<p>I have a question about the work section on the common act. One of the daughters was lucky enough through an EC, to get a job at a museum the last 2 summers (pay wasn't bad either) but her sister, not so lucky. She had the typcial "no experience" results and in today's economy, didn't find anything paid with a check. She is babysitting and volunteering. She was wondering how you put that down on the common app? She worked for a neighbor for 2 years that moved to Maine to go to grad school and earned money and bartered for things. His extra TV is now ours (my D's never had one in their room) and he gave her his old desktop (after cleaning out his info) for housesitting, she got a microwave for school (almost brand new) for something else...very industrious but not "real work".
Since they moved, she hasn't had anything steady, but still will work when she can babysitting.
How do you portray that best, essay or under work experience?</p>
<p>She can certainly put babysitting under work experience.</p>
<p>The essay should not be her place to “apologize” for a lack of real job. If there was something in her experiences/interactions with her employers that is worth writing about, she certainly can do that. The essay should help the reader to get to know your daughter as a person. It does not matter what the topic is, as long as it accomplishes that objective.</p>
<p>Yes, I told her that, but she wanted to elaborate more on what she did and why (to save money for school) and to get things we couldn’t afford. If there are 3 families, do you just put “various families” or 3 families…it’s not like a company, “Kindercare” 6 hours a week.
I told her her brother had similar issues with doing yard work, but luckily his last summer home, he got a job at a store and could put that down.</p>
<p>You don’t have to fill out the work section. Neither my S did. But your D could fill out handyman/ baby-sitting, miscellaneous household chores or something similar.</p>
<p>She should not write her essay around this unless she wants it say something about her “How I learned to wield a hammer” or some other (preferably) humorous topic. Or she could fit the info into the essay: “I call my car Matilda. I bought it with savings from the odd jobs I did for neighbors, which included anything from mowing their lawns, feeding their cats, watering their plants. Matilda the car is…”</p>
<p>Just tell the truth. Neither of my girls ever held a real job prior to college, and so their work sections were pretty much blank. Both got into many fine schools.</p>
<p>I realize that, but I guess, although it isn’t looked at the same way, she felt she worked very hard or at least had a reasonable amount of responsibility in some of them. One child had ADHD and was a handful and watching a home for a week, had her checking locks, switching lights, watering plants and taking in the mail.
I know what she means, she probably remembers me complaining that when I went back to work after staying home and volunteering, for a few years, my “experience” wasn’t given as much respect by some without a paycheck. I told her that she is much younger and the economy is awful. If she wants to highlight anything, maybe just mentioning being pro-active to learn or get something she needed would be enough. I must admit that second computer was wonderful when the two of them were doing papers, etc. and not having to schedule times to be on.</p>