About a third of AmeriCorps members are under the age of 24, and most of those are recent college graduates or people who have taken a break from school, said Siobhan Dugan, an AmeriCorps spokeswoman.

“It’s a time in their lives when people have few other commitments,” Dugan said.

In the past five months, AmeriCorps’ applications have increased by 234 percent from the same time span last year, up to 48,520, Dugan said.

“Part of that, of course, is because of the economy,” she said. “But part of that is because of Obama’s call to service just before the inauguration.”

Kelley Bishop, executive director of MSU’s Office of Career Services & Placement, said although some students have considered service options as a solution to the tough job market, many are focusing on slight alterations to their strategies, such as considering different employers.

Journalism senior Jessica Stevenson said she has never considered a service option, but recently her parents and some professors have encouraged her to look into Teach for America.

“There aren’t a lot of jobs in the journalism profession right now,” she said. “But it will still be a very, very last resort.”

Even if students pursue service options such as Teach for America, there’s no guarantee they would be accepted. Of all the service programs, Teach for America seems to have received the greatest increase in applications, but many students don’t realize how difficult it is to get hired, Bishop said.

“A lot of people would think, ‘Hey, you’re just volunteering your time, your heart’s there,’ but Teach for America is a very competitive, picky organization,” he said.

Competitiveness might lead students considering service options to instead apply for PeaceCorps and AmeriCorps, Bishop said.

Julie Chapin, director of the 4-H Mentor Michigan Initiative, said her program has grown from 60 to 80 volunteers.

The initiative enlists AmeriCorps members to work with MSU’s Extension program to help strengthen Michigan’s mentoring programs.

“I don’t know that we would expect to grow more, but what I would hope is that we see an increase in the number of applications,” she said.

The economic recession has led to more applicants, but it also makes it more difficult to retain volunteers when they receive job offers, Chapin said.

“The challenge is finding individuals being able to complete the year of service,” she said. “When they do get an opportunity for full-time employment, they tend to leave.”