I know being a TA is almost universally looked down upon by most colleges and, I would assume, most people on this forum, but I feel my situation might be a bit different. I haven’t yet signed up to do it, but I was considering signing up to be a TA for the Varsity Football coach at my school. I am heavily involved with the program already so this wouldn’t be out of the blue, and I would be staying after school quite a bit so my role might be considered a bit different than that of a TA. Would I be able to explain this situation to colleges when applying this fall, or would this be just like any other case?
This would replace Graphic Arts by the way. Thanks.
@bulldog97 Colleges will look for a big picture of you based on things you have done. They believe the past is a strong predictor of the future. Try to build a theme for yourself that demonstrates you are on a “path” consciously building toward your future. Does the work with your coach tie into your area of interest (possible major) ? Sports Marketing? Physical Therapy? Sports Medicine? If this is something you are really interested in doing then try to articulate why. It seems you are excited about the opportunity to work with this coach. This could be a hint there is some aspect of the work that appeals to you. Try to understand it, embrace it, enjoy it then explain it. If you can do this then it can only add to your application. Good luck!
@monarch1 All of those are possible minors for me, although I would be really excited to apply a business major to the sports industry in the future. This is something that I would like to be involved with at whatever college I apply to though so hopefully I can explain that as well. My only issue is really finding a platform to actually explain why I would do this. Do I write my statement about being involved with this, or do I write a separate letter to admissions explaining why this is not a normal TA experience?
@Bulldog97 Just be sure you are taking a full load of courses and the TA is a bonus. I would not advise TA instead of an additional year of math or science. If your schedule includes 4-5 academic subjects plus TA you should not be concerned.