<p>Hi, I am junior in high school and a volunteer for First Book, which helps low income children and schools recieve free or reduced priced books, and my question is do you think that by being part of this non-profit, and having helped personally 100 low-income schools in the country recieve free or reduced priced books as part of my volunteer work help me get into to colleges such as Columbia, Uchicago and Northwestern? Plus I've also won a national competition for this non-porfit for helping the most schools, since the competition was the three volunteers in the nation who helped the most schools. I'm also African-American so that's also a hook. So do you think this all will help in the admissions process? Thanks! :)</p>
<p>It helps but is not decisive, if that’s what you are asking. You need to have the grades, rigorous academics, test scores, strong recommendations, and compelling essays that these schools require, to be considered in the running. Assuming you have that, then a long-term interest in childhood literacy, education, social justice or some similar personal goal, can be demonstrated by your commitment to First Books, among other things. The ‘among other things’ is key: Ideally this is just one of the ways you have demonstrated your commitment and you can explain why attending one of these schools will further your goals in these areas.</p>