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Our high school also has a minimal number of hours of volunteering that is required, and the majority of kids just do that minimum. While volunteering obviously says something about the person, it isn't going to make or break a college application. A well-rounded student might have engaged in clubs, sports, a job, or other time commitments in lieu of volunteering. Yes, it is possible that certain schools may weigh volunteering as a tipping factor if all other factors are equal. Every school is likely to have different tipping factors. For ex., a science school is likely to be more impressed by research projects than by volunteering at a nursing home.
Either a kid shows a consistent pattern of volunteering that somehow defines him or her as a person, or does the minimum that is required by the school and NHS (colleges obviously know that number). Suddenly adding volunteer hours as a JR or Senior is unlikely to convince anyone that the kid has always been dedicated to community service.
My D has over 600 hours of volunteering at a hospital, where she has worked since age 15. Whether the local library, hospitals, nursing homes, science museum, charity events, there are some kids who have spent years committed to community service. The "regulars" (and the nice ladies in the volunteering office at the hospital where my kid works) joke a little about the high school students who show up the summer before they are Seniors or in the Fall of Senior year, just so they can list volunteering on their college or scholarship applications.
If OP's kid has a passion for a particular form of community service or volunteering, that's great! IMO, if the only reason to get some hours of volunteering is to try to impress an Adcom late in the game, I'd say that they'll see through it and to emphasize her other strengths instead.
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