Families and students often ask us, “does volunteer work matter for college admissions?” Volunteer work can help your college application stand out, especially at highly selective places like Ivy League schools. You will have the chance to list your volunteer work in the activities section of your Common Application, and you also may be able to write about some of your volunteer work in your essays.
However, at Great College Advice, after helping hundreds of kids over the years, we have seen first-hand that not all volunteer work will help on your college application. Keep reading to find out if volunteering will give you a helpful boost on your college application, or if it would be better for you to put your focus on other aspects of the application.
How important is volunteer work on a college application?
We get this question all the time, and, like so much else in the college application process, the answer is simple: it depends!
Colleges want students who are mature, responsible, curious, empathetic, and engaged with the world around them. Volunteering can be a great way to develop those characteristics and to showcase them on your college application. If you can do volunteer work that you find meaningful and exciting, that will certainly help you show on your college application that you are precisely the type of student colleges want on their campus.
That being said, colleges can tell if you are just doing volunteer work because you think it will look good on your college application. If that is the case, your college application will probably stand out more if you put your efforts towards something you feel more passionate about.
Does volunteer work matter for college admissions? Or are colleges looking for something else?
The fact is that colleges do not require volunteer work or community service. They are not asking their applicants to “tick boxes” or follow particular check lists. They are not looking for a particular number of volunteer hours.
The fact is, it’s not about the particular activity (e.g., sports, the arts, research, internships, paid work, or volunteer work). It’s about why you do it and how well you do it.
Rather, a commitment to volunteer work can demonstrate a couple of different things. First, it is a testament to your desire to give back to your community. A sustained and loyal commitment to a particular organization that fulfills a particular mission speaks volumes about what you think is important as a human being. If you are volunteering to benefit your fellow humans–no matter in what capacity–you are signaling the sort of person you will be in the future: someone who puts service to the community high on the list of your personal commitments.
Second, this commitment to volunteerism and service can be a way to demonstrate your impact. The more you dedicate your time an enterprise of any sort, the more the possibility exists for you to move that enterprise in a positive direction. By putting your energies, talents, and time into solving problems, making a difference, and enhancing the lives of others, you can show that you are not just marking time in order to rack up hours to “look good” on your college application. Rather, you are diving into this volunteer endeavor headfirst in order to have a positive, measurable impact.
College admissions officers like both of these things. They like to see how you spend your time, and time spent in the service of others says a lot about the person. However, this concept of impact or achievement is even more important: volunteer work can attest to your tenacity, perseverance, loyalty, and creativity. And often, it’s a way for you to demonstrate leadership.
What colleges look for in volunteer work
Remember: when colleges look at your application, they’re trying to figure out what kind of contributions you will make to their campus. Are you the type of student who will do the minimum to scrape by and graduate? Or are you going to be someone bringing passion, energy, commitment, leadership, and a fresh perspective to campus?
Of course, you want to use your college application to demonstrate that you will be that second type of student! And your volunteer work is one opportunity to do that. So, the cause or organization you’re volunteering with is a lot less important than the way you approach your volunteer work.
Volunteer in a way that allows you to showcase that you are a committed, passionate, curious, generous leader. This means trying to commit to one or two organizations or types of volunteer work over the course of your four years in high school, rather than flitting from one opportunity to the next. It also means looking for ways to incorporate leadership and creativity into your volunteer work. Rather than simply showing up for a volunteer shift somewhere and doing as you’re told, see if you can propose your own volunteer projects and see them through. This could mean starting your own nonprofit organization or going out and interacting with your community on your own, but it doesn’t have to be independent, either. Get to know an organization you like or one that you’re already a part of. Approach the volunteer coordinator with your idea and ask if it would be helpful and welcome at that organization.
If you find yourself doing the bare minimum at your volunteer hours just so you can list them on your Common Application, something is not right. It may be time to look for a new volunteer opportunity or consider if your time would be better spent pursuing other extracurricular activities. At the end of the day, volunteering is a way to give back while nurturing your sense of curiosity and engagement with your community. Find something that you feel excited about, and you can’t go wrong!
How many volunteer hours do you need for college admission?
In order for volunteer work to help on your college application, it should be substantive. Aim for somewhere between 50 and 200 volunteer hours over the course of your high school career. Less than that, and you haven’t given yourself the opportunity to truly engage with the organization you’re serving and the work you’re doing. More than that, however, and you might be overworking yourself or pulling focus away from other important areas of your life as a high school student, such as your school work and your mental and physical health.
But remember: your impact as a volunteer is not measured simply by marking time. Admissions officers will like to see if you have made some sort of impact as a volunteer. Did you revise some procedures that made the lives of volunteers easier? Did you develop new programs for the organization? Did you lead particular programs or some aspect of a program? Did you raise money for the organization, and if so, how much? Did your responsibilities increase over time, and if so, in what way?
To make the point, consider the young man who spends four hours every Saturday shelving books at the local library. He shows up at 10am, collects the piles of books that have been checked back in, sorts them into stacks according to where they should be reshelved, and then starts putting books back on the shelves until 2pm. He does this every Saturday for three years. This shows dedication and consistency, but it does not show increases in responsibility or increased impact for the library. The job is certainly necessary, and the librarians are very appreciative, but this volunteer work is more about the number of hours spent and less about the achievements of the volunteer in improving the organization.
By contrast, consider the young woman who volunteers at the homeless shelter every Saturday for four hours. In 9th grade, she mops floors, empties the trash, and serves at meal time. But as she learns about the residents of the shelter, she comes up with ideas for how to better serve the clients. Maybe she has ideas for getting clients to meet one another, build community, and spend time together by organizing a “game hour” every Saturday. She discusses those ideas with her supervisors, who give her the green light to try it. Over time, this game hour becomes a regular fixture of the shelter in the hour leading up to lunch and gives a subset of clients something that they look forward to every Saturday when the volunteer pulls out the games and gathers people to play. This student has a greater impact and has earned some respect from the shelter administrator and appreciation of the clients. This sort of volunteerism has greater value in admissions than the previous example of shelving books.
Where to volunteer
There are so many great places to volunteer! Remember that the most important thing is that you’re interested in and curious about the volunteer work you’re doing. If you’re unsure of where to get started, consider the following:
Consider organizations that you or your family/friends are already involved in. This could include religious organizations or charities you already raise money for.
What skills or talents you’re bringing to the table. Maybe you have a knack for film-making, love animals, or are a great tutor. If you have some sort of interest or talent, look for organizations that align with those interests or need people with those talents.
Your academic interests. If you’re interested in politics, volunteering on a political campaign might make sense. If you’re interested in marine life, try volunteering at the local aquarium. If you like fossils and paleontology, volunteer at the local museum of science or natural history
If you’re still feeling stuck, consider the following types of places as a jumping-off point:Hospitals
- Nursing homes
- Churches/synagogues/mosques/temples
- Social organizations such as a Rotary Club (Rotary actually has a branch that is specifically for high schoolers called Interact)
- Animal shelters
- Local nonprofits
- Political campaigns
- Medical research fundraisers such as Relay for Life
- Tutoring groups through your school or outside organizations
- The Red Cross
- Meals on Wheels
- Big Brothers Big Sisters
- Museums
- Homeless shelters
- Food banks
- Women’s shelters
Volunteer work can help a college application
Volunteering can help you show on your college application that you are a dedicated, empathetic, curious leader who prioritizes giving back to your community. It can help you develop maturity and demonstrate to colleges that you’re going to be an engaged, active community member. Just make sure that, whatever volunteer work you choose to pursue, it is something you find personally meaningful and engaging. If you’re doing something you find interesting, it will show through on your college application.
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