I used to volunteer at an old age home/senior center. However, I moved to a new location where volunteering for a senior center is not an option. However, colleges would prefer I continue volunteering at one, as it shows dedication, right? Anyways, My options here are Habitat for Humanity or the hospital. I am aware that Ivy Leagues want dedication, so no matter what I choose, I need to volunteer at it regularly until I am done with high school, right? So my question is, would Ivy Leagues care whether I did Habitat for Humanity or the Hospital if I volunteered regularly at either one?
Do what you enjoy doing… They don’t care as long as you’re good at it and committed and passionate.
No. No Ivy League school requires volunteer work on any kind for admission.
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/harvard-university/835055-calculate-your-chances-for-admission-to-harvard-p1.html Sage advice in the first post…
You shouldn’t volunteer just to impress Ivy admissions or anyone else. It should be an activity that flows out of your interests, that you do because you love doing it.
For example, when my daughter was in 6th grade she started volunteering for a dog rescue group because she loves dogs. A couple of years later she started volunteering at a natural history museum staffing educational carts on science, because she loves science and that museum. She wound up volunteering at the museum for five years. That fit her interests. She also was taking lots of science classes in high school and now plans to major in science in college.
One of her friends volunteered several years at a hospital, but that’s because she plans to be a doctor. I know of another person who volunteered at a zoo during high school, because she plans to study wildlife in college. Do you get the idea?
If you can’t find or create volunteer opportunities related to your areas of interest for possible majors and careers, then go with what is most fun or meaningful for you, or perhaps where you can develop the most new skills and knowledge that could come in handy later. You should be getting something out of volunteering besides trying to impress others.
No amount of volunteering will gain you admission to an Ivy. It can bolster an application, but it’s usually clear to admissions officers if you’ve done something to pad your resume and application, or if you’ve done something because it flows from your interests or your joy of helping others. So there is no right or wrong choice between volunteering for Habitat for Humanity or the hospital (or somewhere else). Which activity interests you?
No matter where I volunteer, I will be passionate about it. My worries are that the hospital is too generic, as it seems like everybody volunteers at a hospital and it won’t stand out. Also, Habitat for Humanity does not seem like it will have much of an opportunity for advancement for regular, continuous volunteers, and it does not seem like something that would impress college admissions officers. I understand that you all are saying that I should not volunteer based off of what I think is impressive, but as an international student, mu chances of acceptance to an Ivy League is the literal equivalent of zero.
If your chances are the “literal equivalent of zero,” why are you worried about what they think? It’s not going to change your chances if you spend your time at an animal shelter or a hospital or a camp for kids or whatever.
The sincere kind
@SwaggaSnoopDoge - There’s no helpful advice one way or another because neither of those two volunteering gigs stand out as something unique and impressive. They will maybe complement an otherwise strong application, though, if you do them for a long time and its clear that you love doing it. They can tell that stuff.
“They will maybe complement an otherwise strong application”- I think I understand what you mean, but could you clarify?
I think the OP is not concernerned about which is better as much as the fact that they cannot show all 4 years’ dedication at one or the other. This cannot be helped due to your move. It won’t be a “negative” factor.
“This cannot be helped due to your move. It won’t be a “negative” factor.” Well that’s a shame it can’t be helped. Dedicated volunteering is needed to get into the Ivy League, but I won’t even be able to show it. 
Go read skieurope’s post #2 again, because I’m not sure you understood it.
Please understand.
–There is no necessity to volunteer at all even for Ivy League Schools.
–There is no necessity to volunteer at one place to show dedication.
–Even with that said, college admissions officers will see that you moved and will understand that you could not continue to volunteer at the same place.
–And also recognize that unless you are the child of a huge donor or a recruited athlete, that admission to Ivy League and equivalent schools is pretty much a crapshoot. You really should extend your definition of what schools you will target