All throughout High School you are told to work hard, volunteer, get involved so that you have the credentials needed to get accepted into the one university that you've always dreamed of attending... well, here's the truth ... It's all bs.
Don't be so quick to disagree with me, I will walk you through the reasons why I think that's the case.
Let me start off with a reality check, universities really don't care how many volunteer hours you have done and where you have done them, as long as you have done the minimum hours required to graduate Secondary School. For example, I had 40 volunteer hours, while some of my friends had 3000+. Where are they now? In the same university I'm in. Which program? Same program I am in. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you shouldn't volunteer or get involved, many students enjoy volunteering and are very involved in there community. However, what I am saying is that you shouldn't kill yourself doing so, nor should you force yourself to do so if you do not enjoy it.
Many of the world's top universities require you to volunteer and separate yourself from the pack, schools like Harvard for example, but let's face it, the majority of us will not apply to Harvard, nor do we have the money to afford it.
What about scholarships? Sure, you can get a scholarship, oh by the way did I mention you need to be blessed with amazing athleticism or intelligence to even be considered?
Are you still with me? It is not worth sacrificing your time in high school worrying about volunteering and extracurriculars when in reality it really is not necessary. Once you are accepted into university, you are no different then the thousands of students who are there as well. You really do start from scratch.
What it comes down to is the marks. Do you have the grades and the average to be accepted into the program you have applied to? If you do, well rest assured you are likely to get in regardless of what you have done, where you have done it, and how much of it you have done.
I quite disagree actually. Those people who have 3000+ hours of volunteering and extracurriculars are legitimately doing it because they enjoy it and its something more fulfilling for them then just going to school, coming home, watching tv + facebook and doing the same thing all over again the next day. And those same people don't stress over how many hours they've "wasted" doing something that they enjoy because they need it to get into university; they stress over making whatever project they're doing actually work so they can leave highschool feeling like they accomplished something. And yes, they probably will go to the exact same university and be in the exact same program, however, whatever they spent 3000 hours on in highschool will give them the courage and initiative to get involved when they start from scratch, which is when it really does matter.
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