<p>Alright, call me cynical, but do you guys think organizations like Key Club would exist without college applications? I mean, seriously, nearly every applicant to the top universities has volunteered, been part of some charitable project, cleaned up trash in the community, etc. Seriously, though, who actually enjoys doing that stuff? I completely understand why people participate in activities like athletics - it’s fun to play sports. But would any of you honestly have spent hundreds of hours volunteering at the soup kitchen, or at the hospital, or making copies at your local nonprofit organization for no pay if you know that colleges didn’t care one bit whether or not you did these things? Please be honest, no BS.</p>
<p>Actually, yeah</p>
<p>yes. they would be set up a bit differently, though, I think. Like not as much logging hours based or whatever.</p>
<p>people interested in medicine would still volunteer at hospitals, People who love fluffy animals would still volunteer at the shelter, I would still help out with all my school-type functions, etc…</p>
<p>good question! whether people volunteer or not they do so out of morality and social environment; very few out of genuine personal desire and sympathy. I am not from US. In my country, such activities are limited. Those who do are from the top schools and who seek admission to top colleges in the US. My case! I always wanted to do something extra, not necessarily volunteer work but the time, resources, and the environment ( generally teachers and parents expect us to study hard ) prevented my growth. I did little little volunteer work, but I learnt BASIC language largely on my own, and am currently learning C++ on my own, i collect math problems and try to solve them, i solved every math and physics problems in my high school on my own except odd one or two ( i would spent hours on a problem if required, and i still do )</p>
<p>Might look like i am wandering away from the topic but what i want to say is i don’t have “documented” hours of service but still I helped old people whenever I could, I worked on my farm lands, I and my family help clean our streets…bla bla bla…basically the thing is people are interested in such activities but the hours documenting way devaluates the work…</p>
<p>By the way, I didn’t get into any top schools 
hence my name intl_transfer…</p>
<p>Any comments or questions appreciated!</p>
<p>I’d think they would exist but would be extremely insignificant and small</p>
<p>My school’s Key Club doesn’t do ANYTHING.</p>
<p>I would participate in them still. I know a lot of people who would not, though.</p>
<p>I have no clue what Key Clubs are as I’m an International. But digressions aside, I guess I would be one of those people who actually enjoyed volunteering! I have about 350 hours recorded since the beginning of high school (the actual number should be a bit higher as I sometimes got lazy to go through the whole recording process), and I can say that I’ve enjoyed every minute of it! I’ve been volunteering at the school library since 7th grade, and at the beginning of Gr.12, when the librarian offered to pay me for my work, I turned it down and stayed as a volunteer. I find volunteering very personally rewarding, as I’ve always wanted to give back to the community for what it’s offered us. </p>
<p>But I do understand your sentiment though. A few weeks ago, a Gr.9 at my school asked me: “how many volunteer hours do you need to get into Yale?” I told her it’s not the hours that get you in, she stared at me and said “then why did you volunteer so much?”</p>
<p>^^
LoL!</p>
<p>Well to be honest, very few people start volunteering for the innate satisfaction at first. I would think that they keep their resume in mind as they clock their hours, but after a while, they begin to enjoy the process and soon manifest that passion onto themselves. At least thats what happened to me. I think the “forced college resume mentality” is actually a great way to explore different aspects of life (ECs, volunteering) that would have never occurred if all colleges wanted were test scores and grades. I know that I would be a completely different person without the initial push for extracurriculars and volunteering opportunities. Now they are part of my lifestyle :D</p>
<p>Very few people would continue to volunteer to the extent that they do now if it had no effect on college admissions. Many would never even volunteer at all. I for one would still do certain volunteering projects like Habitat for Humanity, because it’s fun to build houses with my friends.</p>
<p>In many school districts, community service or actual work hours are actually REQUIRED in order to graduate. The fact that it’s mandated by the school district to expose students to out of classroom experiences – is that wrong? I don’ t think so. It’s to society’s best interest to acquaint as many as possible to these areas. I’m glad the schools require them</p>
<p>So some others then take this and view it as part of their overall package to attain competitive colleges – that’s just the marketplace unfortunately.</p>
<p>yea ummmm, isn’t community service done just to better the community, not to just impress some yale or princeton admissions officer??? correct me if i’m wrong</p>
<p>Nobody does anything without a selfish reason.</p>
<p>I agree with Ernie. If you think about it, even if you do community service for the good of the community, you are still providing yourself with the sense of “Oh I’m a good person and I feel good inside”.</p>
<p>“you are still providing yourself with the sense of “Oh I’m a good person and I feel good inside”.” </p>
<p>yea ummmmm people who are not narcissistic bastards generally dont have that sense.</p>
<p>Oh come on…why do people do good deeds? Either because it makes them feel good or because they ‘enjoy’ it. Go find me someone who does a lot of volunteering and who doesn’t get some satisfaction out of it. That’s their reward. They enjoy the experience. Whether that’s narcissism or just empathy, I don’t know. Nonetheless, people get something out of it. </p>
<p>There’s nothing wrong with that. If it benefits society, all the better. I personally think there are no purely ‘selfless’ acts in the world. But, there’s also no need to be so cynical about everything. Just accept is as part of life. And yes, I find this attitude to be cynical. I think people are too cynical about everything these days anyway. Damn the age of irony. We don’t need it.</p>
<p>WindCloudUltra and Erin were both right on.</p>
<p>this gets me thinking about objectivism… like maybe desiring what’s good for ourselves (that nice shiny feeling after doing something nice) is usually good for others, and therefore desirable (doing nice things is… nice)</p>
<p>so at first selfishness sounds cynical, but it doesn’t have to be… or something? i’m too out of it to think this thing though</p>
<p>Lol …</p>
<p>Good question, I actually thought about this during the AP English Language exam, there was a very similar open-ended question on it.</p>