<p>Hi, I am interested in animal science and biology as a major in college! I have been volunteering at the local animal shelter since I was 13. I was wondering if I am better off starting to develop more animal extracurricular volunteering, such as volunteering at the aquarium, the wildlife center, or the science center or just keep a position at the shelter? Thanks for all help!</p>
<p>It doesn’t matter very much.</p>
<p>At most of the colleges and universities in the U.S., extracurriculars don’t matter. If you meet their academic criteria, you’ll be admitted, and if you don’t, you won’t.</p>
<p>A small number of very famous and highly selective institutions get applications from far more highly qualified applicants than they can possibly enroll. These schools have to choose which academically qualified applicants they’ll admit, and which ones they’ll pass on, and they have to decide on the basis of something other than academic credentials. So one criterion they use is extracurricular accomplishment.</p>
<p>But there’s no formula for this. Your extracurricular activity could be training for the Olympics, or it could be singing in the madrigals, or it could be working in your family’s restaurant. </p>
<p>Even if you’re targeting some of those famous and highly selective universities and colleges, what you do usually matters less than how you do it. (Exception: if your extracurricular activity involves your dunking a basketball with two hands, then what you do matters a lot. But most people applying to college aren’t being recruited as athletes.) You could move on to volunteering at the aquarium or a wildlife center, and that would be fine, as long as you find it interesting and rewarding. Or you could stay at the animal shelter if you like it and it’s working out for you. But if you stay at the shelter, you should look for ways to take on new responsibilities and/or acquire new skills as the years go by. Make sure you’re able to show some growth in your volunteer work there.</p>