<p>is that a factor in the college application?</p>
<p>Yes, there's a section for it.</p>
<p>Would it count as like a REAL extracurricular, or just as a "supplement"?</p>
<p>there's an entire section on common app for work experience....so it's probably not "technically" considered an EC</p>
<p>how important is it when a college looks at the app</p>
<p>It is as important as anything else is on your app---which is however much it says about you and the kind of student you'll be for the next (hopefully) four years.</p>
<p>Anyway, on a more pragmatic level, it honestly depends on where and how much. If you worked three hours a month at McDonald's, that's probably not going to count too much. But if you worked fifteen hours a week on top of school, that'll matter more, because it shows you can balance money-making work and schoolwork, something most college students have to learn to do. </p>
<p>Even better, if you want to be a pre-law major and you did 40 Bajiliion hours of research at the best law firm in Chicago and that research helped Clarence Darrow win the "Trial Of The Century" (that's completely anachronistic, but you get the point), then adcoms will be REALLY impressed. In that case it counts a lot.</p>
<p>So, to answer your question, I really have to go back to my general statement---it depends on how much the work experience says about you as a person and as a student.</p>