<p>Having been on the CC boards for a while now I've read my share of "Chances" threads both on the Harvard board and elsewhere. </p>
<p>After reading dozens of these threads as well Zuma's Stat Roster, I never once came across someone who had actual work experience as an EC.</p>
<p>I've always been told by "people" i.e. teachers, counselors etc... that actual paid work goes a long way in the college admissions process. So my question is are CC'ers out of the loop when it comes to work experience or is "real" work overrated?</p>
<p>I think it is a valuable EC, but it is not required. My D got in with very little work experience beyond informal stuff like babysitting and giving music lessons.</p>
<p>If time spent working is going to pull your grades down, I think you'd be better off with top grades and little or no work experience than with mediocre grades and lots of work experience. Best, of course, would be top grades AND work experience.</p>
<p>From my understanding, work experience is simply another form of EC. I don't think it is necessarily better or worse than say- playing on the chess team. It's just a type of EC.</p>
<p>Actually, I think colleges think that work experience shows some degree of motivation or real-world interest, as opposed to just being completely immersed in academics/extracurriculars. If you're poor and you're hoping colleges will look on it favorably, it helps if you actually work as well, instead of just saying, "um. yeah. im poor, but I haven't done anything about it. let me in."</p>
<p>"Actually, I think colleges think that work experience shows some degree of motivation or real-world interest, as opposed to just being completely immersed in academics/extracurriculars."</p>
<p>I totally agree with you tranman, and that's my point exactly. Being on the chess team may be an EC but there's nothing like the "real world" i.e. paid work with real rewards and real consequences for your actions.</p>
<p>in addition to the real rewards, don't forget the several dozen lines of this tax or that tax that ends up going to the government, which in turn ends up funding many of the public universities so many of us are applying to. So you could think about it as bribing the college. with all $2.47 that they take of for FRXTZY EXPENSE TAX REVENUE SECURITY.</p>
<p>I for one am counting on work experience as a major part of my application. I work at my own business for 20 hours per week during the school year and 50+ hours per week in the summer fixing and teaching about computers. I'm hoping it'll distinguish me from others in the applicant pool.</p>
<p>I have no idea how colleges will regard my work experience. Anyone else planning on using a job as a central part of their app?</p>
<p>I'm not going to focus on my work, but hopefully it will help. I work 20-25 hours a week during school as a manager at an ice cream store, 40-45 during the summer. I also tutor 2-3 hours a week in math.</p>