<p>Yes, PAID work experience only. Paid jobs. If there was no pay, put it down under Activities, because it isn’t work experience. Out of interest, James, what was the activity?</p>
<p>Well, I’m not the Common App god so I can’t change the rules. However, I believe that internships, whether paid, nominally paid (e.g. small stipend) or unpaid should all qualify as work experience. For most people, they are certainly going to be quite different than the items put in the activities or community service section.</p>
<p>Just think about it. Work experience means a different degree of responsibility. It’s not volunteer, the hours are usually set (although sometimes with flexibility), you report to a superior who sets out the duties to be performed (and may or may not evaluate you on same, depending on the duration of the work experience), etc. etc. I could go on, but you get the picture. The difference is clearly not just whether one gets paid or not.</p>
<p>However, it’s much easier for the Common App people to just draw the line at PAID. I’m willing to place bets that a fair number of applicants put unpaid internships into the work experience section. Nowadays, there are plenty to students who consider forgoing the money to gain the experience they feel adds to their knowledge base, and perhaps better positions them on college apps. Makes sense to me. Yup, I know they sign a statement that says everything on the app is true but …</p>
<p>Question: Didn’t they just add that “paid” thing to the work experience?</p>