<p>I was wondering about how much having a job thorughout high school affects your admissions chances. Anyone have any info?</p>
<p>For example,
I've held a lot of community service and ec's through middle school, but once I stepped over into HS, I had to get a job in my dad's construction company for various reasons, one of them being to support my family, plus I felt it was my duty to do so. Regardless, I work about 25-30 hours a week in a moderately-sized construction company. This eliminates most chances for ec's, but my folks feel I should get some time off to do comm. service for NHS. The work I do ranges from project management to manual labor, so it's no small task. </p>
<p>Now here is what I'm concerned about. With my grades and test scores, I hope to get into Princeton, but I know that's not gonna cut it for them. They need EC's, but I couldn't do any due to the fact that I had to work. Plus, I never really got official work papers, etc., as I'm the son of the boss, and, you know, he can tell me what to do since he's my dad. I would think that colleges would appreciate that I held up my grades in the toughest classes I could get into, but I'm still concerned. Also, I never got work papers, so I'm afraid I won't have justification(as if I'd be lying about a job).</p>
<p>As a sidenote, I'm first generation, takin' all the toughest classes I can get.
I want to get into arch/arch.eng with my work experience as a draftsman and "designer". But I've seen that the college level arch programs are primarily art based. i know I shouldn't post that here, so I'll move that somewhere else. </p>
<p>Can anyone tell me what situation I'm in? Think I can get into at least low Ivies? Someone please help! Thanks a lot.</p>
<p>If you listed that you work...you'll have to file taxes for 2006...so at least you're covered with the financial aid office.</p>
<p>If you needed to work, then it is not cause to be ashamed. I'd say that working 25-30 hours a week explains a dearth of EC's. You should have a chance at the "low" Ivies.</p>
<p>If you listed that you work...you'll have to file taxes for 2006...so at least you're covered with the financial aid office.</p>
<p>If you needed to work, then it is not cause to be ashamed. I'd say that working 25-30 hours a week explains a dearth of EC's. You should have a chance at the "low" Ivies.</p>
<p>Hmmm....just don't, if you must, say that you worked with your Dad in 2006. Previous to 2006, you're fine. The work experience will give you a bump when applying to any arch program.</p>
<p>Dear Construction,
At every college meeting we attended last year, one of the admissions people mentioned that if a student worked at a job, cared for younger sibs, helped to support the family, etc., that was taken into serious consideration. And it's funny that you mentioned Princeton because I have a distinct memory of a thread raising this issue last year. A student who spent the summers working at his family's roadside vegetable stand every summer during high school replied that he didn't think working for your family was a problem in admissions -- and he was writing from Princeton. (I wish I remembered the thread and could refer you to it) Students go nuts looking for something that sets them apart; you've got something that shows maturity and is even related to your intended major. It sounds as if the schools you're considering are a bit of a lottery for everyone. Please go into it knowing that your work experience does not put you in a one-down position, and is likely to help you especially if you find a way to mention it in a thoughtful, non-defensive essay.</p>
<p>OK, this is reassuring. Thanks for the replies. I always thought that if I had a work experience (in arch/construction) pertinient to my intended major(arch/arch.eng) that working would help. Looks like I have a double positive, a I'm working and supporting my family at the same time. Now, replying to ccsurfer, could you clarify what a non-defensive essay would be as far as writing about your job goes? </p>
<p>I'm just hoping that the fact that my work took away time for EC's won't hurt me.</p>
<p>
[quote]
could you clarify what a non-defensive essay would be as far as writing about your job goes?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Defensive essay: "I would have a lot of great ECs except my parents made my work, and I think you all suck for judging me on this."</p>
<p>Positive essay: "I was so lucky that I was able to work in the family business all through high school. Even though my family needed my help to make ends meet, and I worked a lot of hours, I was able to spend this time doing work that is directly applicable to my dream of being an architect. I learned <these cool="" things=""> working for my father's general contracting business."</these></p>
<p>lol, Rick Tyler, thanks a lot for that clarification. I just hope that college admissions officers know that I really didn't have the luxury of time to pursue several EC's that I kind of wanted to. I would think so, as they probably know how demanding work can be considering their job. Thanks again.</p>
<p>Your experience in drafting and proj management might give you a lift. </p>
<p>I am a little confused, however. </p>
<p>Your dad owns a construction company and makes his Princeton-bound son work 25-30 hrs a week, to make ends meet? And everything was done under the table so you don't have any tax to prove you did what you did? This got to raise a few questions. </p>
<p>You may still get in if your grades/tests hold up and you did the positive spin above. You may even say your dad pays you by putting the $ you would have earned into a college fund. Oh but wait, that wouldnt work because it would mean a big drop in financial aid.</p>
<p>By the way, Im sure you don't mean to say anything disparaging, but please substitue "other Ivies" for "low Ivies".</p>
<p>"Your dad owns a construction company and makes his Princeton-bound son work 25-30 hrs a week, to make ends meet? And everything was done under the table so you don't have any tax to prove you did what you did? This got to raise a few questions."</p>
<p>Sad, isn't it? But, making ends meet would be more, "making sure that the ends stay met". Keep in mind that when I got "paid" the money wasn't in my hands. Didn't do anything with it. Went to the family, pay the bills, etc.. </p>
<p>And I'll tell you this, most of my friends who work in the family business also get paid under the table. So I'm not doing anything new, or wrong for that matter.</p>
<p>Well, I mean if I did have to prove that I worked, how would I do it?</p>
<p>I understand. To be honest, I really didn't get paid at all.Will colleges look down on the admission if you tell them it was under the table, even if I have to resort to saying that?? All the money that I would've made went to my dad's hands which in turn would go to the family. So I really didn't get paid at all. But, I don't know what to tell them if they inquire about it. Should I tell them that I really didn't get paid and that the money I would've made went to support the family, or should I resort to tell them it was under the table?</p>
<p>I don't think it should matter, as I still didn't get paid either way, and the money supported the family either way.</p>
<p>Nope...it would just look like you and your family tried to avoid paying taxes. And it does matter whether the taxes were paid or not.</p>
<p>The question is what was your family income that would require that you work for 25-30 hours a week?</p>
<p>Is it more than 150K? More than 125K? More than 100K? And, how many are in your family? These are circumstances that may affect how the adcoms view your not paying taxes/not having ECs. It gives the adcoms a context as to who you are, where you come from, your honor, etc...</p>
<p>Just say you worked for your family, instead of being employed...cause it won't do you so much good just to have the word "employed" on the app.
