For some reason, you may be thinking that mandatory volunteer work doesn't sound like much fun at all. Well, if you think that, then you're wrong. Of course there are community service opportunities that are not very fun, but you can make them fun if you get your friends involved with you. And then there are opportunities that are just plain fun, even if you're nervous about them at first. For instance, writing for the MacBlog actually gives us hours towards our community service quota. For those of you who, like me, are interested in writing and documenting through words, this is a really great opportunity. I jumped at the chance. However, this is not the only volunteer work that I do. I also volunteer with an organization called TimeBank, mostly with their branch in Chinatown because of being involved with Chinese Flagship. TimeBank is essentially a give-and-receive organization, which I really like because it means that when I go and help out with English class, I will then be able to turn around and attend, say, knitting class! Most of the people that I interact with there are older, and don't speak much Mandarin or English, but it's still pretty fun because I go with my friends and we get food after, and while we're there we make sure to actually participate and help.
Community service is definitely an important thing. You need 30 hours of community service by the beginning of your senior year in order to gain full access to your Macaulay Opportunities Fund. 30 hours may sound daunting now, but it's really not that much and you will most likely end up doing more if you start early. Doing community service and volunteer work, as cheesy as it sounds, makes you feel good about doing good, even if all you're doing is imparting a little knowledge to your fellow Macaulay peers.
Hi! I'm sorry to bother you. I was accepted to Hunter and I'm trying to decide which school I want to go to. I was hoping it would be okay if I ask you a few questions? The Chinese Flagship Program sounds like something I'd really be interested in, and I'm wondering if it's just better for me to apply once I'm there, have a GPA to show them, take some Chinese classes, declare a major, get letters of recommendation from professors at Hunter, etc., or, if not many students are even interested and most get in and the admissions process is fairly easy, so that I can apply earlier than I would by the time I have a GPA to show. Would I miss anything by applying later? Do you know anyone that really wanted to get in, but didn't? Does everyone that you know in program have stellar grades, are multilingual, and have travel abroad experiences? I guess I'd be kind of average, haha. My grades are pretty normal (I'll try harder), I only speak English fluently (I was really good at learning Spanish during high school?), and I've never been outside of the country. When I told the woman at the table for the CFP during the Accepted Students' Day, she seemed kind of disappointed and didn't really have anything to say to me. I'm really interested in learning languages and other cultures, and I'd love to have the opportunity to travel some day. Is the application itself difficult to complete? What did you write about, or some kinds of things other people you know wrote about for their personal statement? Who wrote your letters of recommendation (i.e. my high school language teacher/guidance counselor, or professor of 'x' subject)? Can you apply more than once? Did you apply as an incoming freshman, or afterward? Is the work especially difficult once you're admitted? Thank you so much, and again, I'm sorry for all the questions!
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