<p>I work 32 hours a week to pay for my high school tuition, and I put it on the common app. That takes up a lot of time, so I haven't done much else the past two years-but I'll probably write a supplement on what I've learned from working so much in high school. Have I ruined my college chances?</p>
<p>well, no, “paid work”, is your EC one that you feel passionate about? but if you’re in need of desperate money, yes, it is a good EC, go for it if you really need the money, if not you can always consider other thingss!</p>
<p>It’s necessary. I can’t afford school if I don’t work. In addition to that I have 400 volunteer hours and a coulple of people-related volunteering EC’s (assisting in the running of my school’s free clothing shop) and SADD. I did student council for two years as well.</p>
<p>It is a sacrifice you’ve made to attend your H.S. It is understandable if it is your main EC and it won’t count against you. Plus I’m sure you’ve learned some skills and responsibility from it. It is a bonus that you have other EC’s that demonstrate additional commitment to your community and school.</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>Work is definitely an EC- and it can be more valuable than just joining a club for the sake of having some activity to list on an application. Never underestimate what you do, especially if it takes that much time per week.</p>
<p>I think it’s a great EC, far better than going to a club meeting for an hour a week.</p>
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<p>Lol, do people on here have no need to work except for when they feel passionate about it?</p>
<p>^lol. </p>
<p>Work. Same here ~20hours/week in school days.</p>
<p>Passion is a bit misleading. Sometimes I wonder what is passion? There is no great answer. Most people think attending best universities is called passion.</p>
<p>Work can be a plus. It can speak volumes. Especially when you kept grades up. Do list it. Just remember a big part of the essay should be “show, not tell.”</p>
<p>And passion is so misunderstood that CC should add it to their list of filtered words that get asterisks.</p>
<p>I think working a job is one of the best EC’s you can have. </p>
<p>I am not “Passionate” about my job. I hate my job lol. Working at a grocery store sucks. What I do care about is fulfilling my job to the best of my ability because thats just what I do. I agree, Passion is a grossly misused word on this website.</p>
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<p>I’m not even sure what this is supposed to mean, but I’m pretty sure it’s off-base. Working for money is a perfectly valid and honorable use of your time outside school. It does not “ruin [your] college chances.” Far from it, in fact.</p>
<p>Working 32 hours a week and maintaining good grades is definitely a good combination. Colleges want to find students who can manage their time and obligations well, and you illustrate this very well.</p>
<p>I haven’t looked at the common application in a year, but isn’t there a section for jobs? This wouldn’t be listed under EC.</p>
<p>The newest CA form does not have a separate place to list jobs. They are now included with other ECs.</p>
<p>dessie, go for it. if you need the money, then do it for $$$$. but also stay passionate about what you’re doing, money will come to you in the future when you are full time employed :)</p>
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<p>What exactly do you mean by this? Do you mean “stay positive” or “stay focused” or something along those lines?</p>
<p>I can’t tell if that post was ironic because we were just talking about ‘passion’ being misused or they’re kidding because that what we were talking about.</p>
<p>Thank you for posting this. I work 20+ hours a week in retail and then babysit 5-10 hours on top of that. I have to be somewhere directly after school and it gets in the way of pretty much every club in existence, so I’m on my school’s magazine and NHS but not much else. I also had to quit Odyssey of the Mind when I was old enough to start making money, a program I had fun in but don’t regret leaving. I may not be passionate about the store I work in but I’m extremely driven when it comes to tucking away money for myself. I don’t really have advice because I’m also worried I’ve hurt my chances by not participating in more. I know the value of what I’ve learned working but I can’t say whether or not everyone sees it as equal to participating in a school club or volunteer work (which I would love to do more of if I had the time). To me part time work should be close to a requirement in the admissions process; self sufficient, responsible kids with a little experience in the adult world are the only kids I would want at my college.</p>
<p>On a side note, what’s just as frustrating about working in high school is that if colleges find out what you’ve saved, they’ll just give you that much less in financial aid. I understand the necessity of this but is that system really a way to build independent, self driven adults? So I understand your worries and frustration but I think it counts that you’ve worked in the same place for so long, that’s definitely something.</p>
<p>well, I had to work too. 18-20 hours per week for entire high school. it was hard but people around me hardly realize this thing. I hope that colleges will consider this thing when evaluating my essays.</p>
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<p>i hope this is correct. I’ve been working here for more than 3 years.</p>