<p>I am about to start my 2nd year at CC and will be looking to transfer to a university next fall. I have no prospective schools right now, but that's for another thread.</p>
<p>In general, how essential is volunteer work when trying to transfer? My EC's are solid elsewhere, but I'm a bit lacking in volunteer service. I have read on here that arbitrary volunteer service, while admirable, is not going to make or break an application. What is your take on this?</p>
<p>I'm not looking for a way out of service and plan on volunteering regardless, I'd just like to know if I really need to get on it ASAP and start racking up hours before it's too late.</p>
<p>Only very selective colleges look at voluntarism at all. No one cares your vol hours – really. They want you to come to campus ready to do academic work, achieve your degree, and pay your tuition.</p>
<p>The emphasis on the relationship btn voluntarism and admissions is overblown and mostly a myth.</p>
<p>I transferred this year. I had no ECs, no volunteer hours, etc. This isn’t like high school where they care about that other stuff too much. GPA is a huge portion of what they consider.</p>
<p>They carry weight if they are national/international level. I am pretty sure essays are more important and obviously gpa is the most important factor.</p>
<p>For a junior transfer, EC’s/volunteer hours are going to carry basically no weight. If you have them, then definitely put them down, but don’t go out of your way or feel like you “need” to have them. They’re going to be looking at your academic performance. </p>
<p>I think EC’s in general are pretty overrated, but that’s a product of spending too much time here. There are plenty of students with basically NO EC’s that get accepted to great schools every year.</p>