dilemma). Maybe split the difference?</p>
<p>In Rock Hard Apps, I believe the author said it was OK to include commute time in hrs/week. I think this is valid. We live in the country (horses, cows etc) and the commute does add up.</p>
<p>transportation time definitely should be included</p>
<p>think about it, the entire purpose of the hours section is to find out how much time you spend on meaningful activities as opposed to sitting around and doing nothing. travel takes away time that could be potentially used for playing/wasting time.</p>
<p>I would include yours since it's such a large amount of time, but in a normal case every 15 minute drive shouldn't count.</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone!</p>
<p>in the real world, few jobs count commute hours for work done- sales maybe, truck drivers, etc....so it should not be counted. IMO, and I have to drive my kids to volunteer ALOT....it is deceptive to include commute time</p>
<p>sitting in your car is not meaningful activity...you are increasing your volunteer time 50percent by including drive time</p>
<p>Should I also include the time it takes me to get dressed for going to a job?</p>
<p>I mean, you can't go naked there...so it seems just as important as driving there</p>
<p>citygirlsmom and negru, don't be bitter</p>
<p>you SHOULD include travel time. think about it, if you were in drama, would you count the time it took you to put on make up? you should, even though this make-up time doesn't STRICTLY involve drama and performing for the audience. same thing for travel. if your activity requires it, then you are sacrificing time you could otherwise spend on other stuff. include it!</p>
<p>I would include travel time.</p>
<p>Perhaps to inflate ECs...you could count commute time.</p>
<p>There are always volunteer activities, even in the smallest towns...so if communting is an issue, don't you think it would be wise to stay close to home?!</p>
<p>I'd still say not to count travel time, as you could be doing other things like homework, listening to MP3s, reading a magazine, sleeping, etc...while traveling.</p>
<p>The point is that while commuting, one often does not dedicate the time consumed to the activity itself, though there are obviously exceptions (e.g. finishing posters, running down checklists, calling people to participate).</p>
<p>Thus, an applicant is getting credit for something they might not have earned. Class time does not include homework time, not does it count commute time to school when factoring in grades. Why would that be different when looking at the applicant. The application should make clear how much time was spent on the activity.</p>
<p>If commute times are long, perhaps a short blurb in the 'Additional Information' section on the Common Application could make it clear without destroying credibility of all ECs estimates from every applicant or bring into question whether an individual is fibbing. By adding commute time to ECs, those that will lose out are those that spend the stated number of hours on the activity itself, while rewarding those that pad their contributions to a club/organization/volunteer activity.</p>
<p>PS--I'd have to disagree with FauxHoax....putting on make-up at the theater, backstage, would be counted, while the travel time (less than 15 minutes each way) to the theater is not, as you could be doing other things that are not theater/performance related. If I personally did this, the hours would make it look like I only had an hour or two to myself, besides eating and sleeping. I don't minus out breaks, down time while waiting for blocking, technical glitches with the light boards, etc... If the object is to be FAIR, evey moment while at an activity where you are not engagued should be subtracted, if you are going to ADD travel time more than 15 minutes each way. But, I guess it would have, personally, made me look better and be a stronger candidate, to my schools, both with respect to ECs, and HS performance (despite having little time to do homework because of the activity).</p>
<p>Actually, I disagree. It tells the college something about your commitment to the activity if you have to commute a great distance. They want to know how you spend your time per week so that they can evaluate what you have done with your time over the past four years.</p>
<p>I suggest that, on the common app, you just list the hours that you volunteer. Then, either in supplemental information or on an attached resume, write hours of travel time per week. That way, you are not being dishonest about the time you spend doing community service, but you are giving them more accurate information about how you spend your time.</p>
<p>Jen89: </p>
<p>I agree with you to an extent. However, by adding the commute time, the data becomes less reliable for the system. Thus, adding the communte time, while awesome for the individual who does this, to time spent on the activity AFFECTS those who do not pad their hours.</p>
<p>That's why I suggested in an earlier post:</p>
<br>
