<p>Thanks again for the input. @Marian - her grades are very good (see above) and see takes rigorous courses - she feels that having the job actually makes her more disciplined. It probably doesn’t take up much more time than a sport would - but I feel like a sport is looked on much more favorably - and that’s really my question.</p>
<p>@ReadyToRoll,
I think that her working 32 hrs per week and earning As is awesome. It shows her work ethic and her passion for money (which is a perfectly fine priority to have) and her independence. She should do what really shows her interests. This is what really speaks to the colleges. If her passion and interest for the EC is greater than the job, then she should do the EC. Btw, the job is an EC in would be listed on the EC line of the common app.</p>
<p>I would disagree that a sport is looked on more favorably than a job (unless one is at a recruited athlete level). I think that the less common EC (more rare) is looked on the most favorably. Working 32 hrs per week is rarer than doing a HS sport</p>
<p>I think it’s awesome also when kids can balance work, their interests and school. I have every reason to believe that colleges also think that it’s a positive trait. There are only so many hours in a week and kids aren’t fooling anyone when they have a loaded application of this or that activities that couldn’t possibly actually occur in real time. I highly doubt admins don’t “get” kids that work and how their lives are structured.</p>
<p>My view is that if she prefers working to other activities, that is who she is, and you should look at schools that fit <em>her</em>, not try to remake her into someone else to fit <em>them</em>.</p>
<p>Personally, I don’t like the idea of a kid working significant hours during HS just to buy more “stuff” than they would otherwise have, especially if the job is unrewarding. I would rather see a kid exploring music or art, engaging in physical activity, and so forth, rather than devoting all of their available hours to a meaningless job. With the caveats that a) not all jobs are meaningless, and b) working can have significant benefits, too. But they will most likely be working for decades.</p>
<p>On the other hand, some kids need to work, and some kids just like it. That’s the way it is. Is she giving up whole aspects of life in order to work more hours? What would she do if she isn’t working? It all depends. </p>
<p>I guess I would sum it up that IMHO “how will this look to colleges” should not even be on the list of considerations.</p>
<p>My son, who worked through almost all of high school and had no (other) ECs, used to say that ECs were contrived, fake activities, but work was real. I think he liked that as much as the money he earned (which went for constant software and hardware upgrades – as you might expect of a future computer science major).</p>
<p>It’s a hard argument to counter.</p>
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<p>Always thought the same myself as well. If volunteering provided much (at least minimum wage-level) value, someone would pay you to do it. I’ve never understood the inclination for colleges to prefer applicants who volunteer, doesn’t seem to have a positive influence on the school’s future donations if all their students are willing to work for no pay.</p>
<p>@Consolation - I think the job is a social outlet for her as well. All of her co-workers are high school or college students - and she can work and chit chat at the same time. She also sees a lot of people she knows who come into the store, and the owner encourages the kids to socialize with those folks too because I guess maybe they end up buying more that way!</p>
<p>Two out of my 3 kids loved to work…One of them was not that “Into” high school although he did have one season of sports per year, but he was always the kid who volunteered to work on homecoming night, prom night etc. and he was well liked by his co-workers and managers. He’s out of college now and still a hard worker and well liked by coworkers and managers. I don’t think colleges have an inclination toward any specific group of kids. The ones who are disadvantaged are probably the ones that are butterflies…signed on for a whole lot of stuff but not terribly vested in those activities.</p>
<p>work counts as an extra curricular.</p>
<p>i do have to ask about the 12 hours in one day though, is that legal at her age? in PA you can’t legally work more then 8 hours in a day under age 18. you also can’t work more then 28 hours in a week while school is in session (40 hours max when school is not in session). We had to learn all the laws at a prior job due to scheduling of minors to work.</p>
<p>I would strongly suggest checking into the labor laws in your state. You don’t want her to burn herself out.</p>
<p>I started working at age 14 and haven’t stopped since. I worked about 15 hours a week during the school year and more during the summers. i also played a sport in high school and was in a club as well. it can be done but you have to do it all in moderation.</p>
<p>@fendergirl - thanks. In my state, you also can’t work more than 8 hours in a day, even on non-school vacation weeks. My D knows that; she was originally supposed to work an 8 hour shift, but volunteered to stay since they were short. No one made her - but I do agree that I don’t want her to burn herself out. Fortunately we are in a school vacation week so I was less concerned - she then worked the next day for six hours but took yesterday and today off and is going back tomorrow. I will keep an eye on it but she really does like it very much.</p>
<p>It’s true that I am mostly worried that a college won’t appreciate all of this time spent versus time spent on a sport or club, and I do hear those of you who say that I shouldn’t be worrying about that kind of thing and just let her follow her own path - but I know that she does have certain goals when it comes to colleges, and if she had any clear indication that those colleges would appreciate more volunteer work or other ECs, and less standard employment, then she would definitely switch her focus because it would be important to her.</p>