No Volunteer Experience

[imunster]

Hi guys,

Wondering if anyone has any input on the importance of volunteer experience as a part of your graduate application. I don't have as much volunteer experience in the field as I would like and don't know how much it would affect me as an applicant as I know a lot of other people are going in with massive amounts of hours under their belt. I do have a good amount of research experience though.

Any living, breathing examples of someone who got in as an out of field applicant with minimal volunteer hours/opportunities?

 

[thespeechblog.com]

Zero volunteer hours (not including about 12 observation hours) - got into 4 programs 

[Jolie717]

I only applied to three programs, but got into all three.  My volunteer hours were not really related to speech, other than a few hours conducting speech and hearing screenings at an elementary school.  I also volunteered a bit at my sons' school, but I'm doubtful they really counted for much on my apps.  I think my other life experiences outweighed both my minimal volunteering and the fact that I had zero experience in research.  Play up your strengths, and you should be fine!