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Advice for preparing your Aspire Community Impact Application

Your application to the Aspire Community Impact stream is based on your experience engaging in your community and provides a snapshot to La Trobe of this involvement and impact.

Before you start, you should know that it is recommended that you focus your application on 1 to 3 examples of volunteering activities. This should include the activities which you have consistently engaged in for the longest period of time and the most frequently on a regular basis.

If you have volunteered with more than one organisation, you'll be able to group these together as part of your application.
The application is broken into four steps which are outlined below:

Step One – Personal Details

As part of the first stage of your application you’ll be asked to provide your details, including full name, school and relevant contact information. We recommend using a personal email address to ensure all communications are deliverable to you directly.

In addition, you will also be able to preference three La Trobe University undergraduate courses to be considered for as part of your application. It’s important you explore which three courses you would like to select now, as you will not be able to edit these once your application is submitted.

Please note that you will need to provide your VCAA number with your application and you should obtain this from your school if you don’t already have it. You will be able to submit your VTAC ID number once you are able to create your VTAC account.

Step Two – Community Impact Statements

The first five questions allow us to get an understanding of your involvement, including:

What is the name of the organisation/community engagement you've been involved with?

As an example, you may select one of our Aspire Community Impact partner organisations. If you are describing organisations/activities that are not listed as a partner, select ‘Other’ and provide them in the free text field.
You are only allowed to select one partner as part of your application; therefore, you should consider which organisation you have been involved with the longest and most frequently. If you are volunteering with one or more of the listed partner organisations, you can list all of them in the involvement statement.

Please select the duration of time you have been involved with this organisation or volunteering service.

Provide us with how long you have worked closely within the community from the drop-down selection.
If you have worked with more than one organisation, we suggest combining the total amount of time to reflect this within your application.
As an example, if you have worked with the CFA for 3 months and Vinnies for 12 months, we suggest selecting 12 – 24 months as a selection.

Please select the frequency that most closely represents how often you volunteer.

Select from a range of options that specify how frequently you engage with the volunteering activity or organisation.
If you have volunteered with more than one organisation, we suggest selecting on average how frequently you have volunteered across these organisations/activities.

Please select the length of time that most closely represents your level of engagement.

Here you can select from the number of hours you would allocate to volunteering in a typical period. We understand that this may vary, and you should choose what closely reflects a typical engagement.
As an example, if you regularly volunteer for up to 2 hours at your school, but then dedicate once a year to a full day at a local retirement village, you should select the 1-2 hours option. The retirement village scenario can be outlined in the involvement and impact statements.

What type of involvement did you undertake during your service?

There are four options here that allow us to understand how you engaged with your volunteer organisation/s, including if you led, participated in, were involved or were responsible for specific initiatives.
Don’t worry if you feel you may fit into two or more of the selections. You should select the option that best aligns with your volunteer experience. Utilise your written statement to provide further details on what else you may have done.

Please provide specific details/examples of how you were involved in your voluntary service.

Write a 150-word statement describing the type of community engagement you are or were involved in, providing details about your participation in community service and/or volunteering activities.
Here’s an example for you to refer to:
For the past thirteen months I have volunteered one hour per week at a local aged care home, ABC Aged Care. I have undertaken many activities with the residents throughout this time, including spending time speaking with residents who do not often have visitors, playing games such as scrabble and participating in “wheelchair walks” around the local park with residents who are unable to push themselves.
Furthermore, I have assisted residents to operate technology such as an iPad and zoom, to stay in touch with their family and friends. Recently, I have formed a reading group with the residents to share stories, poetry, novel/book or discuss about things they’ve learnt or heard on the TV/news.

How would you describe your level of volunteering impact?

Choose from the drop-down menu and tell us how much of an impact your volunteering contribution made, whether it was significant, standard benefit or limited – it all is considered as part of your Community Impact application.
You may like to check in with those from across the community, or the organisation/s you volunteered with to understand how large your impact was.

Please provide specific details/examples of how you made an impact through your volunteering service.

Write a 150-word statement detailing the impact of your engagement on the community and how this has contributed to your personal growth and development.
Here’s an example for you to refer to:
Volunteering has been an extremely fulfilling experience. By having this opportunity to engage with the community, I have furthered my personal development and improved my confidence while broadening my knowledge. On numerous occasions, I've visited residents who were experiencing tough days.
Despite the challenges they faced, I consider it a privilege to uplift their spirits and provide a reprieve from their troubles. Through regular visits, I've cultivated strong, trusting relationships with many residents. It's incredibly fulfilling to hear them express gratitude with statements like, "you've made my day."
Through my involvement in the ABC Aged Care volunteering program, I've instilled hope for the future among the residents while leveraging technology to enhance their quality of life and communication abilities.

Step Three – Reference

Here you must provide the details of someone that can verify that you volunteered with the respective organisation you have outlined within your application. This may be a teacher, manager, individual operator or community leader.
Please note that these references will be contacted by La Trobe University once you submit, so it is recommended that you advise them that you are applying for the La Trobe University Aspire Community Impact stream.
If you are describing multiple organisations/activities make sure to provide this information to the referee so they are aware of the totality of your volunteering experience.

Step Four – Review and Submit

This is your opportunity to ensure the details you are providing to La Trobe University are clear and accurate, including contact details of yourself and those of your reference, the La Trobe University courses you will be preferencing and your volunteering details. Should there be any misinformation or incomplete details, you can review and edit at this stage of your application.
It’s important to review these details carefully, as once you submit you will not be able to make any amendments to your application aside from providing your VTAC application number once you are able to create your VTAC account.

Please note:

If you need assistance in completing your application, talk to us to understand your options.
La Trobe University takes plagiarism seriously. Plagiarism occurs when someone uses words or ideas attributable to another identifiable person or source:

without attributing the work to the source from which it was obtained
in a situation in which there is a legitimate expectation of original authorship
in order to obtain some benefit, credit, or gain which need not be monetary (Fishman, T. International Centre for Academic Integrity).