Volunteering

[jonah]

Do the academies look for a certain type of volunteering or can you do anything and they wont care?

 

[jaglvr]

as long as it is meaningful to your child

 

[Woop199]

From what I’ve heard, they would prefer you to show consistency with your volunteer work ie volunteering through the same organization many times than partaking in many different volunteering ventures.

 

[OldRetSWO]

USNA does not look for or require volunteering but will certainly look at it as part of a well rounded candidate, especially if it is in a leadership role. There are many successful candidates who do not do volunteer work because they are absolutely maxxed out with Academics, Sports, school related extracurriculars and Church or Religious Groups as well as Sea Cadets or CAP.
However, some MOCs may look for "Community Service" and I have served as an interviewer for one that had it as a category for scoring.

 

[jonah]

USNA does not look for or require volunteering but will certainly look at it as part of a well rounded candidate, especially if it is in a leadership role. There are many successful candidates who do not do volunteer work because they are absolutely maxxed out with Academics, Sports, school related extracurriculars and Church or Religious Groups as well as Sea Cadets or CAP.
However, some MOCs may look for "Community Service" and I have served as an interviewer for one that had it as a category for scoring.

Thank you this is helpful

 

[justdoit19]

And, it’s the QUALITY vs the QUANTITY. IOW, don’t pad time just to increase hours on paper. Doing something thanks meaningful and makes a difference is important.

 

[jonah]

And, it’s the QUALITY vs the QUANTITY. IOW, don’t pad time just to increase hours on paper. Doing something thanks meaningful and makes a difference is important.

in your opinion would working with people be better quality or working with animals

 

[Aviator25]

Do the academies look for a certain type of volunteering or can you do anything and they wont care?

They also look for leadership positions that you might have with volunteer work. If you have the opportunity for leadership, I would recommend taking them.

 

[justdoit19]

And, it’s the QUALITY vs the QUANTITY. IOW, don’t pad time just to increase hours on paper. Doing something thanks meaningful and makes a difference is important.

My advice to my own would be this: do something where there is an opportunity to show leadership. Not sure what either of these “people or animals” would be, but actually scooping poo, for example, is different than organizing and running a food drive for donations to an animal shelter (where you are directing people, etc). If that makes sense. IOW, leadership can be performed in lots of different places. People or animals.

The point I was trying to make is that signing up for hours after hours of picking up trash, fjust to have volunteer hours, for example, isn’t really a good use of your precious time. Imo.

 

[Old Navy BGO]

USNA does not look for or require volunteering but will certainly look at it as part of a well rounded candidate, especially if it is in a leadership role.

+1 -Volunteering just to say you worked x hours doesn't really add much... Volunteering and reaching a leadership role is more meaningful.
At the end of the day, other activities ...academics, sports, Scouts, etc. have more impact, but if you can do all those and give back to your community, then go for it.