<p>Hi all,
So in my opinion, and from what I've read on the forums, I've sort of found that there isn't really a general consensus on whether an EC is better or worse than a volunteer activity from a College Admission Officer's POV. Seems like as long as you show passion in a specific area you are okay. Also, I'm hoping that EC's will look better because, well, they control my life...I play on 2 ice hockey teams (travel and varsity) that, between the two, keep me on the ice year-round. I've been playing ice hockey every year since 5th grade, which has left me little time for volunteering. Last year, as an officer w/ the Comm. Service Club, I got in a bunch of hours, but no specific devotion to an event or anything like that.</p>
<p>Do you fellow CC members think that, in my case, EC's outweigh volunteering?</p>
<p>Also, do you guys/gals do any EC's or time-consuming Volunteering that effect devotion to the other? </p>
<p>Well…volunteering IS an extracurricular. If you find your passion in volunteering that’s great, but I don’t think it’s necessarily a REQUIREMENT for college like some seem to believe. Certain colleges (first that comes to mind is Harvard) state that they really want students that want to better their communities and change the world, and one way is to show this is by volunteer work. But colleges also want variety, and I highly doubt they actually want a class of 2,000 people whose main passion is philanthropy. So as long as you’re staying true to yourself you should be good!</p>
<p>Although, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to do some volunteering related to hockey! You could offer lessons to underprivileged children or something if you think that would be rewarding, but don’t stress to much about it.</p>
<p>And yes, i do do a lot of volunteering-I hold board positions in NHS, CSF, and my local charity league, started my own club to help spread literacy in developing countries, and am helping start a recycling program and sustainability movement at my school. But this is just because that’s what interests me! I also play two varsity and 1 club sport, if that gives you any perspective, and compete at the national level, so it’s pretty time consuming too.</p>
<p>Volunteering is not required for admissions. Volunteering is an EC, so no ECs wouldn’t be “more important”, since volunteering is an EC. It can be your focus or you can not do it and do other ECs. Doesn’t matter.</p>
<p>Volunteering is an EC. That said, I think your ice hockey EC is more interesting than volunteering with a standard community service club, especially if you just joined for the hours.</p>
<p>I guess I really should of phrased the question: “Sports or Volunteering”, lol…</p>
<p>@lanflan, those are some pretty solid things you do! I haven’t been able to get any leadership positions, just an officer in Comm. Service Club. And I’ve volunteered a bit in a few hockey-related events but I’m really starting to regret not pursuing more of them before reaching this point in my educational career (12th grade…ugh).</p>
<p>I wrote my Common App essay about failure in ice hockey, so I guess that will look good because of my obvious passion for the sport, right?</p>
<p>@QuadMaster, I think I’ve gotten a bit of a balance b/w volunteering and ice hockey in the past year, but overall sports heavily outweigh my volunteerism. </p>
<p>Stop stressing! sounds like you clearly have a passion for ice hockey, which is worth way more than my meaningless positions in those general service clubs. and since you’re basically done with high school and there’s not much you could do, just relax and worry about those essays!</p>
<p>Volunteering activities are extracurriculars. College applications will usually ask you to list how much time you spent on each of your ECs, but they won’t ask you about community service or volunteer hours. Your extracurriculars can involve volunteering, but they don’t have to. From a Yale admissions officer ([source](<a href=“Q. and A.: College Admissions - The New York Times):”>Q. and A.: College Admissions - The New York Times)):</a></p>
<p>“The thing we are looking for outside the classroom is not a series of check boxes on a resume; we’re looking instead for a high level of engagement or leadership in whatever it is that the student cares about most. For some students, community service is at the forefront of their extracurriculars, in which case we pay a lot of attention to what they have accomplished in that area. For other students, some other passion or interest holds primary sway, and we evaluate the engagement in that area. We know that very few students can fully engage more than one or two primary activities at a high level. Though it is fine for a student to have varied interests, a significant number of students make the common mistake of spreading themselves too thinly in a resume-building exercise.”</p>
<p>Thanks @halcyonheather! I can certainly say I’ve engaged in one area (ice hockey) as the main focus of my life so far. Spend about 12-14 hrs a week practicing and playing year-round </p>