Is this appropriate in my application?

[Pojman]

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So - I decided to put down volunteer service which I have gained through my local church on my application.

A little background information about me, I am in my 30's and I have 2 children, a job, and I am attending school full time to complete pharmacy prerequisites. I have so little extra time each week, that I am lucky if I see my children every other day for an hour or two. I simply do not feel like my circumstances allow for me to freely give time away to volunteer simply to strengthen my application.

But! I am highly involved with my church that I attend, and I freely volunteer to teach Sunday school to a group of teenagers. I also volunteer countless hours of time to mow the lawn for elderly members of the community, clean parks, clean the church building, etc... I literally volunteer at least 3-4 hours a week of my time to church activities within the church itself, and within the community.

My point is - I do not have to do this, this is something that I freely volunteer my time for, and it is a substantial amount of time. I was talking to a friend about this, and he said "you are doing this for the advancement of your church, not the community".

I got to thinking about what he said and it is true - I am doing it for the advancement of my church. But only because I truly believe that the service I do for my church makes the community that I am involved with a better place.

I have volunteered like this for a minimum of 3 hours a week, for almost the past 10 years. This totals well over 1000+ hours of volunteer service. I said forget it - I am doing it on my own free will, and because I feel like the service I do makes the world a better place to live. I put that down on my PharmCAS as volunteer service rendered.

Good idea, or bad idea? Either way, I feel good about the fact that I volunteer, and I felt like it made my application reflect who I am as a person better than to leave my volunteer service completely blank..

 

[romylove]

You're right, your volunteering through your church does help your community. A church is a community in itself, albeit a small one probably composed of maybe ~30-200 people that are part of a larger community of a city/county/state.

 

[Guitarmacy]

Arguments can be made both for keeping it on and leaving it off your application. But when it comes down to it, it's something you need to decide. In my opinion, it shows that you can be committed to something for a long period period of time and is a positive addition to your application. This is coming from someone who is not religious whatsoever, so that's probably saying something.

 

[Pojman]

Arguments can be made both for keeping it on and leaving it off your application. But when it comes down to it, it's something you need to decide. In my opinion, it shows that you can be committed to something for a long period period of time and is a positive addition to your application. This is coming from someone who is not religious whatsoever, so that's probably saying something.

I agree.. It is not about me advancing a denominational agenda, it is just something that I feel like benefits myself, my family, and my community.

 

[sodiumd]

You have nothing to lose. I think you should present it.

 

[romylove]

I am also non-religious. I think the only way it could really hurt you is if you described the volunteering in an offensive/preachy way.

"Through the miracle of our Lord Jesus Christ I have been blessed with the opportunity to volunteer... blah blah blah.... I am reminded of Psalms blah blah etc.etc."

I hope you catch my drift. I have seen people write stuff like this on OKCupid, and it makes me roll my eyes every time. "Our lord" is assuming a lot about your reader. The only time I would say this is okay is if you're applying to a private school like the Incarnate Word here in Texas.

 

[riggylou]

You're right, your volunteering through your church does help your community. A church is a community in itself, albeit a small one probably composed of maybe ~30-200 people that are part of a larger community of a city/county/state.

Agreed..I think you should put it. Any time you volunteer it's likely going to be to a small, specific group.., ie: people who happen to show up to whatever organization your volunteering to..in this case it just happens to be church members.

And, you have a lot of good, specific examples of the type of service you do. I think you would be doing yourself a disservice if you left this off of your application.

Good luck. 👍

 

[frabu04]

I think as long as your willingness to help is not limited to just the church then it shouldn't hurt.

 

[Rooster73]

Good idea. Definitely include it. Unfortunately for us, not everything fits neatly into the rubric provided by PharmCAS, but in my humble opinion, you aren't "stretching" at all by including church-centric volunteer service. Actually, I would say that it fits quite neatly, and I'm puzzled by your friends efforts to dissuade you.

 

[Corpseman]

Include it.

 

[pharm B]

I'd definitely put it.

 

[kcha90]

I think you should present who you are as accurately as possible. If you truly believe in what you do, list it.