<p>I am from Texas and I was hoping to go to London to volunteer/shadow a physician. I was convinced that this would be a great idea because not very many people volunteer, let alone overseas. Lately, however, I have found out that it is extremely difficult to volunteer in places like the UK particularly because I am only going for a month and also because I am 17. Is it even worth it? Will it show that I am dedicated and cared enough to learn more by going to volunteer in a different country and shadow a surgeon?</p>
<p>“because not very many people volunteer, let alone overseas.” You’re mistaken. Plenty of organizations are profiting from your belief and many other families who feel that a summer program overseas will be the KEY to a great college application. You’ll find tons of summer service opportunities, being hawked by colleges, charities, etc. – all hoping to cash in on nervous families – with some actual charity or service work being done – maybe or maybe not. </p>
<p>The summer volunteer work overseas is more a testament to your family’s wealth than your being some super-dedicated volunteer. Colleges know the marketing schemes involved in this. There are several thousand HS kids lined up to build playgrounds in Mexico this summer at this moment – I guarantee you. Meh.</p>
<p>That being said, it sounds like a valuable and fun experience. But if it’s too costly, I’d recommend you do something locally.</p>
<p>It is by no means a private organization and never do they promote volunteer work. I want to volunteer at a local hospital and the work that I do there will actually help people, just as if I was volunteering in the States. I am not too sure what you refer to when you mention “marketing schemes” because as I have stated, it is a local hospital, not an organization founded to make money off of you.</p>
<p>If there’s something remarkable about the plan you’re considering, I am missing it.</p>
<p>It seems a bit much to me to go all the way from Texas to London in order to shadow a physician. I am pretty sure there are a lot of doctors in Texas.</p>
<p>I also don’t understand how a high school student will do “work that…will actually help people” in London. The UK has a pretty well developed health-care system, with a lot of trained professionals working in it. What work would you, with no medical or nursing training, be able to do that would really help people? I mean, it’s London, not Mali.</p>
<p>Maybe there is some truly remarkable opportunity here, and I’ve just failed to understand what it is. If there is something extraordinary here–either something that you could not do just as well in Texas, or something that makes a genuine difference in the lives of people who might not get this benefit if you didn’t go to England to provide it–you really need to explain that fully when you write about this experience for colleges, or discuss in in interviews.</p>
<p>Also, I think you need to pay serious attention to T26’s observation that neither volunteering nor going abroad to do it is all that uncommon. As T26 says, if you have the opportunity and the means to do it, it seems like an interesting way to spend your summer. But I haven’t yet seen how it will enhance your college applications any more than any other productive use of you summer months would.</p>