While it's been a LONG time since I went to college, and I can't comment on the actual admission process, I sat on a scholarship committe for a scholarship to a large state university for several years. We usually only had 15-20 applicants a year, but the competition was fierce. They ALL had exceptional grade-point averages, so unfortunately the only way we could distinguish among them was to look at financial need, employment, volunteer work, extracurricular activities, and leadership experience. Almost every kid had some type of volunteer experience listed, even if it was teaching a Sunday school class, helping coach a sports team, or a one-time event like working at a charity 5K or neighborhood clean up day. I'm sure if you think back, you can find something BG has done that would qualify. I think it's bad that kids are doing volunteer work just to "pad" their resume, and not because they feel it's the right thing to do. Being in a leadership role in some way is also a way to stand out from the crowd - team captain, officer in a club, etc.

The HS here requires comm. serv. each year so the kids get it automatically. HG is going to a new! private school in the fall (yes, after leaving the last one-don't get me started) Yes, they look for it. It showed up in her essay question on the application. Something like "what did you learn in volunteering that relates to our school's mission." Yes, well rounded is looked for, but yes, doing one thing well with time management is also important. Email or call me and I can give you more info, but one of the best ways to figure it out is asking someone that actually got in to the school that she wants to go to.

I work at a public university with a highly competitive admissions process and both of my sons go to the same university. I can only speak for our experience here. As an employee here I interact with both students and other departments. The caliber of students here is outstanding. They are almost all overachievers. I have heard through the grapevine that they DO look at everything in Admissions. They want well-rounded students. Of course, they can afford to be picky because of the high volume of applicants for the limited number of spaces. (Supply & Demand).

Our own admissions experiences pretty my reflected the same process. My older son had decent grades, lots of extra curricular activities and virtually no community service. He did not get in as a freshman, but was able to transfer in after a year at a less competitive university. My younger son had great grades, even more extra curricular activities and lots of community service. He was not accepted for early admission but did get in as a freshman in the regular admissions process.

I don't know much about private schools. However, I'm sure it also depends the number of applicants for the available spaces. That whole supply and demand thing again.

Our son had a couple of extracurricular activities and was a "one season wonder" in sports (he did one season each of about 4 sports). While he was very active in our church and did some community service through the youth group, that was about it. He did have very good grades and excellent test scores, and was accepted at each of the schools and offered a partial scholarship. I do think they look at community service, but as one of a number of factors. I think grades, test scores and leadership (team captain, club presidents, etc.) are the biggies.

What we have been told is that it really depends on the institution and in some cases the exact program the students are applying too. Although we are not going through a rigorous process with Gameboy we did hear from the guidance counselor that students (not parents) should contact the admissions departments of the schools they are targeting in their sophomore year to determine exactly what each school will really be looking at. If the student doesn't have a firm plan in place then trying for the "all around" is best.

Shouldn't your child be the one doing this research? If you ASK him/her, then certainly they will have a better handle on it than you might think, given how heavily high schools prep their kiddies now-a-days. Don't be a helicopter!

Colin, hush k? thanks.

The whole resume counts and yes, community service is one of them. I would say that for your daughter one of the things she needs to put down under "Leadership" is that she, as the eldest child of a family, ends up being very much a leader as she leads by example to her younger brothers. I also went to catholic schools my whole life and my senior year I was given the school's award for doing just that: leading by example and the college admissions people always asked about that award and seemed very impressed by it as it is not usually seen....

Please don't overlook the community colleges. Yes, they get a bad rap and some jokes, but a lot of them are fantastic places to attend and a great launching place for a lot of students.

Having attended both types, I actually, by far, liked the community college!

Really look into what your student is going to want to major in. Many degrees, such as teaching, criminal justice, and other socially responsible degrees are better at the community college level because the classes are a mix of people from all ages and backgrounds. There is a lot more room for discussion and interaction with all kinds of people and cultures. In a university, the classes mainly consist of teenage students and therefore a limited knowledge base.

Also, at the community college level some of the teachers are also actually working in the field they teach and give practical advice. A lot of prof. at the university level are teachers with slim 'real work' experience.

Not to mention, is your student does not know what direction they are going, community college is a less expensive way for them to try a few different areas before choosing their path.

