Volunteering while at university

melancholly

if you find the first year workload too much to spend a day doing volunteering, then managing the final year will be tough!
i agree that you should wait a few weeks to see when you have lectures or other activities and to see how practical it is to get to places. but once you've found your feet, it's easily do-able.

one day a week will not stop you making friends. people do manage to play sport, have jobs, visit family, socialise, join clubs etc etc etc!

some unis have special volunteering programmes you can get involved with that give you some certificate. i can't remember the name at all! but it might be worth investigating. if you can show you've been involved with an official known scheme, that might be a bonus!

stephyt23

Why not volunteer over your summer? I'm doing a teaching degree and finished the first year in May so that gave me two months to volunteer in a school. You could always look at playschemes in your area run over the summer holidays, I know the area I'm in do one for special needs children so that's a great way to get more experience and get paid over the summer. They usually only last between 2 and 4 weeks but it still looks good on your CV as it's related to what you want to do.

atypical

During my 1st year I spent half a day a week helping in a local school as part of a University tutor scheme. It was perfectly manageable.

namakemono

Maybe explain to the people at the charity that you're interested, but want to settle in at the university first?

I don't think it would be much of a struggle anyway, I don't know what course you're doing but generally there's not much first year contact time.

oompahloompah

Your student union will have a club or society involved with different volunteering opportunities, both during term time and during the holidays - if you don't receive info in your welcome pack (probably out early-mid-September) then they will undoubtedly have a stall during Freshers Week.

sugarplumfairy83

I'm also in total agreement with ONW here: I volunteered during my first year, which as most people have pointed out, is likely to be the year with the lesser workload and is unlikely to count towards your final marks (mine didn't but I don't know if that's always the case). I too found an opportunity to work somewhere that had relevance to my degree and future career plans and that was invaluable; in fact it was something that helped me apply practical experience to my university work and my tutors were always encouraging us to get out and actually experience the real thing!

My Uni always had Wednesdays free as this was Sports Day, I don't know if this is still the case. None of my friends took part in any sports and used these days to nurse hangovers, go the library etc. Personally I preferred being off campus and doing something different. That evening was always our main social evening of the week on campus and I was always back in time for this and I'd say it made social interaction (not always easy for me) even better as it gave us something extra to talk about. While making friends at Uni is incredibly important still bear in mind that once you leave, you'll have to adjust to having to be in a workplace with other people, hopefully new friends and balancing the two; again this was experience I felt stood me in good stead and I didn't experience the same levels of 'separation' after graduating that a lot of my friends did.

Judge for yourself; only you know where your preference lies and how much you think you can cope with in your first year. Good luck!

alexboo

Hi, there is nothing bad about volunteering! In fact, during your first year is the perfect time, as others have mentioned, your workload will be much less.

I have just finished my first year and I started volunteering one afternoon a week (back in March) then once exams were over, I volunteered one evening and one afternoon a week. I love it; it's relevant to my degree and is so rewarding.

I'm going to have to drop one day come September because it will clash with my studies - which I am gutted about! But once I finish uni for holidays I know I will always be welcome back.

Get involved as soon as you can

melancholly

fwiw, i tried to find the name of volunteering schemes - looks like it's usually called a 'volunteering scheme' at each uni (and most seem to have them according to google anyway!)

msmyth18

Its a good idea to get involved in as much things as possible during uni, however you should still keep your studies as your main priority.
I would recommend that you wait until your at uni and then see if you could dedicate the time.

You never know what societies and clubs you may get involved in!

From a CV point of view it looks pretty good especially for certain job markets!

downcdebt

I think it would be a great idea to do it! It will look great on your CV and it sounds as if it is something you would enjoy. Many courses don't have a full 9-5 time table, and so unless your course does, then you will have time. Make sure it doesn't interfer with your work too much though.... I spent far too long at uni doing, erm not much at all really. (in hindsight, I shouldn't have really gone), and really regret not taking advantage of all the different possibilities (such as volunteering, learning a language etc). Go for it!