The reason I’m asking is due to commitment. I’m passionate about politics and plan to be involved with this org past just high school - possibly past college. The keyword I forgot to add in terms of time commitment is the fact that I’m currently spending 2-4 hours per day. During the summer I dedicated 60+ hours per week other than one week where I was camping and relaxing for the first time in over a year. I had not missed a single weekly BOD or Leadership check-in meeting until then. During last year I slacked online school a bit (in terms of participation, not grades) and would often be doing work for the org on the side - collectively spending between 50-70 hours per week if you include meetings. I began paying Directors with stipends in January and Managers/Associate Directors in March - I did not begin paying myself until July.
Hopefully, this helps you comprehend the fact that I am dedicated to this. The question “is this valuable” is one along the lines of - I have aspirations as well, other than just running this 24/7. This includes going to an intellectual school. I’m currently spending 4-6 hours per day just studying and am attempting to figure out how to balance the two. I get up at 6 every day and typically go to bed sometime between 1-2am. Balancing school and this itself is nearly too difficult for me, hence, why I came here looking for guidance on time commitment and value in return on that commitment. This could mean spending more or less time on this respective passion.
Please do remember that not everyone that comes on here exaggerates their grades, scores, involvement, and own experiences. It’s always good to question things but to blatantly (especially as a parent) slam down, question, and dispute a teen’s passion/claim is simply sickening.
Feel free to pm me should you have any further questions or want more info! I’m always happy to help resolve any doubts that you may have before answering/replying in a thorough manner. Thank you!
Ps. Also wanted to thank @skieurope for keeping me/my org confidential as some were here guessing/throwing names of orgs out there. Much appreciated.
If it is a passion to you, then I remain a bit surprised that you asked the question.
Creating, organizing, running, & maintaining such an organization is well worthwhile both in the real world and in the world of college admissions.
The reason that you encountered skepticism was due to the content of your original post which indicated that all of this was accomplished with just 2 to 4 hours a day involvement.
P.S. If you plan to major in political science, then your continued effort may result in course credit.
Also, it is better for you to have encountered and dealt with skepticism here on CC than in the admissions offices of various colleges & universities where you would not have the option to clarify your comments.
Communication skills are important. Focus on being clear & concise. Learn to self-edit by questioning & re-examining your own words for clarity.
I would be afraid of burnout. You are young. And presumably still developing in many ways. You have your whole life to do things you are passionate about.
You still need to deal with two more years of high school. If your engagement with your education is suffering, that is something to think about. It sounds like sleep is suffering too. Be careful of your health!
Are you feeling trapped? That you started something you cannot leave? Or even how it might look to start it and leave (not saying that is primary).
This is a lot of time to spend in addition to high school and surely not only your education will suffer, but possibly also your social and emotional life.
Then again some people are doers and like to be this busy. So it really depends on you.
What do your parents think? Your friends? And is there a way to ease up on this work or even hand it over to someone else, if you wanted to?
This number of hours sounds more in line with the achievement you’re describing. This should be the basis of either your main Common App essay, or your “What I Did with my Pandemic Vacation” essay, because you clearly used the flexibility of forced online schooling to immerse yourself in this, your main interest, in a way that in-person school attendance would not have permitted.
If you’re consistently getting only four or five hours of sleep a night, this is a problem. What does your academic schedule look like for next year? How many AP classes will you be taking? You don’t want to risk your gpa by spending too much time on your organization, no matter how impressive, and, as @compmom suggests, you don’t want to risk burnout or crashing out. You need sleep.
If all you say is accurate, it will be impressive on your app. You seem to be a responsible and driven person, both of which are good qualities.
Are you delegating responsibility? Your schedule is too much and I am concerned that you will burn out. Colleges want to see continued high grades more than ECs. They want to see that you’re able to work cooperatively with others. Being a leader is great, but not if you’re trying to do it all yourself.
I get the sense you’re looking for a graceful exit from this group, or simply want to relinquish some responsibility, but you aren’t sure how to do it. I suggest being frank with others who are involved. Be honest. If you have to drop this EC, it’s not the end of the world. If your goal is an intellectual college experience, there are many excellent colleges that will fit the bill. If your goal is HYPS or bust, you don’t have to crash and burn to get there. Grades are pretty much to most important factor in college admissions, barring a few notable examples.
Call for a group meeting and be blunt. Take back some of your life. Good luck.
I would say that you are clearly going places. I knew a high school student a bit like you; he went to Penn, and he’s now writing for Politico.
