<p>What if, for example, you maintained exceptional grades and took around 3-4 AP courses in high school with credit-worthy AP scores, but were low on EC's because you worked in a company(in this case, construction/design), in which the work you did was the same loadweight as an adults and the work you were doing was pertinent to your intended major in college(arch,arch.eng). Will adcoms from the Ivies understand that since you worked 24-30 hours a week, your time for most EC's is severely diminished, save for perhaps NHS, SHS, and one EC?</p>
<p>Would they rather see an exceptional student with good EC's or a exceptional student who worked to the terms described above? Plus, I worked to support my family, as income for me went to them.</p>
<p>This is kind of the situation I'm going to be in, and I'd like to apply to Princeton, UTexas(non-ivy, I know), and Cornell (possible Yale, but disregard that)</p>
<p>I just want to find out whether or not Ivies, or any college for that matter, prefer students with a full high-school work experience like the one listed above as opposed to the typical stellar student with the load of EC's. </p>
<p>Wouldn't worry about it. Your work is your EC. In fact, if you worked 24 to 30 hours per week, you devoted more time to that single EC than most kids put in for a range of ECs. Also there's relatively few kids who work to support their families. That in itself is something the admit officers will look on favorably.</p>
<p>If your GPA, class rank, SATs or ACTs, and SAT2s are high, you stand as good a chance as any one to get into an Ivy or other top school. By the way, your work would probably give you a good (and impressive) topic for at least one essay.</p>
<p>hey, pk, could you clarify? I'm not really posting for an official "What are my chances", I'm just getting an idea about one aspect of my admissions process. If you're inquiring about grades, I can tell you that they're well above average, GPA above 4(W), around 3.8(UW),within range for acceptance into UT as a safety and perhaps a slight reach for the Ivies. I don't really know if its a reach because of the situation I'm discussing here. And thanks amptron.</p>
<p>As long as the whole story comes together, i.e. your family is low income, and you have the grades and SATs, it shouldn't hurt. It would also help if your counselor talked about your family needing you to do this in the rec.</p>
<p>Family is low income, and I've got good grades and SAT's. I'm just concerned whether Ivies want the typical stellar student with a drone list of EC's, or might consider a student with slightly less in the grade department but had to work 25 hours a week to support his family. I mean, it's not the least bit easy to maintain A's in AP's while you're drawing up plans and framing walls
. I hope they can understand my situation, and give me a chance.</p>
<p>I think we'd need more info to actually answer the question. Just how much lower are your grades? What is your rank and SAT scores? Ethnicity and where are you from?</p>
<p>Grades are in the A to A- range, with a B+ in Pre-calc.(These are slightly lower than the myriad of A+'s i see on CC!) Taken AP macro in sophomore year and got a 4 on the test. Taking AP spanish this year and foresee another 4. AP bio next year as well as AP calc(hopefully). Haven't taken the SAT this year, but have taken several practice ones for the new version and have scores in the 2100-2200 range. I participated in three EC's, one was FIRST robotics for a year, where we reached the finals in Atlanta,Georgia and ended with a respectable score. Second was NHS and third was SHS. And then comes the working, which this whole thread is about.</p>
<p>In another post you say that you worked for your father's construction company and that you got paid under the table to avoid paying taxes...how did your Dad's income from the construction company place you and your family in a "low income" category?</p>
<p>I think for others to better help you, you need to more specifically spell out the situation. Whether it is a perception you have about your family being in a particular income bracket as opposed to what the FAFSA and CSS Profile would place you in. Keep in mind, others in your nuclear family, including stepparents, etc...are considered in the CSS Profile and the FAFSA.</p>
<p>I'm not sure how you'll deal with the fact that your Dad owns a company that you work for, if you did not pay taxes on that income. More info is required for anyone to help you.</p>
<p>I didn't get paid under the table to avoid taxes, I just worked. Hell, I really didn't even get paid. You could call it "volunteering to support my family", as all the money went to the family. I didn't really get any. </p>
<p>My dad's construction company doesn't make that much money, which is why I work for him (without pay) in the first place.</p>
<p>As far as student aid (and what is CSS?) I have no idea as to how they bracket income ranges.</p>
<p>And here in the US, its just me, my mom and dad, and my brother. No relatives whatsoever.</p>
<p>Are you a URM? That would really help. If not, I would think it'll be important to have Princeton competitive scores (2250 plus) and great recs. Low income at most of these schools means under $40K, no home ownership or investments.</p>