How old can volunteering experience be on the application?

6 comments

1. I had a mix of stuff on mine, some of which included stuff that was done in highschool. It matters more what that experience was than how long ago honestly.

2. There’s no statute of limitations on volunteering experience. If it’s relevant to JET, include it (don’t just add it to fill space if it isn’t). I had volunteering experience I did 15 years prior on mine.

3. a big portion of my SOP was detailing volunteer experience i did in high school because it was mentoring children, which i felt was my best experience that related to JET! just make sure whatever you choose clearly reflects the programs goals!

4. I would say that your experience in high school is perfectly valid if it was relevant to your application, especially given the pandemic. I would hesitate to include middle school just because of maturity and responsibility realistically given to middle schoolers volunteering (usually). The reason being because you may get asked about it in your interview and having it be from middle school is less impressive.

   I used high school volunteering in my application since I worked with kids/was a TA, so as long as you can speak to it, especially if you’re asked about it later in an interview then go for it 🙂

5. It doesn’t matter how long ago. If you can work into your application/sop to be compelling, then do it.

6. Unless your middle school volunteering was a major part of your life that you did extensively and helped shape you, I would not consider it relevant experience. There is no cut off date, but for any resume you need to think about what is relevant. Did you do it because your school required it for a weekend or two or was it actually a cause that you cared about and went often enough to gain real experience? If I saw someone list something like that I think it would reflect poorly. Applications don’t start until the fall so see if you get start getting involved in your community now.