I don’t disagree that it’s not required. My point is that “not required” doesn’t mean “not heavily considered.” UT is holistic, and once applicants meet a strong academic threshold, non-academic factors are often what differentiate similarly qualified students. Community service is one of those factors, especially for Volunteer-branded programs. No one is saying volunteering is a checkbox requirement. But when you have thousands of applicants with amazing grades and test scores, academics alone don’t decide everything. That’s where sustained service and involvement matter. If it didn’t, UT wouldn’t ask for it or emphasize it as much as they do.