Like, it's your family, that's not a real job, you know, no matter what you do there. It would be like saying you work as a babysitter, when in fact all you do is take care of your sister. Sure, you should mention you do that, but don’t call it “babysitting”.
Were you hired because of your professional skills or because your dad's the boss? Can you get fired if you don't do your job the way you should?</p>
<p>"employed" would make a difference if you had a big job at a big company, which hired you because of your skills. This would be a hook.</p>
<p>(since you don't even have official papers and such)</p>
<p>Working in a family business to help your family get needed income counts as a major EC. This particularly is true if you write an essay demonstrating things like the responsibility/organizational ability or skills that you learned on the job including how to balance work and your academics.</p>
<p>I am assuming that since you had to work for the family biz, your family is low income. The very top colleges like HPYS have a hard time attracting academically qualified low income students, so if you are low income, that's a plus, too.</p>
<p>I understand what you're trying to say with the babysitter situation, but my stuation is a bit different. It's a combination of the two. Yes, it's true that my dad hired me and that I'm in the family, but that doesn't mean he hired me just for that reason. He saw me as an individual with good design skills, and from the late part of middle school, he had me augment these skills and learn about the trade so I'd be ready to work in high school. He wanted me to work because I could provide him with innovative designs which he didn't have much creativity for, I had more knowledge of the computer and CAD, and that I could speak Spanish with some of his workers who were hispanic. And if I don't do the work I am assigned to today, he could easily have me not work anymore. Though it's not as hostile of an environment for job security as a job in a larger company, I do have to keep up with what he needs done. </p>
<p>I myself am worried they might look VERY down upon the fact that I got a job where my dad is just employed. Though he had nothing to do with me getting the job (besides telling me about it), I believe the adcoms may tend to believe he did.
And if I got a job just because my dad had something to do with it, it becomes 50% worthless (how should they know, maybe I don't actually do anything, and they just signed a paper to do my dad a small favour out of self interest or something)
Now, I don't think adcoms just try all day to crack your application..but they have a good point in being suspicious and ponder about suspicious things.</p>
<p>So while it's really none of my bussines why you got your job, or what you do there, it doesn't mean it's none of the adcoms'</p>
<p>Say: in your culture you the elder son (correct?) is expected to help with the family business. From this you gained important leadership and technical skills.
Because of this you did not have time for other EC's.</p>
<p>I still find it hard to believe your father who owns a medium size construction company demands 30 hrs from his college-bound son, just to make ends meet, and never actually pays his son. You mentioned CAD and computer skills. So it is not a small time operation here as CAD licenses are not cheap.
Yet you have to work unpaid to support the family. I guess if you are ok with the situation, I have a lot to admire in you.</p>
<p>I hear you, negru.
I can't think of any way to prove the work I did, with respect to the stuation you gave me. And adcoms have every right to suspect whatever they want. I don't know how many people would be scumbaggish enough to lie about their own work experience(as you and I know that anyone who worked their ass off during high school couldn't possibly not show it), but perhaps there are those few who have that kind of decency.</p>
<p>Sucks, I mean, I worked so hard these past years, keepin up the grades and working, and now I'm worried that just because I worked for the family business where my dad's the boss, it could, like you said, make the application worthless. Really sucks. </p>
<p>Yourworld, you're right, I'm the elder. And thanks for the idea. And about the whole fact that my dad does what he does, well, thats's what you get for being raised by extremely strict-ass parents who discipline you to a (Mr.) T. And that CAD license and some other software is all we got.</p>
<p>Well, I'm starting to feel that though the work experience might help me superficially, adcoms, like negru said, could get suspicious and assume I didn't work and what have you, and in the end, lower my chance for a college I worked so hard for.</p>