Freshmen: start volunteering as soon as you get settled into college

[Latteandaprayer]

As soon as you figure out how to study, I urge you to find a hospital and a soup kitchen and start volunteering. I didn’t start non-clinical volunteering until last month and I want to apply next cycle, but that’s left me feeling inadequate. Adcoms, you’ll hear over and over, care more about commitment than hours. 200 hours over 3 years is better than 200 over a year.

All you freshmen are always asking for advice, and the best I can give you is to start ECs right after you learn how to get As.

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[Isoval]

As soon as you figure out how to study, I urge you to find a hospital and a soup kitchen and start volunteering. I didn’t start non-clinical volunteering until last month and I want to apply next cycle, but that’s left me feeling inadequate. Adcoms, you’ll hear over and over, care more about commitment than hours. 200 hours over 3 years is better than 200 over a year.

All you freshmen are always asking for advice, and the best I can give you is to start ECs right after you learn how to get As.

That’s not necessarily true. The “commitment” thing is more of a “make sure you don’t spread yourself thin” than a “take your time” kind of thing.

It is generally true, however, that commitment is valuable.

 

[Latteandaprayer]

That’s not necessarily true. The “commitment” thing is more of a “make sure you don’t spread yourself thin” than a “take your time” kind of thing.

It is generally true, however, that commitment is valuable.

Really? Literally every adcom on here has said long term > hours in general.

 

[Isoval]

I think you’re getting it a little confused.

Volunteering at one organization for three years for x hours is generally better than volunteering at twenty organizations for x hours over the same period of time.

Volunteering at one organization of 3 years is better than volunteering at that same organization for 1 year, but with respect to commitment.

If you volunteer 60 hours in a week versus in three years for an organization, your logic dictates that three years is automatically better. I disagree and think it is far more nuanced.

 

[Latteandaprayer]

I think you’re getting it a little confused.

Volunteering at one organization for three years for x hours is generally better than volunteering at twenty organizations for x hours over the same period of time.

Volunteering at one organization of 3 years is better than volunteering at that same organization for 1 year, but with respect to commitment.

If you volunteer 60 hours in a week versus in three years for an organization, your logic dictates that three years is automatically better. I disagree and think it is far more nuanced.

60 hours isn’t significant if it’s at one place (ie, if it’s your only experience), but 200 hours is a significant time commitment. Every adcom here has said 200 hours over a couple years is better than 200 over the summer then stopping. I agree that 60 in a week is better than 60 in three years.

I’m just saying to not wait until the summer before junior year to START volunteering at all, like me.

 

[Isoval]

60 hours isn’t significant if it’s at one place (ie, if it’s your only experience), but 200 hours is a significant time commitment. Every adcom here has said 200 hours over a couple years is better than 200 over the summer then stopping. I agree that 60 in a week is better than 60 in three years.

I’m just saying to not wait until the summer before junior year to START volunteering at all, like me.

I agree with this wholeheartedly. I mostly just wanted to point out that I think it’s much more nuanced than you presented it to be.

For example: let’s say I go take an alternative spring break trip. I work a hundred hours (it’s actually closer to 40 or 50, but let’s say you do). Inexplicably, my time working the alternative spring break trip is worth less than a hundred hours over a year somewhere else.

My point is moreso that I think you’ve made a huge overgeneralization that can be particularly misleading.

 

[Oso]

I’m just saying to not wait until the summer before junior year to START volunteering at all, like me.

Big time difference between what you did and having freshmen start volunteering as "soon as they're settled".

If someone focused on grades all of freshman year and started volunteering the following summer, they would have at least 2 solid years of volunteering by the time applications open up. I think volunteering looks less genuine when it's done for < 1 year, especially in the year before you apply.

 

[Latteandaprayer]

Big time difference between what you did and having freshmen start volunteering as "soon as they're settled".

If someone focused on grades all of freshman year and started volunteering the following summer, they would have at least 2 solid years of volunteering by the time applications open up. I think volunteering looks less genuine when it's done for < 1 year, especially in the year before you apply.

I didn’t say I wasn’t stupid about it. To be fair, I have some really good excuses that are just that—excuses. And yeah, freshmen should focus on grades their first year, but they should be thinking about the ECs they’ll be doing at the time. Maybe “start now” is too extreme, but at least having a plan would be helpful.

 

[Dagrimsta1]

Get settled into college. It’s not 13th grade. Once you feel comfortable with the new regime, do your EC’s. Nothing wrong with getting your feet wet before jumping in.