i honestly cannot think of one time I have been employed in high school. it’s on the common app. if i’ve never held down a job, how detrimental will it be to my admissions chances?
<p>How old are you?</p>
<p>Holding a job is not that important to adcoms. Years ago, parents and educators put a lot of emphasis on a child having a paper route and learning the value of a dollar. Nowadays when somebody has a job, they spend all the money on luxury items, work long hours to get more money, and neglect their academics. I am not referring to people who have to work in order to support the family or save money for college, but typically if an applicant has a job, the adcom will probably wonder what was the money used for. For applicants who had to work, explain it in the essay. Otherwise, following an EC interest or doing volunteer work is more valuable.</p>
<p>Holding down a job shows that your not treated like a princess or daddy's little girl. Admissions officers tend to discriminate against you if they feel you had a very priveleged upbringing, so to show them that you actually earned something is kind of impressive. Also, it is good if you have a job in an area that interests you (passion.) Although i think its a little more important than Dufus gives it credit for, its really not gonna make or break any applications.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>Nowadays when somebody has a job, they spend all the money on luxury items, work long hours to get more money, and neglect their academics. I am not referring to people who have to work in order to support the family or save money for college>></p> </blockquote>
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<p>With all due respect, I disagree with this statement. Both of my kids have jobs, and neither is buying "luxury items" with their earnings. AND neither of them is neglecting their academics (DS continues to be on Dean's list and DD is top 5% in her class in high school). My kids are working so that they will have spending money for college. It is an expense we expect them to bear (even though truthfully we could pay for this as parents). They are responsible for books, entertainment, transportation, clothes, food (other than the meal plan), gifts, vacations...anything that isn't covered under Room/board/tuition/fees. BTW, most colleges DO expect a student contribution and it is at least $2000 annually. Most kiddos need to work to meet that contribution. My kids still have or had plenty of time to pursue ECs of interest and passion, AND volunteer their time...all in addition to pursuing a pretty aggressive high school (and college) courseload.</p>
<p>Maybe the thing to take away from this is that adcom members are human and have different personal preferences. An adcom who played ball in hs will favor athletes slightly, a former Eagle Scout will favor scouts, and so on. If I were an adcom, I wouldn't penalize people for having a job but I would put less emphasis on it than other things unless the person had to work to help support the family, and other people as adcoms would do other things. </p>
<p>At any rate, there are EC's, volunteering, and work experience. If you have all three, then great. If you are weak on one, then maybe you have the others. They don't expect you to be stellar in all three.</p>
<p>I, for one, have had a very priveledged upbringing that I am very thankful for. Yet, I have held down a part time job ALL the way through high school, beginning when I was 14. The money I earned went towards buying my car (THANK GOD), a 98 Mercury Mystique, from my great grandmother's estate, while all my friends got Audis for their birthdays. I feel that although I don't NEED the money I am earning, it always comes in handy and I don't have to suck up to my parents all the time. Also, even if a kid is just working to buy "luxury items," work experience anywhere is probably going to be a valuable tool for later on in life - plus it puts them ahead of other job applicants after college.</p>
<p>well, i've been volunteering at the hospital since 8th grade. when i turned 16 i could've gotten money for what i was doing but decided that i didn't really need it and would continue working for free. could i write something like that to explain?</p>
<p>I don't think whether or not you've been previously employed effects your application very much. There's other more important things for you to be focusing on right now than making the greens. Don't worry. Volunteering is good enough.</p>
<p>My parents didn't let me get a job because traditionally, in Indian households, parents provide for everything and if they can't, it is considered an insult to their parenting.</p>
<p>I have a nice home in Orange County, a shiny 3 year old Lexus, and I don't worry about money. </p>
<p>What am I supposed to do, get rid of all my nice things and become a hermit just because it looks bad not to have money struggles? I mean, don't all people want to become wealthy so their children have better lives and don't HAVE to struggle?</p>
