Job vs. GPA/High School Question?

Question

Okay, my best friend in I do drastically different in school. My GPA is a 3.7 and his is significantly lower. My parents are looking at him getting a job when he just turned 16 and how much he works and because I've always been good at managing time, I asked my mom if I could just work a few hours a on the weekends. She refused. It's been this way forever. Well, my best friend also has band. I don't think he should've gotten a job, but I could fit a few hours in on the weekends and still have time for my advanced homework and to do some fun stuff. So, who do you agree with and how would I go about winning my mom/dad over?

Answer 1

I had this situation while I was in high school. I wanted to work. Even though my parents struggled financially, they refused to allow me to work, and for that I am now thankful.

With a job comes distraction. No matter where you work - there are expectations of you, and time at your job leads to more time away from your studies. I have also seen a young person who worked a few hours, met a girl from a different school and throw college out the window. Not saying this would happen in your case, but I firmly believe that if you are a good student, you should put your time and energy into maintaining your grades, your fitness, and enjoying time at home - soon enough you will wish for the days when your needs were all met at home.

I hate to sound like an old mom (I'm not that old, yet!), but I have learned a lesson or two from falling on my face after not listening to my mami and papi (:

Answer 2

It sounds like your parents are just trying to do what is best for you. However, if having a job is very important to you, I would suggest sitting down and explaining the reasons for this to your parents.

It might be possible to work out an arrangement where you prove that you can work and keep your grades up. Try suggesting that you volunteer somewhere for a few hours a week to see how it goes. If it is not working out, it is usually easier to stop volunteer work than to quit a job. See if you and your parents can make a deal that, if you are able to do this and keep your grades up for a set period of time, you can get a "real" job.

Answer 3

YOur parents are looking out for you. You have so little time to just be a kid. Enjoy it now. If mom and dad are willing to keep you in spending money take advantage of it.
You can look for summer work and save your money to help you with next years expenses. Enjoy high school and excel at your studies, cuz college is right around the corner.

Answer 4

I would recommend going with the "Having a job will look better on college applications" route. Make a deal with your folks-have them agree that you can get a job and if your grades suffer because of it you will quit. If you don't do extracurricular activities a job looks better on a college app. You want to present yourself as a well rounded individual, and only doing homework is not well rounded. Good luck!

Answer 5

when i was in high school, i played sports so i had to keep my GPA up. however, if i wasn't going to play some sort of sport, i was expect to have a job. i went to school and worked full time during basketball season. anything can be done if you really want to. in the mean time, tell your parents not to compair you to your friend. you have more than proved yourself and the job is not the reason that your friends grades are so bad.

Answer 6

It sounds like your parents are just trying to look out for your best intentions.Maybe they figure if you had a weekend job it will distract you from your school work.If it were me I wouldn't try too hard you will have the rest of your life to work your butt off.But maybe tell your parents that you would like to earn some extra money on your own.Good luck.