Amy
Would it negatively affect my college application to have quit a minimum wage job after a few months?
I was thinking of quitting my tutoring job to make more time for preparations for the upcoming school year. Would this show colleges that I have a lack of persistence? #college-admissions #college-bound
2 answers
Morgan Waltrip
Morgan’s Answer
Nope! Not at all :)
That's great that you are tutoring others, that would be seen as a positive. For your college applications - they will look at your GPA, difficulty of classes, SAT/ACT Scores, Subject Tests (for some schools these are required, others consider them to be optional), extracurriculars, and your personal statement.
When you list your tutoring experience on your application, that would fall under the "extracurriculars" category. The most important factor on your application is your GPA and the difficulty of classes. The best thing you can do is work to keep your GPA high and take challenging classes. You can retake your SAT/ACT and Subject Tests, But you should plan out when you're going to take each as you can't take an SAT/ACT on the same day as Subject Tests. Also, not all subject tests are offered on every testing date, so definitely do your research and planning and allow for possible do-overs.
Some juniors will start taking subject tests before senior year. I recommend seeking out your counselor or an academic advisor (there are free and paid ones) for additional help and guidance. My parents had NO idea about all of these different tests and the timelines to get everything completed. While I still got into a great school, I know that a little planning and research could have helped me tremendously with getting into MORE schools and also with scholarships.
Good luck to you on all of your applications and tests! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and helping others as a tutor.
LaQuinta Scott
LaQuinta’s Answer
Quitting your job would actually show the exact opposite. As a former admissions recruiter, we always wanted to make sure your GPA, volunteer work, and extra curricular activities were always the shining star of your college application. By you letting the job go to put focus on those things, it more so shows your commitment to being the best student you can be by knowing when to step back and re-focus on what's important. Just because you end something now doesn't mean you can't begin again. My daughter is a sophomore in a similar situation and even as a parent, I push education over all other things and if that means not working, she knows her parents have her back 1,000%. Do what's best for you and your future. Everything else will fall in place