<p>Nice point, aquamarinee.</p>
<p>One of my close friends used to work at a 24 hour convenience store at night and spend her afternoon sleeping after school. She'd couldn't do any EC's because she had to work from 10 pm to 6 am and if there were no customers, she'd do her homework. She had her Yale interview in the convenience store, and the alumni interviewer was just shocked at her situation and kept reminding her about how impressed he was. So making ends meet in even the most menial job is helpful, and even if you are not making ends meet, having a job is better then going home and watching TV.</p>
<p>..........Touch</p>
<p>Ofcourse, it's better than going home and doing nothing. But, to truly improve one's chances in admissions, simply holding a job is definitely not enough [unless you're trying to make ends meet]. That's all.</p>
<p>Check out a book on college admission and see what they say about holding a job. NorthStarMom is alumni interviewer for Harvard and she said that a part-time job is considered an EC. Research internship is good to have to and so is community service but so is having and holding down a part-time job because it shows that you are responsible.</p>
<p>internships will count, regardless of whether they're paid or not. Most college application forms will be purposely vague, so you can include just about anything you see fit.</p>
<p>If you want a job to do during the schoolyear, I would recommend working as a waiter/waitress...but at an unconvential place like a nursing home. You don't get tips, but hours are more flexible and shifts are shorter than at regular restaurants.
if you want to go into retail, I would try to work at a department store instead of the local hollister. Department store jobs pay better, and unlike some retail jobs, you don't have to be "on call" every afternoon in the summer. I have a friend who worked in the shoe department at Younker's...easy job + good pay = sweet deal.</p>
<p>i would love to be an intern. the difficulty is finding someone who needs one.
i realize that holding down a job is like a big ec...but there's just so much SPACE for the list on the common app...it's unnerving. i didn't realize it would be a factor until recently, and i'm kicking myself.</p>
<p>My D applied for an research intern with the local college through her science teacher. Still waiting to see if she was accepted.</p>
<p>Commodore, just open your phone book! Look for places in your town that you would like to intern at. Interested in politics? Call your local congressman's office. Interested in business? Call your local chamber of commerce. Interested in journalism? Call the local paper. You get the idea. A friend and I decided to take this route...and now we have three internships between the two of us, at a law office, chamber of commerce, and congressman's office. Best of luck!</p>