<p>Since tutoring considered community hours? If this tutoring is in an official thing where a teacher can give you something that says you do so and so hours then I guess it is community service hours. But if you are doing it on your own interest, I guess it is just an extra-curricular activity.</p>
<p>um, it's both i guess. it's not a volunteering activity in the sense that I have hours but it's just something that I do for fun. Plus it's an EC and there's a whole club dedicated to matching tutors/tutorees so yeah.</p>
<p>I was kind of struck recently when someone at school told me I didn't do anything. If I don't do anything, I thought, then why do I never have any spare time? I concluded that I have that reputation because I'm one of the few here who isn't on some sports team.</p>
<p>I'm on the quiz team, the mock trial team, the pit band for the musical, I take piano lessons, and I have a job. I've chaired a few activities for NHS, and I've chaired a few committees for class funraisers and the Prom. Other than that, I use my time for homework and writing contests. You really don't need a plethora of ECs to have a good college application.</p>
<p>^wow. that seems liek a lot</p>
<p>Keshira said that I came off as tactless in the interview, but mind you, I am only telling you about a tiny portion of my interview. Everything else went really well, and my interviewer did not seem offended about my views because I was not as blunt as I am here because that was a different setting. I tried to talk about my other activities and not my community service exploits, but she kept coming back to that, so I felt I had to deal with that issue head on. Even then, I didn't say that everyone who does community service is stupid, but I told her that it does not bring me joy as it does for other people, so I do other things instead. Not quite sure why that is tactless or self-centered or deserving of Keshira's insulting my intelligence, but if some people feel that was a horrible mistake, then so be it. </p>
<p>I am completely fine with what I said, and I am proud of the things I have done, as should everyone else who has posted here. I just dislike the fact that people question my drive and accuse me of being lazy or uncaring because I choose to spend time with my family rather than planning a charity event. Kids should have time to be kids, and it's scary to me that idea is disappearing.</p>
<p>It doesn't matter how many ECs you have, it's about how passionate you are about the activities you do. My ECs consisted of swimming (club and high school) and a doctor internship. That was it. No filler clubs, etc. </p>
<p>I was passionate about swimming and the medical field, that's what I did, that's what I wrote about in my essays. And Duke thought that was enough.</p>
<p>Bottom line: The number of EC's don't matter if you have quality ones</p>
<p>Totally agreed, made4uchicago. I must say that community service doesn't really do a whole lot for me either. I like helping people (I work in retail, and I always do everything I can to help people find exactly what they want for the lowest price available, even if it requires bending the rules a little), but I just don't derive any pleasure from painting bells for NHS or reading stories to little kids. (I'm an awful tutor, and I don't play any sports to coach people in, so I'm sort of out of luck in those areas, too.)</p>
<p>most of the "community service" that we do are actually just filler--helping priveleged dumb kids in math isn't really soul-searching, fulfilling community service that we should be proud of and would help us find ourselves etc. I'm sure if we do real community service...like going to help people who are really in need, it might work like it's supposed to.</p>
<p>When I went for my Pitzer interview, my interviewer asked about my EC's and I listed a new one for every question. Then he was like "So it seems like you're a very busy person..." which made me feel like he was judging me to be an "EC-crazy-resume builder", which I'm not (I only have 2 ECs, plus some minor hobbies). SO it was kindof the opposite for me. hahaha. I tried to downplay myself and seem as down-to-earth as possible, but it was weird because whenever he re-stated my answer or said "So it sounds like...", I silently freaked out and said "Well not exactly......more like....." hahahaha.</p>
<p>Tutoring actually does count as community service, no matter if you have a teacher "proctoring" it or not. Unless you're getting paid, anyway; then it counts as a job. My work at the hippotherapy stable is also community service, because I'm helping someone in my community without being paid in any way. So would helping to sell books at my local library sales. Volunteering isn't always boring or dull or unappreciated, especially when you're one of only a few volunteers. The work I do at the barn is definitely not filler or makework, and the owner of the barn/head therapist has always made me feel very appreciated for my work. </p>
<p>For those of you who can't find anything interesting to volunteer in, you might want to check out Volunteermatch.org. It's a neat site that finds a bunch of volunteer activities all over the country and sorts them by area and by interest, so you should be able to find some more unconventional volunteer opportunities that fit you a bit better. :)</p>
<p>Did anyone have a bad feeling about community service, but when they actually did it, they had such a fun time?</p>
<p>Yeah...I left high school with one club that I actually cared about and 11 hours of community service. I got into Caltech, so screw them.</p>
<p>^yeahyeahyeah!!</p>