<p>Don't feel bad for having money and not working on your own. Feel very very very lucky, and don't take it for granted.</p>
<p>HOWEVER.</p>
<p>If you don't need to work, then do something constructive with your time to help other people who don't have the same luxuries as you might have. For college apps, I suppose, but most of all, because it's just the nice thing to do. So, bravo on your hospital work.</p>
<p>excellent post, pri430.</p>
<p>There's no way work experience is a NEGATIVE thing to anybody. I actually can't believe colleges don't take it into consideration more than they do. Obviously they can't hold it against someone for NOT working, but it should be viewed as a strong plus that they have gotten out there into the real world.</p>
<p>kcirsch, I agree. Work is looked upon favorably by adcoms. In addition to the obvious benefit (money) work teaches you how to deal with co-workers, how to deal with a boss, and often how to deal with the public. These are valuable skills you can't learn in a lecture.</p>
<p>I know plenty of students who have meaningless office jobs at presitigious firms that they got through their rich parents' connections. One guy had an internship at Goldman Sachs and was basically paid to sit around and make copies, deliver them, order food, etc.</p>
<p>I don't think it is a deciding factor, as say your essays.</p>
<p>So if I have never had a job, don't have volunteer work, and my ECs are pretty meager, then I don't have a chance at any top colleges? I am a rising senior, so is it too late for me to catch up on volunteer work and ECs? I, for one, think ECs/volunteer work/jobs should not be involved in College Applications as most people nowadays do them solely to look good to colleges.</p>
<p>what you work for is equally important. someone who works to pay for his college is more compelling than he who works for, say, saving up to buy a new MP3 player. </p>
<p>Flipsta, i have to slightly disagree with you on the last statement. True, many people do it for the sake of filling out the apps, but most colleges (the good ones at least) will know when an activity is done out of passion or for the sake of apps. Take for example, someone who doesn't have much ECs all the while, suddenly had ten or so activities in senior year. it's not going to look good at all, because the adcoms will know that he built that laundry list.</p>
<p>as for you, you may perhaps try to indulge yourself more in one of those "meagre" ECs you have. get more involved and show your commitment to the adcoms. even if it's only one or two, it's better than having a long long list that spells no passion.</p>
<p>my 21 cents :D</p>
<p>kcirsch</p>
<p>I question how much a high school job puts you into the "real world." Yes, you get to learn how to work with people, and meet deadlines (sometimes), but it seems like everywhere you look people are lifeguards. I live in a "planned community" (like a town, but not) that has ~60,000 people. There are 15 pools for this community. Everywhere you turn, someone at high school has a "lifeguard" shirt. Some of the people who drink and do drugs like there's no tomorrow are lifeguards. The number of those lifeguards who I would actually trust to save my life if needed is quite small. I don't think they learn anything except how to spin around in a chair 5 feet above the water and sit in the pool house in the shade collecting pool passes and doing their best to place them in the correct file by last name.</p>
<p>The problem is, I didn't even think about ECs until Junior year. I had no idea they were so important in the admissions game. I joined the Key club, Math club, Science Olympiad club, and Ping Pong club. I also quit the one sport I was ever really serious about around a year ago. I don't really have any ways of indulging myself into one of my meager ECs. I was thinking of trying out for the soccer team in the fall, but that would be the only time I played soccer in highschool and it would seem pretty sporadic. I don't know how to get involved in volunteer work, and even if I did now, it would definitely look like application padding. So I don't know what I should do. All I am doing now is studying for the SAT to try to get the highest score possible to make up for my lacking ECs.</p>
<p>To answer this question, it is always a plus, but sometimes it can be even a decent hook, if used correctly. OK, if you would write that you had to work to help your family with their bills and save for college, then they would not only want you because you show good work ethic, but also because it tells them that you're low-income--- something the ivy leagues are always looking for... Even if you're upper-middle class or rich, having a job is a plus because it shows you've had to actually EARN some of your own money.</p>