<p>This fall, I'll be applying to ten schools, among the best in the nation (currently: Yale, Princeton, USC, Rice, Carnegie Mellon Vanderbilt, Kenyon, Denison, U of Miami, and LSU.) I've had a great time in high school and I've done some interesting and impressive stuff when it comes to EC's - writing a novel (not NaNoWriMo or anything, a legitimate one), working very actively for Wikipedia, and winning state champion in debate. To be honest, I'm from a lightly populated area where there isn't much opportunity for community service, and the only friends of mine I know of that do service hours are doing them solely for the sake of looking more attractive on their college apps. It's not that I'm against community service - I'll probably do some in college, and I'm sure it'd be fun: it's just that I've been doing other things throughout high school and didn't really take the time to volunteer anywhere. Have I hurt my chances significantly, and will it end up affecting me when college app season arrives later this year?</p>
<p>My son was admitted to several of the schools you are planning to apply to (not the safety ones), had major merit scholarship offers, and did not report any standard ‘community service’ on his applications. Some of his activities did involve helping out the school district, but that was not the major point of his involvement, so I don’t think they would count as ‘community service’.</p>
<p>I think you should not worry about it.</p>
<p>That’s a relief. I was worried. I appreciate the reply. :)</p>
<p>You have not hurt your chances significantly, but I think it does hurt a little. At that caliber of school, you can expect almost every applicant to have service hours on their profile. I mean, the school may not value service very much, but that’s one more leg up other candidates have.</p>
<p>Still, given the strength of your ECs, I wouldn’t worry about it. I believe what colleges most like to see is you having passions and having something impressive to show for them- debate, writing, and even Wikipedia should all show for that (though be careful with how you talk about Wikipedia, because colleges don’t even allow you it cite Wikipedia as a source, haha).</p>
<p>Good luck next fall!</p>
<p>Thank you, Pancaked! And yes, I think debate and writing will have a big impact EC-wise because of all I’ve done with them. As for Wikipedia… I dunno. I’m addicted to the site, and I’ve edited over 150 articles for the good of any human being who reads the site (and a lot of people do) so… in a way, isn’t that a sort of community/global service? Lol. :)</p>
<p>Oh no I’m all for mentioning you Wikipedia contributor status on your app- it’s that kinda stuff that makes you profile more interesting and human rather than just a list of stats and awards. I was kidding about it really- as long as you don’t mention using Wikipedia for a research paper! But really Wikipedia is a great resource for even research papers due to all the outside sources/references listed on each page… But anyways.</p>
<p>^Haha oh okay. Yes, I agree, it’s fun stuff. :D</p>