Volunteer Job Essential?

Applying to College
1

<p>Hey guys, looking for some more help.</p>

<p>I am curious about volunteering. I have a good amount of ECs, but am not sure how "worthy" any of them are. </p>

<p>My ECs:</p>

<p>I will be a captain of my varsity football team this fall (not a tiny program, division 4A in Texas). I have played football since elementary school, and made varsity as a junior. I lettered (placed in a varsity meet) on the powerlifting team as a sophomore. </p>

<p>I will serve as Senior Class President. I served as Vice President last year and served on Student Council last year, I have served on Student Council just about every year of
middle/high school.</p>

<p>I started a small, art business earlier in my high school career (turned a small profit, ran a website, ect.) Still have the venture, but I have been so busy that I have left it mostly inactive. </p>

<p>I work as a youth director at my local Boys and Girls club. As a youth director, I am responsible daily for taking a group of 10-18ish children ages 5-14 through various activities (field trips, art, free play, ect.). I am not a volunteer there, I get a schedule and a paycheck. </p>

<p>I have read during mass and administered the Eucharist for years at my church. </p>

<p>There are probably some things I'm leaving out, but these are the main things I have done. </p>

<p>Now, I work anywhere from 25-40 hours a week at the Boys and Girls Club (summer job). I am afraid that this work, along with my other ECs, will not be enough to be considered a well rounded and valuable candidate at top universities. I visited Columbia (one of my top choices) yesterday and the guide's talk on service made me feel inadequate. </p>

<p>My questions: Am I involved enough in the community for top schools? Should I pick up a volunteer job or is my time better focused on my studies? Is my work for the Boys and Girls Club going to hold any weight as serving the community when I get paid for it (I love doing what I do, the money is just a bonus). </p>

<p>Anyone want to chime in? There are a few volunteer jobs I would love to do but keep telling myself I don't have the time. If not holding some sort of volunteer job is going to hurt me, I will make the time. I don't have any special kind of hook, so I'm depending on my academic work, ECs, and the rest of my application to get me into top universities.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance.</p>

2

<p>I personally think your ECs are legit, including your job at the Boys and Girls Club. Just remember, ECs are only one part of your college application - GPA, SAT/ACT scores, hooks, etc play a role, too. </p>

<p>Any chance one of your top schools would recruit you for football?</p>

3

<p>I think volunteering is just one little + to your application. It wouldn’t break it, but it would probably look nice. I’m sure if somebody had the exact same stats as you but had volunteer work, they’d probably choose that person. But that being said, you do not HAVE to do volunteering to get into colleges. I think your EC’s are just fine, if you only had a few then maybe you would have needed volunteering.</p>

4

<p>Good to hear, thank you for the responses. </p>

<p>I realize ECs are only part of the college application, and do not matter if I do not have the grades to match. </p>

<p>There is some chance that I could get recruited by an upper level school, such as an Ivy. It will depend on this season, as last season I ended up helping out at a lot of different positions and didn’t really get a chance to play to my potential. This season I should have much better statistics and much better film to show to any school that may be interested. All that being said, the chance of me being recruited by anywhere I want to go doesn’t seem likely, so I am not going to rely upon football to get in anywhere. </p>

<p>Also, I know I am likely to get the response, “Don’t do an EC just for college applications, if you want a volunteer job, get one.” Like I said, there are a few volunteer jobs I would love to have, but my schedule is very tight and I can only really afford the time if I really do need the job. </p>

<p>Thanks for the responses, anyone else want to ring in?</p>