Major(s): Political Science with a minor in economics or international relations.
Location: I live in a college town of about 70k people, it’s in the middle of nowhere but it’s in a swing state.
I got this internship at some local political organization where I would be canvassing, going door to door and telling people how to vote by mail, giving phone calls, ect.
Would this be any good for college applications if I did it like around 4ish hours each week, I don’t wanna be wasting my time on something that’s useless.
If I didn’t do it I would probably replace it with taking a local university class but I’m already taking advanced high school classes and a bunch of APs so I’m not sure if that would really add much.
If this is something you want to do, and YOU feel it’s a valuable use if your time…then do it. Please don’t do things just because you think it might impress some college adcom down the road. Do your activities, and jobs and volunteer things because they interest YOU.
Please understand…the vast majority of college applicants have never taken a college course during high school. Again…do this because you want to…not because you think it will impress some adcom down the road.
My opinion…volunteer work of any kind is a good thing to do.
I’ve seen the head of high school democrats in our state go to an ivy. I was told that the 150 kids that head the political organization on the Democrat and Republican sides at the high school level, nationally, do very well for college. I am sure the kids that volunteer for congressmen etc, or volunteer to advocate for causes etc do well as well. I think it depends on the degree of your engagement, how much passion you convey about what you are doing, and how it dovetails with the rest of your application. Also you should have good grades and great recommendations inside the school, and good test scores. Then all these ECs will come to your aid.
If it feeds a passion of yours (or even an abiding interest) then of course, do it. But don’t do it because it will look good on applications. Do it because it’s meaningful for you and helps you explore an area of interest that might lead somewhere (or might not! You don’t know.).
You’re a sophomore. You surely have academic interests, but you don’t know what your major will be. A lot can change in the next two years, the next three years, the next six years … and as far as the opportunities that await you in college, you can’t possibly know the unpredictable turns your life and passions will take. So for now, work on growing intellectually and socially, and pursue interests and activities that seem exciting.
If the only reason you’re doing this is to check a box on the application, don’t do it. It’s also likely that without the interest, you won’t do a particularly good job either.
If you are interested, otoh, go for it. Enthusiasm in a role like this matters, and you’ll likely come away with some new insights on democracy, voting, etc.
Nothing is useless if you enjoy it and are making an impact. Talking to people is a great ‘skill’ to have, a great personality trait to develop. It will help you, if for example, you pursue a career in sales and guess what - we all sell.
Whatever you do that you enjoy and can make an impact - is good. It might be scooping ice cream at the local shop or walking dogs at the shelter. It might be volunteering as a tutor for disadvantaged kids.
And one last thing - many, maybe even most colleges, don’t consider ECs.
Do something because it’s right for you, not for a college application. This is a fine activity, if it’s something that you enjoy. Otherwise, find something else to do with your time.
I think you should pursue this internship as a good beginner experience in election politics. If you can secure a follow-up campaign or legislative internship next year with a local or state representative, that would be very rewarding & valuable for a future government/political science major.
Or it could also be a way to rule out that line of work. Kids that I know that worked for local politicians have found the process so corrupt, that they foreswore going into all politics adjacent fields . It could be a learning experience either way.
if even the initial intent is not to go into a politics adjacent job, why bother at all to do a political science major? Obviously you can change your mind after doing the major.
Well - different discussion with many perspectives:) But just answering OP’s question.
Many assume you need ECs to get into college but unlikely to most schools. But to named schools, what you do likely doesn’t matter. But whether they even need ECs will ultimately depend on the list.
It’s interesting - my introvert wife has no issue canvassing for candidates. I am more extroverted and spent four years knocking on 50 doors a day of businesses that didn’t want to see me - but I would hate canvassing.
Door knocking, in general, is great experience, regardless of if one is selling “politicians” or payroll services, etc. If you can develop an ability to connect with others, that’s a skill that can take you a long way in life.
