Extra curricular or community service?

[Vera]

Dd has been volunteering for a campaign and everything that I have read calls campaign work an extra curricular. Dd really doesn't need any more extra curriculars but she really needs community service. Can I call it community service?

[regentrude]

Community service IS an extracurricular activity. As are part time jobs, participation in sports, volunteer activities or reading books at home.

All are non-academic activities that are outside the curriculum and do not receive academic credit on the transcript.

 

So, I would list it as an extracurricular activity and explain.

Edited April 19, 2016 by regentrude

[justasque]

Dd has been volunteering for a campaign and everything that I have read calls campaign work an extra curricular. Dd really doesn't need any more extra curriculars but she really needs community service. Can I call it community service?

 

In what context?  For college apps, we make a list - a resume of sorts - of things we want the college to know about.  Then we make sure each item is somewhere on each application.  Something like campaign work could be listed as an extracurricular, or as community service, or as a summer activity, or mentioned in an essay or short answer.  It might go in different places for different applications, depending on how much space there is in different areas and how your other info fits in.  You may want to emphasize different things for different schools, too, so that will come into play as well.

 

[Vera]

OK. Thanks for the answers. I was just wondering if colleges would consider it community service and since reading more about it, it looks like the answer is no. Too bad.

[JanetC]

Working on a political campaign will look GREAT to colleges.

 

Most schools do not have community service as a specific admissions requirement. There is a new "Turning the Tide" report that asks students to do a one year deep commitment to service, but they have a broad definition of service, including things like a part-time job to pay for family expenses.

 

I would not quit something she is enjoying and learning from just because you don't think it's "servicey enough."

[Vera]

She wouldn't dream of quitting as she really believes in her candidate and is having a great time working on the campaign. I was just hoping to be able to use it to check off the community service requirement (in my mind).