Why Community Service Matters in College Applications

Today we’re talking about why community service is such an important part of your college applications. Top colleges aren’t just looking to educate young minds; they’re looking to change the world. They want to make the world a better place, but they can’t fit the whole world’s population onto their campus. So they’re looking for students who will be changemakers. They’re looking for students who will take what they learn on their college campus and then go make the world a better place after, so they can accomplish their goal through your actions.

That means that when you’re in high school, you don’t just want to do community service to gain hours, like hours are a means unto themselves, some sort of commodity to be earned where you need a certain number to get an award or be inducted into NHS or as a graduation requirement. No. You want to actually care about something. You want to find something that you are passionate about. Think: Who could you help, and how could you help them in a way that’s meaningful to you? Because that authenticity will come through in your college essays, in your college applications, and in your college interviews for schools that offer them.

So often when I ask students why they’re interested in their major, they tell me, “Because I want to help people.” And that’s very noble, but my follow up question to that is always, “Great, so how are you helping people now?” And too many students are like deer in headlights, where they think, “Well, I mean, after college…that’s when I’m going to help people.” But this is not some sort of New Year’s resolution where you promise come January 1st you’re going to become a whole different person. You need to establish a track record of that now so that colleges can see a through line between your community service in high school, to your service in college, to the way you’ll help the world beyond college.

You can’t just load up on activities senior year; that’s not going to cut it. Colleges want at least two, possibly three years of an activity to see that you’re really invested in it. So don’t wait to graduate college or graduate med school. Start helping people today. You could raise money for important causes. You could do a food drive, a clothing drive, a toy drive, right there in your community.

And ultimately, if you do make your slice of the world a better place, but you don’t wind up getting into your top choice college, you’ve still done a good thing. So get going. And if you have questions, reach out to us at 732-556-8220.