Volunteering?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

<p>My little brother (frosh) and I (soph) were looking into some volunteering opportunities offered in our area. I understand that there are lots of available opportunities, but I find that most/all of these volunteering gigs are either:</p>

<p>A. A one-time thing
B. Too infrequent; i.e. once a month
C. Not something that you would really "continue all throughout highschool" thus making it essentially pointless in the long-term, both personally and college admissions-wise
or D. Out of my age range; I am 15, brother is 14.</p>

<p>I can work around anything sounding supposedly "lame," but I really want a reliable source of volunteering that I can participate in frequently enough so that it provides some meaning to my life, as well as building up my hours to appeal to colleges.</p>

<p>Ideally, I would get some type of opportunity at a law office or a law library, since that looks both impressive and matches 100% my interests and passions, but those types of things are generally looking for law students and college students. Pretty much out of the question for a 14 year old. (Really I would love any in the social studies area.)</p>

<p>I was also looking at hospital volunteering, which seems manageable, plausible, and meets my criteria, but I was wondering if my entire application is all "social studies, law, debate, MUN, etc." oriented, would hospital volunteering look out of place? I was planning on volunteering in the Psychiatric department, which actually interests me significantly, and that area has the most connection to the law/social science fields than others.</p>

<p>Is the hospital volunteering a bad idea? Should I look for other opportunities? If so, what and where? Is it even possible to find an opportunity oriented towards my law-social-studies interests? Or should I just wait; will more opportunities open up junior/senior year? But then won't that make my participation look short-lived and inconsistent? AGgghhh I don't know, anyone willing to help a concerned soph and freshman little brother out?</p>

2

<p>Don’t wait to volunteer just because the available opportunities don’t correspond with your projected major. If along the road, you find a position that fits your interests, by all means, take it. But don’t let that restrict you from volunteering right now. The more active you are in the community, the better it will look to colleges. </p>

<p>In my case, I volunteered 41 hours in summer at a community thrift store and food pantry. And next semester, I might have an opportunity at an unpaid internship at the Watershed Management Division of the county government, working hands-on with water-sampling and lake cleanups. It’s definitely possible for you to find a volunteering position in something that you love. (I plan to major in a biology-related field.) But that doesn’t mean the best option is to hold off on volunteering until then. I ended up loving the thrift store a lot more than I thought I would. You should definitely give the hospital a try. Don’t be too concerned with whether it fits in your transcript or not.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>