How do colleges find out about your volunteer work?

I volunteered a lot in high school, but I'm curious how colleges verify this information. Do they contact the organizations, or is it mostly based on trust and what I put on my application?

Colleges primarily rely on the honor system for information about your extracurricular activities, including volunteer work, that you report in your application. They expect students to be honest in their self-reporting. It's possible they could verify information if something stood out as potentially inaccurate, but generally speaking, admissions officers do not have the time or resources to fact-check every part of every application.

However, it's worth noting that misrepresenting yourself in the college application process can have serious consequences. If a college finds out that a student has lied on their application, even after admission, they normally have the right to rescind that admission offer.

Although not a validation method, ensuring that your volunteer work is aligned with your interests, passion, and overall application narrative will give more credibility to your claims. For instance, if you've been actively involved in a school environmental club and your volunteer work is with an environmental nonprofit, this shows consistency.

Another subtle way to validate your volunteer work is through recommendation letters. Teachers, mentors, or supervisors who have seen you participate in volunteer work can speak to the experiences and skills you've gained from that activity in their letters.

So in short, while colleges do not typically check each detail of your volunteer work, it's best practice to be honest and corroborative about all aspects of your college application.