Community Service. Answered
After a meeting with my academic counselor, she recommended doing more community service to help create a stronger admission portfolio. With that being said I am stumped about how I should go about doing this community service. the main qualm is doing 2 main community services (Volunteer Coaching and Nursing Home), with doing each for roughly 12 hours a week for the proceeding 10 months, or separate the 12 hours into 4 different services with the beginning 2 as well as a Soup Kitchen and a Pound? it would result in the same hours (roughly 500) but would look differently.
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2 answers
Many colleges like to see long-term commitment to certain activities and not so much jumping here and there from activity to activity so be careful of that impression. Especially if you are a senior and cramming this in last minute, it may appear that way. If you are a senior and this is your last year, i suggest just staying with one. But if you have more than this year and are an underclassmen, I say it's good to commit to multiple. Are you planning to do all 4 at the same time for the whole 10 months? Four sounds like a lot of handle at once, but if you feel that you could, then go ahead! I think each of these volunteer services would show a very caring and unique side of you.
The worst thing you can do is pick community service ECs just to rack up 500 hours. If you are applying to top colleges, they will see right through that EC narrative and not give you any bump for your 500 hours, regardless of whether you did them all at 1 venue or divided them into 4 venues.
While I think your academic counselor is just repeating the script that they tell all their students, I don't think the advice is very helpful because they are missing the point and communicating misinformation to you as a result.
The bottom line is all top colleges want students in their freshman class that are both the best version of themselves and eager to make their universe (whether is their college campus, their community, their country) a better place by serving their community to help in the best manner they see fit.
In order to be a selfless human being, first you have look in the mirror and ask yourself, what makes you happy and what you are passionate about and what can you offer of yourself to execute this. It's not a mystery that most successful applicants to top schools are in the category of "leaders" versus "followers". So you have to ask yourself whether you are going to be a leader or follower. A follower is someone that is going to rack up 500 service hours because they think it looks good on paper for the admissions reader. That is a mistake.
A leader is going to find some community service ECs that truly interest them and then try to gain a leadership role in that activity. So if you like reading and books, maybe apply for a position with your local library. That might turn into a seat on a Board at the Library where you as a student rep. get to decide how to set policies about library activities, reading lists, speakers, projects etc. If you are interested in politics and govt, then try to get a Board Seat a student member on a the City Council, or some advisory committee that interests you. If you are business major, maybe apply to the Budget Committee at your City Hall as a student member. Or figure out how to set up a non-profit business in your town and open up a food pantry, or focus on helping marginalized, low income kids in your town. The opportunities are endless as long as you have a plan and a strategy to get from Point A to B to C.
By combining you community service into leadership roles you are showing all the colleges you are applying to that you are self motivated, creative, truly care about public service and want to be a better human. That is more impressive that punching in and out every week on volunteering activities that are NOT aligned with your future plans or major.
If hope you see the point of my response to your question. Good luck.
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I am a current Junior, the 10-month timeline is up until the Early Action deadline, obviously, I will continue to do these things past the deadline but I can't give information on applications after they are turned in. I think I will stick to the 2 as they are both manageable in my schedule and fun to be there and do.