Putting my fingers in my ears and pretending I don't also have a sophomore and should be worrying about this and figuring it all out.

*la la la la la la la*

Community Service is definitely worth the effort! We know a few things about getting kids into school and if their applications go before a committee, they want to look at extracurriculars.

It can be as easy as volunteering at a children's camp, reading to kids, delivering food to a shelter, etc.

My daughter just started her first week at college this past Monday. My daughter did a lot of community service. There was an amount of hours that was required during high school to even graduate, however she did a lot on her own.

She was very active in many many sports; volleyball, cheerleading, girls basketball for a few years, gymnastics, dance. You might be wondering when she slept if she was doing community service too. Well, there were times I wondered too.

However, we found that when she babysat the infants room at church on Sundays that counted as community service hours. The church rummage sale counted, most activities with student council counted. So hours quickly added up & in the end it was a nice booster to be able to put that on the college applications.

All of that being said I am on board with the whole point of just getting an education. She is an outgoing girl, but for someone like me who was not outgoing in high school I would not have been up to everything the colleges like to see. Band and chorus was it for me.

In a world that seems to be spinning too fast sometimes I would like to think that just letting the kids focus on school studies is enough. Yet to be devils advocate companies who hire want to know that a person can multitask and handle numerous projects at once.

wow! so much thought process above! I say, two words... GO VOLS!

I'm at college sophomore at a top 3 public college in the nation and yes, community service is a big deal. While GPA and class rank are huge, community service involvement is just as important. Friends of mine who were ranked higher than I, but had limited community service involvement were waitlisted to the same university I now attend.

Also, the National Honor Society requires community service to even be accepted, and colleges realize that students who are a part of the NHS, are usually the cream of the crop of his or her high school

I forgot to add that most colleges say that it's ok if you only have one extracurricular activity, as long as you're passionate about it. However, my friends and I have had much success, scholarship-wise, by participating in at least 3 background extracurriculars but having at least one extracurricular where we had a leadership position or numerous years under our belt.

It has been a long time since my college days but those are the last college apps I have seen.

I have a couple years until I need to think about this but I am glad you put the bug in my ear b/c I could start my kids early in the community service gig.

So, I live in the community.....and I can provide service opportunities:

"Kids, if you wash the dishes, do the laundry, bathe the dog, vaccum, grocery shop, mow the lawn, organize every closet , drawer oh and the garage for the next 6 years YOU CAN GET INTO ANY COLLEGE YOU WANT!"

I worked as a College Admissions Rep for four years and two colleges before I became a teacher. Let me know if you want to chat about this - too much info for a blog comment :)

I work for a large, private university in Milwaukee, where over 80% of of undergrads are actively involved in community service while they are here. It's not required, but it's a large part of our mission focus.

That said, while the main thrust of our admissions review looks at grades and class rankings, we do place some emphasis on community service (why does that sound so much like a sentence being imposed?!) performed by the applicant.

It varies from school to school; as someone said, have the student check with the schools in which she is interested.

I graduated from a private school 4 years ago. So it has been 8 years since I did the whole application thing... I can tell you this about my application process. If you want a leg up, do the community service and be involved. I didn't have a perfect GPA, actually no where near perfect, and I won scholarships over other applicants because I was involved.
I have friends that now work in the admissions office of our alma mater and they say that while GPA is important they like to see involvement because the college wants kids who will be involved in college activities.
It breaks down simply and all goes back to money. It is the students who are involved in the activities that are the best to "show off" to potential donors to the school AND the kids that are involved in the school activities in college will more likely stay connected to the college life after graduating....donating money, coming back for homecoming and spending money and finally leaving money to the college in a will.
So yes. I would say community service and being active in school activities are a must.
It reflects well on the college to have kids who like to go to nursing homes. It thickens the schools pocket books too!

I'm a senior in college and helped my brother apply for colleges last year (today's actually his first day at college, so exciting).

Both my brother and I participated in various clubs and sports, and did some community service too. It's important to not suddenly overburden your daughter. Summers are great for doing community service, even holding a regular job is pretty impressive too. There are community service opportunities that aren't too time-consuming (I'm sure your daughter has her hands full with being a student and also, wanting to have fun). For instance, I'm in a program where I call up a senior once a week, and we chat for an hour or so. It's something I can do from wherever I am and can easily find the time to do so, while helping out another person and gaining from the experience.

