SSL hours vs paid employment?

[Anonymous]

What is better for college admissions to have more SSL hours or show paid employment? The work will be the same but could be compensated with either SSL or salary.

Any advantage to choosing SSL (ds has enough for graduation) for college admissions?

[Anonymous]

I personally don’t think SSL helps admission unless you have something extraordinary to say about it.

If you have none, that’s bad. If you have a lot, say, 1000+, that’s impressive. Between, say, 200 or 300, what’s the difference?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is better for college admissions to have more SSL hours or show paid employment? The work will be the same but could be compensated with either SSL or salary.

Any advantage to choosing SSL (ds has enough for graduation) for college admissions?

Neither are that impressive based on two AOs I know personally. other things matter much more. genuinely, no one is impressed your DC scooped ice cream at a store for customers or if your kid worked weekends at sports basement. It's all so common and typical now. Service is only impressive when it's clear it's been meaningful.

[Anonymous]

I think it depends on the job. Kid worked as a lifeguard for a public pool and I think that helped round out the nerdy profile.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks!

It’s same job, they offered salary, initially we were under impression it’s volunteer. Anyway, if it doesn’t matter and what matters more is what they did rather than how they were compensated, then we’ll just keep things as is.

[Anonymous]

Schools require SSL hours so its not as impressive as it was prior to the requirements. I think both are important. Our kid started working as a lifeguard at 15, not a lot of hours but more for life skills.

[Anonymous]

If they already have some volunteer experience, paid job is more impressive.

[Anonymous]

what you did and how you impacted others is sooo much more important than getting paid minimum wage for it.

also matters if you got paid what you did with your money? did you help out your family with food/housing, or did you just use the money for clothes and shoes and illegal booze?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:what you did and how you impacted others is sooo much more important than getting paid minimum wage for it.

also matters if you got paid what you did with your money? did you help out your family with food/housing, or did you just use the money for clothes and shoes and illegal booze?

Well said.