Hello,
I am a community college student who is trying to transfer to San Luis Obispo Cal poly. I am pretty much an independent student as I don’t have anybody to support me and I count on financial aid and my job at a local store to cover my living expenses and save money for when, or if, I transfer to San Luis (living costs there are rather high). I know that the people who will look at my application would consider more than just my GPA (3.92) in order to decide whether to except me or not. They will also look at what am doing when am not in school (i.e. volunteer work, student orgs, paid work…etc.). But the problem with being an independent student is this crossroad that I have reached. Should I continue working in order to support myself and save more money for when I transfer to a university? Or Should I quit my job and join as many student orgs as I can and use some of my savings in order to cover my living expenses? Which would look better on my application? More than 40 hours of work a week, or seeing that am an active member at multiple student orgs?
Any information is appreciated, thanks
Continue working. It is considered a strong EC if you do it consistently and have been doing so for a while. Anything 30+ hours is considered ‘strong’.
Do get involved in something else if you can - campus club, activity in your community… Not just for admissions but also to help you ‘fit in’ and enjoy your experience a bit more. Membership is nice, leadership is better.
Cal Poly doesn’t care what you do/did for non-work related ECs, just the hours per week you do it and whether or not you held a leadership position. They also give admission points for working and a bonus if it’s related to your major. All in all both combined count for less than 10% of the admissions algorithm.
So, keep working. It gets you points. IF you want to do an EC, pick ONE and do it as much as you want to still be enjoyable and not compromise your school and work.
Good luck.