That said, you are exaggerating somewhat. Don’t do that – you are impressive enough without exaggeration. Also, you may have to/want to address the privilege that got your initial internships with Stanford profs as a 9th grader, as well as your family relocating to DC for 5 months so you could take that White House internship. Having said that,you’ve clearly made the most of your opportunities.
Eta: if the question is, will this help with college applications, the answer is yes.
Yes it i could be a spike but is it worth it? I think it would be good to decrease involvement either by delegation or bigger change.
It is perhaps possible to do school online even if the OP’s school goes back in person, and continue with this non-profit at whatever level of involvement OP chooses. One online school where our local high school acccepted credits is VS.org.
@cinnamon1212: The system will not allow me to “like” your post for some unknown reason.
I have a friend who was groomed in the same fashion. He is now very wealthy & lives in New Zealand & in Aspen,Colorado with offices scattered around the globe in major cities.
In short, his parents set him up for success & he reaped the benefits.
If you can influence a substantial number of voters, then you will be given the opportunity to become very wealthy at a young age. Where you attend college is not of any concern whatsoever.
P.S. Feeling burned out at such a young age over working 60 hours per week on a project of passion is a concern. Perhaps this is not your passion; maybe it is the passion of your parents ?
The OP has not indicated that they are burned out. Some of us asked about that possibility, given the dedication level of the OP to both the organization and school
I guess I would ask why the OP posted this question, since they say they plan to continue with the organization. Is this just a question about value for admissions, or is it a question about the best way to live life in high school?
If the former, yes, this particular activity and others done by the OP will help a lot with admissions, including to elite schools.
If the latter, that is a very individual question that only the OP can really decide.
All of these comments indicate that there is a good chance the OP is currently on a path that is not sustainable. Four hours of sleep a night is not sustainable. No time to ever do anything apart from study and run this organization is not sustainable, especially not for a 16 or 17 year old. The OP states he is dedicated to the organization, but the OP clearly wants to find a way to reduce the time dedicated to this group.
OP, there’s no question of your integrity or dedication, but understand that you don’t have to devote all your time to this venture. Take a deep breath and give yourself a break. Please find a way to reduce the hours you spend on this activity so that you have some time to pursue other interests and just have some fun. You have a lot of potential to do amazing things. It would be a shame if you burned out at such a young age.
Here’s my revised take on what’s happening. This student has parents that are extremely well connected and involved in politics. This student has taken advantage of that to create a very impressive nonprofit, but the nonprofit is taking over his life and is becoming more like a job than an EC. He is still passionate about it, but is wondering if maybe he should cut back and expand his interests which is what led to the post here.
OP: can you cut back on your day to day involvement by delegating some of the work to others? Maybe limit yourself to 10 hours per week for awhile and see how that goes. Join some other activities at school for a change of pace. You may find that you really want to spend more time on the nonprofit or you may find that you like having multiple activities. It’s helpful to have something completely different to clear your head.
OP has posted nothing about his parents, but how else does a 14 year old get meetings with such influential people. Read back on his posts and who has been involved in this organization. He was involved with someone at Stanford, and the White House to set up this nonprofit. He has a legal team. It’s not something a kid could have done on his own. I’m not saying this kid is not impressive but he clearly had help at the start.
Let’s ask questions of the OP instead of assuming facts not in evidence, please. The objective is to assist a ~17 year old kid, not win The National Speech & Debate Tournament.
Everyone, especially a student, needs to prioritize. What’s more important to you, an education, or an EC that consumes you but may turn into a career? I’m sure some would argue that you can do both. But the fact that you came here to ask the question shows that you realized that you had to sacrifice something. My advice is that it’s too early to sacrifce your education at your age.
I would say map out what you hope the not-for-profit achieves in the next few years while you are in HS and then while you are in college. Similarly, map out what you hope to personally achieve in this time frame.
Evaluate how the not-for-profit can achieve those goals if you were to step back from the time commitments temporarily while you pursue your education goals.
I agree with @Lindagaf@compmom@me29034 re: delegating duties. While delegating is hard for visionaries/founders, it is a must-have skill.
Is it possible to do a “sabbatical” and train someone to take on your duties temporarily? This would not only free up your time, but also provide a great development opportunity for that person and hopefully yield new ideas on how to run the not-for-profit.
Alternatively, carve out what you love to do at the not-for-profit so you can continue to do those roles and create a new position to deal with the other aspects of the Exec Director job.