<p>Let me introduce myself, I'm a rising Senior and am looking at many of the "top" universities. I don't really know what I want to major in, maybe Political Science or Mechanical Engineering (ya my interests are that broad). I have a decent cumulative GPA (3.7 UW and 4.3 W) in a fairly decent course load - potential IB candidate.</p>
<p>Junior year I worked at a restaurant part-time (while school was in session) anywhere from 2 to sometimes even 20 hours a week (I think the average was generally around 10-15 hours). We were in a financial crunch and wanted to help out (much to the dismay of the parents). My GPA suffered slightly (3.57 UW and 4.33 W). Do colleges make the connection? Working - reduced time - drop in GPA. I'm planning on asking my teachers and counselor to talk about this in their recommendations.</p>
<p>(SAT Score is 2250 - taken it only once, not planning on retaking. Decent ECs not nothing compared to those here)</p>
<p>Oh and even though our family income is slightly below the national median, we live in a pretty affluent neighborhood and (I just looked it up) the cost of living index (or something like that) is 175 (meaning 75% higher than that of the nation). Do colleges take that into account as well?</p>
<p>Do not make excuses, but definitely state which year and how many hours/week you worked; they can make the connections. The only time your finances will matter is when financial aid is applied for, that is an entirely different issue in the decision of where you end up going to college.</p>
<p>Your working was your EC. Don't apologize for that. I agree that you should not try to make excuses for the drop in GPA, though your teachers and GC should certainly mention the financial crunch that resulted in your having to work so many hours.</p>
<p>You could subtly introduce the issue in your essay if you wanted to write it around your work experience. A casual mention that you were working at xyz to help out your financially strapped family, and then on with your story. </p>
<p>If your family's income is below the national median, then definitely apply for financial aid and look into merit aid. Beware, though, that many of the top universities do not give merit aid.</p>
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Living in an affluent neighborhood is not going to help you in admissions. You can talk about financially helping the family in your essay. Just don't try to make excuses for the drop in GPA, stay positive.
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<p>That sucks! I perfectly understand what you're saying though. I'm planning on talking about it in either my essay or on the 'Additional Info' section. How would you word it (in the Additional Info section) without coming off as making excuses?</p>
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Do not make excuses, but definitely state which year and how many hours/week you worked; they can make the connections. The only time your finances will matter is when financial aid is applied for, that is an entirely different issue in the decision of where you end up going to college.
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<p>Will do!</p>
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Darth Nader:</p>
<p>Your working was your EC. Don't apologize for that. I agree that you should not try to make excuses for the drop in GPA, though your teachers and GC should certainly mention the financial crunch that resulted in your having to work so many hours.</p>
<p>You could subtly introduce the issue in your essay if you wanted to write it around your work experience. A casual mention that you were working at xyz to help out your financially strapped family, and then on with your story.</p>
<p>If your family's income is below the national median, then definitely apply for financial aid and look into merit aid. Beware, though, that many of the top universities do not give merit aid.
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<p>I'm planning on applying for financial aid, I think that would do. Close to half of the colleges of my list offer merit aid so it kind of works out. Thanks for the advice!</p>
<p>Just as you have: your family's financial crisis made it imperative that you work sometimes up to 20 hours a week. Your school work suffered some, but you were still able to take challenging classes and maintain a GPA of 4.33 W.
You can put a positive spin on it by describing how working has taught you things. </p>
<p>If you plan on applying to top schools, make sure you've taken the SATIIs that some of them may require. Also, if you are applying to public universities with rolling admissions (such as UMich), keep the schedules in mind. I believe some begin accepting applications as early as September.</p>
<p>If you haven't already, go online to some of the EFC calculators to get an idea (it won't be exact, it will only be an idea) of what your family might be expected to contribute to your COA (cost of attendance - tuition/room/board/books/transportation/etc.). This will help you figure out a bit more about how to target your list wrt schools more known for merit aid vs. need-based aid (schools meeting 100% of need or a lesser % of need). The schools meeting 100% of need tend to NOT be the schools offering merit aid. Some schools do offer both.</p>
<p>Remember that the schools define your "need", not you and your family. So, if you have more of an idea of whether your family will qualify for the amount of need-based aid they hope for, the parents here can help you target your list better.</p>
<p>It would also help to know what state you reside in and what other features appeal to you in a university: size/geography/atmosphere etc.</p>
<p>Darth, I would suggest that you mentioned that you worked, and say something to the extent that you worked up to 20 hours a week but cut back hours after you realized it was interfering with your studies. Let the ad com make the connection about the grades -- I think if you word it the way I suggested, it doesn't sound like making excuses, but rather acknowledging the problem (slipping grades) and stating your solution (reduce work hours). </p>
<p>Also, if the work was truly necessary to meet family expenses, do mention the circumstances and indicate where your earning went. You don't have to ask for sympathy, but if you were working to help put food on the table for your family, its worth mentioning. That way they understand that the "too many hours" problem didn't come up because of something selfish, such as trying to earn money to buy things for yourself.</p>
<p>IMHO, it will be hard for any adcom to understand how a kid from an affluent school district (if that's where you are) could make a meaningful contribution to the family budget during a patch of hard times. The numbers just don't work. </p>
<p>In spite of anything the OP may say, I think the adcom will interpret it to be that the kid wanted extras (luxuries, I suppose) that the family could not afford during time of crisis. Calmom, I don't think any applicant can deflect this risk. They just don't have the credibility.</p>
<p>Because of this risk, I think the OP should just let the facts speak for themselves. To do any more would smack of making excuses or worse. </p>
<p>I think the only way for a mitigating message to be sent would be if one of the references discussed the circumstances. </p>
<p>This is why so many educators are against part time jobs in HS. One's priority in HS should be education, even if it means sacrifice in other areas.</p>
<p>newmassdad, if it helps the district or the place we live in isn't (or wasn't) quite my home school. It's a Public Magnet was it would've taken me at least an hour to get to school so my parents decided to move. Would they know I live in an apartment? Well an affluent district doesn't have $1 Million homes alone.</p>
<p>calmom and marite, thanks for the help. I'll definitely keep it in mind. The circumstances are very odd and even a bit sketchy to an extent. It was a difficult time for the family in general. My grandfather died and my (step) mom was involved in an accident. So their was piling medical bills but the opportunity cost was hard on us too.</p>
<p>jmmom, the EFC comes out to be $2. I'm thinking about a small to medium school (definitely not a large state public). I don't quite care about geography and I'm not into too competitive schools like JHU/NYU. I'm live in Virginia.</p>
<p>UVA is a great school, Make sure it's on your list. Another is William & Mary.<br>
Financial difficulties due to medical problems are something adcoms and financial aid offices will take into account. As well, these events, the death of your grandfather and your stepmom's accident must have been very disruptive to your home life.</p>
<p>An adcom at Notre Dame told me this week that they look with extreme favor on kids who work at the same job for more than a year and more than 10-12 hours per week. She also said they fully expect a slight job in gpa which then rises the following semester. Apparently, at least for some adcoms, working a job, for whatever reason, with diligence, means more than being president of the AV club (I hate padded ECs - that's my bias).</p>
<p>marite, thanks again. UVA is on my list and I'll definitely consider William & Mary. fencersmother, my GPA actually did go up the following semester but it never translated into a boost for the overall GPA. % wise the grades were up 3rd quarter and "letter wise" by 4th quarter but the slew of Bs in the first 3 quarters forced the overall GPA to stay at 3.57 (both semesters).</p>
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An adcom at Notre Dame told me this week that they look with extreme favor on kids who work at the same job for more than a year and more than 10-12 hours per week