<p>i'm currently a student in community college, majoring in mechanical engineering. i will submit my transfer application to UC in the coming november. I want to do some volunteering work now. Is that obvious to the admission officers that i just want my application look good?</p>
<p>Since my major is engineering, my counselor told me that admission for engineering major is primarily based on the completeness of the lower division preparation, GPA, and the essay. She said i am a strong candidate for my strong acadamic performance(4.0 GPA, completed all the required class in one year). So should i do some volunteering work?
btw, my goal is uc berkeley.</p>
<p>It certainly won’t hurt, but keep in mind that ECs are weighted much less for transfers. General volunteering won’t help you much… For transfers, they prefer to see activities related to the major. Can you get an internship with an engineering firm? Compete in an engineering competition? That’s what they’d like to see.</p>
<p>For UCB try to get at least 1000 hours of volunteering. Shows that you have compassion. People who don’t do volunteering say it’s not important to misguide you.</p>
<p>I suppose it could matter a bit more at Cal than UCLA, but volunteering is of minor importance for a transfer. Now, if you’re in a life sciences major indending to go to medical school, then 1000 hours at a hospital would look good. What’s really important is tying your ECs to your major.</p>
<p>If you are applying this fall, volunteering would be virtually worthless. At least, this is what people on this board have told me. Odd-job volunteer work not relevant to your major would only be a waste of time.</p>
<p>Ok well, when you fill out that common app and you have five slots to fill in for “volunteering/community service” have fun with putting nothing in. Of course, it doesnt matter if you are aiming for a low end UC or a non-competitive major.</p>
<p>Yes, it’s there, but it’s really more for freshman applicants. Should you find something to put there? Sure, but don’t stress about getting hundreds or thousands of hours, and make sure it’s relevant to your major. Volunteering at a soup kitchen is great, and it won’t hurt you, but they’d rather see a music major giving free piano lessons (you get the idea).</p>
<p>For transfer admissions, the most important factors are major prep completion and GPA, overall GPA, personal statements (for borderline cases), TAP (for UCLA; there is some disagreement over how much this really helps, but it certainly does for borderline cases), and IGETC completion. ECs are nice, but they’re not nearly as big a deal as they are for freshmen.</p>
<p>As a transfer, it’s better to be a 3.8 with minimal ECs than a 3.5 with thousands of hours of volunteering for random charities.</p>