<p>I've volunteered before and I know you can put that you volunteer on college apps, but do I need any proof? Because how would they know that you've volunteered for _____ hours? Do I just put "I volunteered at ____ for ____ hours? Or do I have to attach something showing proof? And how do people keep track of volunteer hours? Is it through some official database or something pretty chill like recording it yourself...? I have no idea...</p>
<p>It is on the honor system. If you do it through school, they may have some way to record it. And usually your GC will talk about it in your letter of recommendation.</p>
<p>Thanks @BrownParent ! Was confused since some of my friends say they have their hours “recorded”.</p>
<p>“some of my friends say they have their hours ‘recorded’” Some school districts require a logged amt of hours for graduation. But no college on the planet does.</p>
<p>@T26E4 Thanks! :)</p>
<p>The good news is that you can list your hours w/o proof at almost all schools. The bad news is it won’t really matter, even if you pile up 50 hours or 500 hours.</p>
<p>You can look at the Common Data Set filing for most colleges and out of the 4 categories most will check either the lowest 2, “not considered” or “considered”. Since they’re not important most colleges aren’t going to make a big deal out of it. Proof or not, it won’t really matter. </p>
<p>For very selective colleges where ECs matter, just volunteering some time is not the kind of EC that competitive applicants have. So listing hours isn’t something they’re going to bother checking because even if true it won’t really help your app. Once again, those hours don’t matter.</p>
<p>The question about impressive EC’s comes up regularly on the forum. There is a thread with several posts 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>As you will see from that link, at the most selective colleges they are looking for depth more than just participation. Stanford, for example, says
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<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) I don’t buy into his underlying explanation of why they are impressive, but take a look at these 2 articles and I think you’ll get some original ideas.</p>
<p>@mikemac thanks! Everyone says colleges weigh volunteering pretty heavily so it worried me that I don’t have as much as the kid with a few hundred hours. Would you mind checking out my other thread? linked here: <a href=“TOO MANY?! - High School Life - College Confidential Forums”>TOO MANY?! - High School Life - College Confidential Forums; In it I wasn’t very clear on why I do all these ECs. I do them because I love each one and also because I like being kept busy (the latter was the only reason I mentioned on the thread). I feel like as a high schooler it’s hard to have a great “passion” since we have yet to experience everything, but I have different sides of me… And each of my ECs reflect a part of me. If you could give any input it would be much appreciated!</p>
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Everyone on the schoolground says a lot of things, only some of which are accurate. It’s that “gotta give back” idea, colleges demand to see it. Totally false.</p>
<p>I think the word “passion” is overused, but I do think it is reasonable for a 9th grader to try a bunch of things, narrow it down somewhat in 10th grade as they see what they like and what they don’t, and then really get involved in one or two of their favorite things after that. Is that “passion”? Well, maybe some would call it that, but I don’t think it has to have that label in order to simply find something(s) you like and then deeply pursue them. As Stanford more or less says in the quote above, BTW…</p>
<p>My daughter didn’t have anything volunteer related on her application. I recently saw a kid posting here who a very interesting EC list. You could tell the depth and quality of his volunteer work from his list which will really stand out, imo. Either scenario will work. There is no specific volunteer work required. If you just do a bit it is just another thing on your list. You have to decide what goes in the limited slots and what tells the story of who you are best.</p>
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<p>Not sure where you are getting your information, but that’s NOT true. Many high schools now require a minimum amount of volunteering or service hours in order to graduate, so colleges are heavily discounting a student’s volunteering activities unless they really stand out (as in 500+ hours).
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Like BrownParent’s daughter, my two kids did not have any volunteering on their EC list – zero, zilch none, and it didn’t stop them from being admitted into a large group of highly selective colleges. </p>
<p>If volunteering is something you are passionate about . . . go for it! Otherwise, don’t worry if you don’t have any or whether you don’t have that many hours.</p>
<p>What do you think are the most key factor in college admission such as ivies/mit?</p>
<p>Ummmmm… your transcript. The same item that’s the most key factor in 99% of other colleges.</p>
<p>1) Your Counselor’s LOR should mention it. 2) You sign the honor code on the Common App and if you’re caught, violating it, then that’s that. </p>
<p>I don’t understand this expectation that a counselor will mention it or even needs to mention it. If you go to a fairly decent public school, chances are your counselor barely even knows you.</p>
<p>If its not mentioned in your recommendation letters, some schools inquire from the agencies or organizations about your claim. Even with it being mentioned in your letters, some schools might still call. This usually happens if you are among the last group to be reviewed after a stiff competition, as it happens all the time in competitive schools, and they just need something to weed out the lesser applicant.
Does not happen very often, but it happens, and sometimes just randomly. So be sure to put the correct amount of hours you volunteered and do not exaggerate anything.
Bets of luck to you.</p>