And perhaps it’s the age and immaturity but I would hope there would be a better thought process than “I don’t wanna be wasting my time on something that’s useless.”
I agree you shouldn’t do this just to look good to colleges.
But I also want to add if you want to do this, you are definitely not hurting yourself!
That is basically because practical experience in retail politics is great preparation for the academic study of politics. Same deal with practical experience working for for-profit companies, and the academic study of microeconomics.
Or really anything–experience with the real world version of a thing, where people have real stakes in terms of things they are trying to accomplish, often in the face of competition or other significant challenges, is great preparation for then studying those things in a more meaningful way.
And then so much of selective college admissions is basically about preparation. Like, one of the central questions they are asking when reviewing your applications is are you a good bet to thrive at their college? And your relatively level of preparation for the things you say you are interested in doing is a potentially critical factor in answering that question.
To be sure, that doesn’t mean they NEED to see retail political experience for any successful applicant intending to study Political Science, or for-profit experience for Econ, or so on. But it is certainly going to be ONE of the ways of helping to assure them you are a good bet to thrive, if in fact you follow through on those interests at their college.
It doesn’t sound to me as if your heart is in it.
You don’t appear to be enthusiastic about it, so, why bother?
When you volunteer for something, you have to have a specific drive to share your time, energy and talent on something which you think will fulfill a need or desire for your heart.
A laundry list, of things to do to try to get into college, is just that: doing the same load, over and over again without any spark.
100%. Of the volunteering I’ve done, and some of it has been pretty ****ty work (quite literally - cleaning cages at a wildlife hospital), I have never once thought ‘that’s an hour of my life I’ll never get back”, because I always felt it was worthwhile. I think if someone even has to ask “is this volunteer role worth it” (to be clear, in terms of their own time rather than in terms of impact of the work) the answer is almost certainly no. Find something you really want to do regardless how you think it will look.
I personally think the volunteer role OP is describing is a very worthwhile way to spend one’s time, but if they are thinking it could be “useless”, they should rather look for something else that they really are interested in and leave this internship to someone who can do it enthusiastically.
To the OP…colleges aren’t just looking for academic stars. You say if you don’t do this volunteer thing, you will take a college level course, even though you are already taking a strong courseload at your high school.
If this volunteer thing isn’t what you want to do…because you want to do it…I would suggest looking for something else in that realm. You already have a strong courseload, so look beyond that.
I am in my 60’s and still canvass, do phoneathons, etc. for both voter registration and “where is my polling place” nights, as well as other events for specific candidates and campaigns.
It is incredibly rewarding work. Yes, you’ll get folks hanging up on you, slamming the door in your face, etc. And then you knock on the door of a home and an elderly person answers it and says “I can’t drive anymore but I’m heartbroken- I’ve never missed an election in my entire adult life, but none of my neighbors can take me to the polls next week and I missed the deadline for mail in voting”. And you pull out your phone, tap the App, and a popup says “Susie Jones who lives three streets over will be happy to drive you to the polls and wait for you until you’re done and then drive you home. Tap the timeslot you wish to be picked up” and there-- in 5 seconds- you’ve helped a citizen exercise their right to vote.
I had a guy threaten to call the cops when I rang the bell before the last presidential election (and we only rang bells for registered voters of one particular party) and I’ve had citizens try to give me home baked cookies or send me off with a can of cold beer as a thank you. And one guy- who flew on a red eye to make it home in time to vote. Lives in a swing state. It was going to be his first presidential election since becoming a citizen. Said that he’s never been so proud to be an American as he’s going to be walking into the polls. In the country he was born in, the polls were too dangerous to even attempt to vote. Totally corrupt system, totally corrupt voting protocols. And he was looking forward to voting without looking over his shoulder or worried about his own safety. I still pray he voted safely without shenanigans at his polling place.
So if it’s volunteering for a “get out the vote” organization or a college class, I say volunteer. And it’s only a waste of time if you can’t make the experience something valuable and meaningful.