<p>If I have other stuff that I really would like to do (visiting a foreign country, seeing friends for last time...), would it be okay that I NOT work? I haven't had previous employment experience.</p>
<p>My parents want me to work to 1) pay off college and 2) gain experience...but I'd like to visit family in foreign country and see my high school friends for the last time, especially since they're in a different state.</p>
<p>I thought parents would provide valuable insight to this!</p>
<p>How are you going to pay for all your travel if you've never worked a day in your life?</p>
<p>Where are you going to get spending money for college next year if you don't work this summer?</p>
<p>Hmm...guess I may have to put off seeing my family for a year.</p>
<p>Hope this won't sound harsh, but my senior D will be working at a real job this summer, for the first time in her life. Paid "enrichment" programs are over for now. She can travel during undergrad if she qualifies and is admitted to a program abroad.</p>
<p>summer after senior year of college or senior year of high school?</p>
<p>high school</p>
<p>How about coming to an agreement with your parents that you work during the school year - say maybe 10 hours a week. All campuses have jobs available to students. Some jobs are quiet where you can even study while you work.</p>
<p>Tough luck- the trips will have to wait until you do it on your own. Do not think of substituting work during college for two reasons. First, you do not want to give up your time as a freshman and secondly I bet you never find that job since you will have no incentive to do so. Bravo to your parents for not being willing to indulge your every wish. We parents have stuff we would rather do, also. Welcome to the adult world and a reality check.</p>
<p>Hey, I'm a parent, and I'd like to go visit some people I know around the world. Oops! Gotta work and pay my kid's college tuition. </p>
<p>Let's just say I can see where your parents are coming from, though I can also see where you are coming from - it's your last chance to have some fun before you head off to college.</p>
<p>Any middle ground? Can you work for most of the summer, and take two weeks to go do something cool?</p>
<p>I know a kid who worked crazy hours for most of the summer, and then went off and had a major blast, which he paid for.</p>
<p>It's only OK that you NOT work if your parents agree that you can NOT work. I have other things that I'd rather do this summer, too, but I have bills to pay (not the least of which is my d's tuition). You want to go to college? You have bills to pay, too.</p>
<p>(Xposted with chaucers_pal!)</p>
<p>I agree with chaucers_pal - could you work til 2 weeks before school starts and then have a fun trip those last two weeks? (You know, you can still see your friends as an employed person. I'm sure your parents are not expecting you to work more than 40 hours a week.)</p>