<p>I've been aiming to get at least 100 volunteer hours before applying to college. I've been working hard for them, but now I'm hearing that they don't even matter that much? Is there really any point in trying to get this many volunteer hours? If I do 50 hours as opposed to let's say 200, will colleges even care?</p>
<p>Colleges like seeing passion. Hours do matter though… do lots of hours for something your passionate about.</p>
<p>I can’t FIND anything to volunteer for that I’m passionate about 
there isn’t much here. should I still rack up at least SOME hours? wouldn’t it do any good what so ever?</p>
<p>Yes. It sucks that where you live there’s nothing to do. How about you create something? Colleges love that. Like, host a hunger banquet(it’s where the you show what an average American meal is like, like a full plate, then a poor American meal, like some scraps of food, then a 3rd world country meal, an empty plate). Google it for more information.</p>
<p>How about get a job? Ever think about that? Seriously.</p>
<p>50 hours or 200 hours, same thing basically. First off, most colleges don’t care much about ECs; they admit by numbers. Its only a relative handful of very selective colleges that really care about ECs. And for those, some hours volunteering are far overshadowed by what others have accomplished.</p>
<p>The question about impressive ECs comes up regularly on the forum. There is a thread with comments by Northstarmom, a Ivy alum interviewer, about what constitutes impressive ECs from the point of view of the most selective colleges. The post is at <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/210497-those-ecs-weak-so-what-s-good.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/210497-those-ecs-weak-so-what-s-good.html</a></p>
<p>2 very interesting articles about ECs that stand out and how to get them (same author, different examples) are at [How</a> to Be Impressive](<a href=“http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/05/28/the-art-of-activity-innovation-how-to-be-impressive-without-an-impressive-amount-of-work/]How”>The Art of Activity Innovation: How to Be Impressive Without an Impressive Amount of Work - Cal Newport) and [Save</a> This Grind?](<a href=“http://calnewport.com/blog/2008/09/12/case-study-how-could-we-save-this-ridiculously-overloaded-grind/]Save”>Case Study: How Could We Save This Ridiculously Overloaded Grind? - Cal Newport) While I don’t agree with everything in them, take a look at these 2 articles and I think you’ll get some original ideas.</p>