<blockquote> <blockquote> <blockquote> <p>If commute times are long, perhaps a short blurb in the 'Additional Information' section on the Common Application could make it clear without destroying credibility of all ECs estimates from every applicant or bring into question whether an individual is fibbing. By adding commute time to ECs, those that will lose out are those that spend the stated number of hours on the activity itself, while rewarding those that pad their contributions to a club/organization/volunteer activity<<<<</p> </blockquote> </blockquote> </blockquote>
<br>
<p>Not exactly a good thing for those who do not manipulate the definition to suit their own purposes.</p>
<p>I for one, don't want schools to start focusing in on other measures (i.e. test scores, grades) because they cannot count on the reliability of self-reported data.</p>
<p>Isleboy, how about the football games where you just stand on the sideline and watch? You are not playing. Heck, you are not even practicing. You are just watching. Do you count this time? It's an essential part of football, as most coaches require varsity game attendance even for those who aren't playing. </p>
<p>Include travel. Include also any time that you spent because you are involved in the activity.</p>
<p>Well... for myself, I counted the practice hours per week, and my playing time. As for my theater ECs, I counted rehersals and show times only, even if it is a 30 minute commute without traffic one way. If I did count travel time, I would ETHICALLY need to subtract down time. If I only added the commute without subtracting time goofing off, I'd have distorted the equation and overstated my participation. Hence, not counting the commute or the goofing off. </p>
<p>Also, by CHOOSING to do an activity, you make the time commitment, which you knew of before signing up or trying out. You are CHOOSING this activity over others. And, you know there is down time, so if I were COUNTING travel time I would ETHICALLY have to SUBTRACT goofing off, breaks, etc...</p>
<p>That is why, counting travel time necessarily & knowingly means that an applicant DISTORTS the data on which the adcom relies on to give deserving applicants a 'bump' when making decisions.</p>
<p>The time for ECs is the total time DEVOTED to an activity. Travel time is devoted to exactly that activity; its PURPOSE is to get to and from the location of your activity, and NOT to listen to ipod, read a magazine, or take a nap. Therefore it should be included. </p>
<p>Isleboy, the biggest problem I have with your argument is the "holier-than-thou" attitude. Are you righteous and ethical, and are we who-include-travel-time not?</p>
<p>Actually, the reality for HS is that you're doing other things on the commute if it is a long one.</p>
<p>FauxHoax, it's interesting that you're taking it personally, especially since you do not know much about me. I did not state that I was wholly ethically as no individual is capable of that, are they?</p>
<p>I did not make a judgement about the OP, except to state an opinion, and some of its POSSIBLE consequences. Would you prefer that the friendly DEBATE is one-sided? Unfortunately, you and I come down on different sides of this issue. </p>
<p>My stance has been developed PRECISELY because many of my private HS peers and friends distorted they EC hours, while my public school friends did not. Did not seem fair, and I could not get upset about it if I contributed to the problem, now could I?</p>
<p>Before experiencing it, I did not care much because I BELIEVED my peers would not knowingly do that if they knew how it affected others. Some of them, did not care, and were rewarded for it, while my public school friends were not--for choosing to attempt to answer the question without padding their contributions. </p>
<p>Perhaps, a better word to describe me, and a few of my private HS friends (who did not pad their ECs with commute times), and friends who went to public school is the word: naieve. </p>
<p>To believe that people will do what is right more often that what is easy or rewards them unfairly is not 'holier-than thou', but the ideal that we hope will be reinforced by practice, even if we all sometimes fall short. So, perhaps it may be because everyone can change/morph/grow that I believe that given the choice, people might not always only look out for themselves, and what they can get by being opportunistic. To be able to make the choice requires knowing both sides. That you would make a different choice than I does not make me superior, just different. </p>
<p>I'm assuming that you included travel time to ECs, per your last post, and I can understand that it can be hard to react to what could be percieved as criticism. But the dicussion is not mean to be anything other than constructive. I'm sorry, if for you, it's personal.</p>
<p>My opinion is just that, an opinion. Attitude, especially online, is sometimes hard to "read". I understand using the debate tactic (e.g. all things are black and white), but the reality is somewhere in between. That is, for most people, they fall between our respective positions.</p>