Do admission officers like applicants who have many volunteer hours?

Colleges & Universities Brown University
1

<p>I’m talking about over 150hr?</p>

2

<p>They certainly won’t dislike you for volunteering.</p>

3

<p>150+ hours?! That means you’re sure to get in!</p>

<p>…</p>

<p>Really, it’s just an activity. Everyone and their uncle volunteers. But volunteering sure beats not volunteering (unless you write a really cool essay how you hate those fakers who volunteer for no good, and you wanna be real. THAT could actually be a boost, depending on how you pull it off).</p>

4

<p>If you only did a little volunteering, and it isn’t particularly interesting, is it worth putting on your application? I read that admissions might interpret activities that seem random/unrelated against you, because it might seem like you did it just to add more to your resume.</p>

5

<p>Admitees have outstanding attributes. Volunteer hours are like being on the “honor roll”</p>

6

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<p>Eh. I would say, “Doing something sure beats doing nothing!” </p>

<p>Volunteering is only one way to spend your time, and it’s hardly unique among applicants to top schools. Besides which, if you’re measuring the level of your involvement in service by hours, I have a hard time believing you’re particularly committed. Plenty of kids are required to get that many hours or more by their school or by the IB Diploma program, and it’s not too terribly difficult to amass from a few scattered activities. What could be a boost is if you’ve spent considerable time working at one non-profit or fundraising for one cause, in which case you could measure your involvement by funds raised or with a letter of recommendation from an overseer or someone who has personally benefitted from your aid. </p>

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<p>That’s a personal choice. In my case, volunteering isn’t particularly important to me. I got the hours required by my school (150+freshman/sophomore year requirements which I’ve forgotten) and moved on. I’ve participated in Relay for Life every year, but I don’t have an organizing role, and, frankly, I go to spend a night running around with my friends. So I’m just not mentioning them on my app–I have much more developed interests to spend my precious Common App space on.</p>