Stop Volunteering Wrong: How to Make Your Summer Volunteering Stand Out to Colleges
Summer volunteering is often seen as a simple checkbox on college applications—a way to show involvement without much thought. However, colleges can easily spot superficial volunteer work and don’t find it impressive. If you want your summer volunteering to truly strengthen your college applications, you need to focus on meaningful engagement and genuine impact. Here’s how to volunteer the right way and make your experience stand out.
1. Choose Causes You Truly Care About
Passion is key. Whether it’s literacy, environmental conservation, animal welfare, or any other cause, pick something that resonates with you. For example, if you care about literacy, volunteer at a local library or a reading program. Your authentic connection to the cause will shine through in your application essays and interviews, making your involvement feel real and heartfelt.
2. Commit Substantial Time
Showing up for a few hours here and there won’t convince colleges of your dedication. Aim to volunteer at least 40 to 50 hours over the summer. This level of commitment demonstrates seriousness and allows you to make a deeper, more meaningful contribution.
3. Take Initiative and Solve Problems
Don’t just follow instructions—look for ways to improve the organization or process. For example, one student noticed inefficiencies at a food bank and created a new sorting system that boosted efficiency by 40%. Colleges notice when applicants take leadership and initiative to make a tangible difference.
4. Track Your Impact with Specifics
Quantify your contributions. How many people did you help? How much time or resources did you save? Concrete numbers and measurable outcomes bring your volunteering experience to life, making it easier for admission officers to understand the real-world impact you made.
5. Build Relationships for Strong Recommendations
Volunteer coordinators and supervisors can write powerful recommendation letters if they know you well and can describe your contributions in detail. For instance, a student who developed a computer skills curriculum for seniors and demonstrated measurable improvements in digital literacy used this experience to secure a strong recommendation that was central to his successful application to Cornell.
Final Thoughts
It’s not about where you volunteer, but how you volunteer. Genuine passion, consistent commitment, initiative, measurable impact, and strong relationships with mentors can transform your summer volunteering from a mere checkbox into a standout part of your college application. Make a real difference this summer—and watch colleges take notice.
By following these tips, you won’t just “volunteer” — you’ll make an impact that opens doors to your future.