Misc. questions about NMSC Application

Paying for College
1

Just a few questions that I have as I’m finishing up my NMSC application:

  1. For the EC/volunteer portion, how am I expected to calculate hours/week? I have 400 hours (starting in the summer before 9th grade) at a local athletic association but I only volunteer a few months out of every year during certain sports seasons. During these months I work maybe 8-15 hours per weekend and/or 8 hours during the Mon-Fri week. But then there are months where I don't volunteer at all.
  2. Should I list AP Scholar with Distinction as an award? I earned it after the AP exams I took in grade 11, so should I say I earned it in grade 11, or grade 12 since it was technically the summer before grade 12?
  3. I have a paid-under-the-table job as an assistant to my dad (he owns a local business and I do a lot of different things for him, like managing social media, contacting other businesses for partnerships, and some menial tasks). I know it's kind of weird that I'm employed by my dad but it is actually a lot of work. But since it's under-the-table should I bother mentioning it on the "employment" section?

Thanks so much, I feel like I post too much (and when I do, I write too much) but thanks in advance for any help!!

2

1 - does it ask for hours/week? Or can you just list total hours?
2 - Sure. 11th grade. It shouldn’t matter which you put.
3 - I would. It’s not much different from some families where the older sibling has to babysit while parents work.

3

Thanks for the response! Yes, it does ask for hours/week specifically, so I’m not sure what to put.

4

Just do the division and then add the total at the end if you can

5

Don’t sweat these answers. They don’t make/break your NMF chances.

  1. estimate your hours and put it down. Doesn’t have to be perfectly accurate, no one checks.

  2. Grade 11

  3. It’s a job, list it. If a description of duties is asked, just list the most important ones.

6

Thanks, both of you!

I ended up estimating how many weeks I volunteer every year and averaging my total hours over that, and I mentioned in the description that I typically only volunteer during fall & spring so they don’t think I’m doing all that work year-round. I’d have a ridiculous amount of hours if I did, lol.

Yeah, people kind of act like getting paid under-the-table makes it “not a real job” so I’m always hesitant to mention it, but I’ll include it anyway, thanks!

7

Under the table is a real job - and the IRS certainly thinks so, too!