Inhale. Exhale. It'll all be fine. Hopefully, your daughter's high school has a great college advisor who will be there to help out with the process.

I apologize for not reading all the comments because I know how annoying that is (so I just fess up right at the beginning). My daughter just started at MTSU (we moved her to the dorm a week ago today).

She was awarded the Buchanan Fellowship for two reasons: GPA, ACT score, and her ESSAY. They told me that everyone who qualifies to apply qualifies, but the essay is the most important in determining the award. She did write about her community service work in the essay, but also where she sees herself in the future.

Good luck!

wow - did you think you'd get this much advice???

How is your friend with cancer? How are you? You haven't been posting regularly, so either you are really crazy busy, or perhaps things aren't going well?
Miss your regular posts!
Praying for you and your friend.

Thank you for bringing up this topic. My oldest is now a junior and she's in a panic to join clubs, volunteer and she's trying to cram it all into one of her most strenuous academic years. I appreciate all the advice here so far and thanks again to busymom for introducing this topic!

The answer is: it depends.

If the kid is aiming for Ivy League, EVERYTHING he does is important to his application. It isn't enough to be brilliant, have a perfect GPA and a perfect SAT (and yes, one of my kids did).

You have to LOAD up on extracurricular activities, including community service. Especially ONE particular charity that becomes their life.

Now, if your kid is aiming a little lower, NO, it doesn't matter at ALL. I have one who didn't give a flip about grades, had a mediocre average and a decent SAT, did nothing after school except play WOW, sent his first applications out Jan 10, and had four acceptances in hand by Jan 20 (all state schools, but one was where he wanted to go).

So, it depends.

I have to agree with The Mother who commented first, and I do work in this field daily as I am a secondary school counselor in a Catholic school who has both the group of kids who have a lot of service both in summer and just helping with younger students at school, camps, etc and also through church or their own choosing, and I also see those who don't have the hours, time etc in service but who aren't aiming as high for acceptance in some schools. So, it does depend, but there are scholarships given for both service and leadership as someone mentioned. Feel free to contact me as you begin to work the search.

My oldest just started college and one thing she was pleased with throughout the application process was the fact that she had various extracurricular activities (most which relate to her music education major) and include volunteering. Those she spoke with were impressed with the courses she chose (AP & College classes her senior year), her activities (marching band, IDL, dance), her volunteering (summer camp, library), and maintaining a fairly high GPA. I know her SAT scores were average, but the colleges did like that she was well-rounded.

If you really want to know what the colleges are interested in seeing, then I would suggest giving a call to an admissions counselor and inquiring. I'm sure they would be happy to assist. And those 3 years will come and go and your daughter will be away at college before you know it! Good luck.

Here in the UK it seems to be the same, uni's tend to favour those who have basically saved the world but also found the time to get decent marks

As a recent college graduate, I remember the application process well. Scores and GPA were enough to get me into a well respected university. Community service is something colleges look for to find out your child's interests and passions, as well as willingness to be involved. The essay will be important, but if your child's GPA is strong, the community service section shouldn't break your child's chances of acceptance.

I guess the colleges are looking for 'Mighty Student', or something. It can be so hard on kids these days, but I suppose that is how our education has evolved over the years. Will it continue getting any harder or more difficult? I'm not sure.

My son was pretty much a number and nothing else. He scored extremely high on the SAT. He had no community service, extra curricular activities or even very high grades. He was accepted for early admission into his 1st choice school (a private college).

My daughter did not do community service and had no problem getting in to a major university. I'm guessing if the gpa is low then extra's count more??

Hi everyone!

I was reading through this blog and realized this is a perfect place to ask for help!

I go to Bentley University in Boston and i'm currently working on writing a 200 page business plan for a company called Mamas Move that provides mom and baby fitness classes and well as birthing education classes. If anyone would be interested in filling out a brief survey for me I'd greatly appreciate it! Please e-mail me at duncan_shan@bentley.edu! Thanks a lot!

I've been thinking about the same for the past year and my daughter is only six.

The school that I want her to attend costs over 20k right now and I don't even want to imagine how much it will cost in 12 years.

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