I am an ingoing sophomore and was wondering how (and if) I should be logging my volunteer hours. I have just been putting them into an excel spreadsheet with the date, organization, description, and the supervisor and their email. Would an email just be enough or do I need a signature? I wouldn’t want these supervisors thinking I’ve solely volunteering for the sake of getting some personal gain towards my college admission (which in fact, I am though).
Also, should I be doing anything this summer to strengthen my future college application, or leave that to next summer? I know there’s many questions I’m asking but I would really appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance!
College applications won’t ask how many volunteer hours you have. The Common App will ask you to list each of your extracurriculars (up to ten) and an estimate of how much time you spent on each one. You won’t be asked for proof, and colleges generally don’t try to verify extracurriculars unless they’re so remarkable that they would make or break the application.
You’re not expected to have a paid job or do anything in particular over the summer, but you should try to find activities that allow you to show focus, dedication, and accomplishment.
You don’t actually need volunteer hours for college admission, so if that’s why you are doing it, I wouldn’t bother.
I always cringe when I read posts of students doing things they don’t want to be doing in their spare time just to impress colleges because it’s exactly what colleges don’t want you do be doing. They want to see what interests you, not what you think will impress them.
