Volunteer Hours? Scholarships?

Sikorsky
Tue, 06 Aug 2013 09:26:09 +0000

People have misinformed you.

There is no requirement that you total your “volunteer hours” on college applications, nor is there any requirement that you have any volunteer hours at all. Some selective colleges and universities do care about applicants’ extracurricular activities and accomplishments. If volunteering is your thing, then you’ll give some description of the kinds of volunteer work you have done. But even then, it’s what you’ve done and what you’ve accomplished that matter, not how many hours you spent.

In much the same way, if something besides volunteering is your thing, whether it’s lacrosse or choral music or mock trial or wilderness adventure, colleges and universities that care at all will care more about what you’ve done than the tally of hours you’ve spent doing it. But they won’t care at all whether you have “volunteer hours.”

For aid at Berkeley–whether it’s merit-based scholarships or need-based financial aid, or a combination of the two, that you’re seeking–you take those steps while you’re applying, not after you’re admitted. But you will need to complete FAFSA (see [FAFSA - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia](FAFSA - Wikipedia)), and you’ll need to do that before you receive an admissions decision.



Scholarships
The Financial Aid and Scholarships Office offers scholarships based on both merit and financial need. if you have applied to UC Berkeley and if you have filed a FAFSA, you are automatically considered. There is no application to fill out.

[UC Berkeley Financial Aid and Scholarships Office: Undergraduates » Prospective Students](http://students.berkeley.edu/finaid/undergraduates/prospective.htm#types)

Every college or university that you apply to will have a page on financial aid. You’ll need to read them