<p>D passed up a better-paying and easier job as lifeguard at a health club to work at one of NYC's large public pools. She views this as commun serv since the city NEVER has enough life guards and, as a result, some of these pools (often the only oppty for indigent, inner city kids to get swim lessons) never open or they open w/ shorter hours and for a shorter season. D is troubled, however, b/c she has no glitzy community service exp, like her friend, who signed on for an int'l service proj in Tanzania or other classmate who attended a global development summit last summer.</p>
<p>I've advised her not to worry and I'm certain that any adcom will understand the value of her work. Never the less, it certainly seem unfair that a kid who takes $7K trip to Africa to build schools gets "service" credit (can't believe that the African town wouldn't be better off w/ the $140k instead of 20 unskilled teens and their counselors/handlers) for scholarship purposes while D (and other kids from less affluent families - many of whom have to work) don't even qualify.</p>
<p>Also, I wonder whether adcoms and scholarship sponsors are aware of the new trend of parents satisfying their child's commun serv req by $ donation? (standard formula: # hrs req for commun ser x $6/hr).</p>