Most admissions officers I’ve met are nice people who enjoy talking to potential applicants when they have the opportunity. But one particular question can really get under their skin:
“How many hours of community service do I need?”
I understand why the question can annoy them. It reduces philanthropy to nothing more than a perceived admissions advantage. And it presumes that there will be some number of hours at which the officer will say, “No need to continue helping people in need—you’ve completed enough hours!”
But I appreciated the University of Virginia’s take on the subject [ed. note: here’s the link, which I forgot in the original post], as shared on their blog yesterday. It reminded readers that kids don’t come up with this kind of question on their own; they’ve inevitably gotten bad information or advice and are simply trying to make good choices.
Some colleges, particularly those with an affiliation to a religion with service as a tenet, will view a consistent dedication to philanthropy as a sign that the applicant could be a good match. But even those schools don’t have a minimum number of hours that must be completed before you can earn your admissions advantage.
Spend your time in high school doing things that interest you, activities that make you happy and allow you to bring your best self to make an impact. If that impact comes in the form of helping a disadvantaged population, you should be proud of your efforts. But don’t do it just because you’re trying to meet an imagined minimum.