Community Service

Well, I had a meeting with a college cost consulting agency today, and the man I talked to told me that my grades are great, but because I really have NO extra curricular activities, community service or leadership roles on my student resume, I'm not competitive enough. So, I need some great ideas that can fulfill my deficits that don't take up too much time, because I work and have a ton of homework. Any ideas? Thanks!



Here the thing, this recruiter is looking to make sure that you can do more then just study and pass tests. Employers, Scholarships and grad schools want to make sure you can be effective outside of the classroom.





One of the best ways to do that is to be in service to your community.





My university did not have a Community Service Organization, so I worked with a few other students and staff members of the Community Service office to start a student group. We hosted a spring break trip to work on habitat for Humanity, and we recruited volunteers for projects that were phoned into the Community Service Office.





Your school might have a similar club, or you can start one. Being a founding member of a club looks great! However, just make sure it isn anything to political. I got in a bit of trouble because I put that I was a founding member of the Gay students organization on my campus. The good news is, it helped me weed out employers I wouldn want to work for.




You want to get a job in an area that has high cross over with EC activities i.e. coaching little league, or the local kids basketball team or something. Think about your skills and interests and try to find a way you can get paid while doing it. Otherwise you want something you can do from home so its not too time demanding such as web administrator for a local charity or even one off things like doing a fundraising event!