Community service is one of the most selected extracurricular activities amongst high school students. There are a wide variety of measures through which high school students can perform community service. Students can be a part of any community that strikes their interest. In this article, we will discuss whether Volunteer Hours Good for College student when they are actively applying for admissions across different colleges/universities.
Are Volunteer Hours Good for College?
Yes. If a high school student has participated in any volunteer work, it will be beneficial for them when they are applying across different colleges and universities. Admissions officers across different colleges admire to see a candidate with a record of community service on their college application. Having community service experience portrays that the candidate possesses the passion and the vision of making a difference in the world and is willing to put in the hard work it requires.
How Many Volunteer Hours Are Necessary?
On an average basis, a student requires anywhere from 50 to 200 hours of volunteer work to make a good impression on any college administration. A lengthy amount of time will reflect that the candidate shows commitment to their work. However, once a candidate gets above 200 hours of volunteer work, they must consider if their spare time can be invested in any other extracurricular activity. However, there is no fixed number of community service hours that a candidate can follow and ensure their admission to a particular college or university. Apart from volunteer work (and every other extracurricular activity), grades and test scores hold more priority when it comes to admissions.
Additional Requirements
Candidates must remember that to ensure their admission to their desired college/university, they must have the full package. Even if a candidate has spent 500+ hours doing volunteer work, college admission officers will expect them to be great leaders and citizens, they won’t assure a seat for the candidate solely based on their volunteer work hours.
Thus, candidates are advised to participate in volunteer work as they would any other extracurricular activity. If candidates wish to indulge themselves in any volunteer work, they must ensure that it counts. In addition to this, most admissions officers take into account what a candidate has done, why they chose to do it, and what did they learn from it. As long as a candidate can adequately explain the above-mentioned questions, colleges and universities will not put much attention on the total number of hours that candidate has spent doing that volunteer work.
Pros and Cons of Volunteering Hours
Just like every other extra-curricular activity, the activity of volunteering also has its pros and cons. We have mentioned some of them below:
Pros:
-Reaping emotional benefits by helping the community selflessly (not receiving any financial reward)
-Personal growth
-Improved health status by constantly engaging in a physical activity
-Gaining confidence and shaping other important internal activities like communication, teamwork, punctuality, etc.
Cons:
-Time absorbing
-Long volunteer hours can create an imbalance amongst various other important daily life activities of the volunteer like studying, etc
-Physically demanding and tiring
-If a person wishes to volunteer abroad, they may have to put in a lot of money, without receiving any financial reward back
Conclusion
If a high school student has participated in any volunteer work, it will be beneficial for them when they are applying across different colleges and universities. Admissions officers across different colleges admire to see a candidate with a record of community service on their college application. Having community service experience portrays that the candidate possesses the passion and the vision. On an average basis, a student requires anywhere from 50 to 200 hours of volunteer work to make a good impression on any college administration. A lengthy amount of time will reflect that the candidate shows commitment to their work.
Candidates must remember that to ensure their admission to their desired college/university, they must have the full package. College administrators won’t assure a seat for the candidate solely based on their volunteer work hours. We also discussed, in details, the pros and cons of students involving themselves in volunteer work, in the article above.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Question1) How should a candidate allocate their volunteer hours?
Answer) Candidates who wish to have volunteer work of 50-200 hours are advised to stick to a single activity and invest more into it, instead of trying to volunteer for several activities. Candidates are advised to find an activity in which they can invest at least fifty hours of their time. Anything less than fifty hours will not be sufficient to present in front of a college admissions officer. Thus, if a candidate wishes to invest a certain amount of time doing volunteer work, they are advised to stick to a particular activity and invest more hours, instead of spending divided hours across different volunteer activities.
Question2) Will volunteers get training?
Answer) Almost all organizations will offer hands-on training to prepare an individual for the designated role. However, the amount of training per individual will vary on the volunteer work they have chosen, and the role they have been designated.
Question3) How old does a volunteer need to volunteer for a cause?
Answer) There are no age limits for volunteering, but some organizations do set age restrictions that reflect the level of responsibility or experience needed. These age restrictions are also set by insurance companies sometimes. Candidates who wish to volunteer with a particular organization are advised to contact the organization and ask them if they have an age restriction for their volunteers.
Question4) Can an individual volunteer with their family or friends?
Answer) Some volunteer activities can be performed for group volunteering as beach cleaning, tree planting, or car washes, but these activities must be organized and properly supervised. Interested individuals can also volunteer with family or friends for fundraising events and collections. Other opportunities that are available for group volunteering are marshalling at tourist or sporting events.
