Are you applying to your state’s public school(s)? In theory the taxes you are NOT paying (but should) help fund those schools - the schools you want to attend presumably. Seems like a bad idea to admit this.
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Correct. That’s what’s been suggested to OP. They can write about the job but leave out the “under the table” part.
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Perhaps I misunderstood, but I don’t think the OP was ever suggesting that they would explicitly describe the parent’s work as being under the table. Rather, they were concerned that if they mentioned a job that wasn’t listed on their taxes, that this would create a discrepancy, albeit one predicated on a lot of communication happening between the AO and FAO:
AO: Hey Bill, I have this great applicant whose parent works as a server at the best restaurant in town! He wrote a whole essay about how this job affected his life.
FAO: Cool! Who’s the applicant?
AO: John Smith.
FAO: WAAIIITTT a cotton pickin minute there! I just reviewed John Smith’s tax information and nowhere did I see a restaurant salary listed!
AO: Oh, snap.
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While I don’t think dots would be connected, what if there’s an Honors or sub Honors program that seeks low income kids?
This is just a bad idea because - why worry.
There’s plenty of essay topics. My kid wrote about tea. Another about the yellow fuzz on a tennis ball. A Yale admit by us wrote about the anticipation of waiting for Papa Murphy’s delivery.
Find another way to sell yourself.
Why ?
Because if you have to ask if writing this is a good idea, then it’s not.
Why add stress ??
And if you do get some type of named scholarship or award, you may be asked this not just upfront but each year for a bio or other type of award or announcement. My daughter (not low income) had to do this for school publication and more. These things get put out in press releases and even our local congressman would send a congratulatory email.
This is just not worth it.
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The very first post describes it exactly as “under the table”. A few posts later, OP also mentions that he or she also works under the table. And seemingly to a degree that it would possibly change any financial aid awarded if the real income numbers were ever discovered. A very slippery slope in my book.
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Ethically, definitely. Although I couldn’t say for sure how mentioning a job would or would not impact admissions chances (of course leaving out the job status). I think these are two separate issues, even if both important issues. Personally, I wouldn’t risk it, but that’s easy for me to say as I am not in that position.
I meant they wouldn’t describe as such in their essay.
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This really would be an issue if the under the table income is the only income the parent and student receive…and no jobs were listed at all for this student and parent on their finaid application forms. It would be quite notable.
And the OP needs to remember, that getting any federally funded need based aid knowingly using wrong information is considered…fraud which is a crime.
So…for example, if the student family income is low enough on the FAFSA that this kid receives a Pell Grant…but the family never reported “under the table earnings” on their taxes…this could be problematic. @kelsmom do I have that right?
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It’s also possible the income generated by the “under the table” job is low but helps an even lower income family - ie., single mother works as a waitress $5.75/hour+tips, cleans houses on the side and gets $200/week for it in cash and thus can’t say a thing if paid for 3hours but completed 4.
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My standard response is that the parent and student certify that they are being truthful when they sign the FAFSA electronically. No one goes to jail if they aren’t truthful in reporting income on the FAFSA, but the student could lose eligibility for federal aid (which in turn affects eligibility for institutional need based aid). Neglecting to report income is not truthful. Reporting income for which taxes should have been paid but were not can result in being denied aid if the student is selected for verification and the family chooses not to file a late tax return if it’s discovered that they should have filed. It’s important to understand what can happen if a parent or student should have filed taxes but did not.
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This is what I meant in my post.
This is the situation closest to mine. But with consideration to the risks, I’ll probably excuse/omit any mention of an under-the-table job to avoid any problems with financial aid.
Thank you to everyone who replied.
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I don’t believe financial aid officers read essays and cross check against submitted data. I also don’t think AOs have the time or inclination to pass on details from essays to the financial aid office “just in case” there are discrepancies.
Financial aid and admissions don’t talk at most schools, those that are need blind and those that are just too busy to discuss applications.
I found out that my parents file separately on their taxes. The parent with the unreported job has a sufficiently low enough income to the point where they don’t file. So there should be no discrepancies
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It has to be under $600 I believe - to not file a return.
It’s unlikely to impact - but if you get any endowed scholarships, you’ll have to answer to this year after year - they’ll have you write a bio. Of course, you won’t need to include any of your past.
I think it’s highly highly highly unlikely to impact you but - why take that chance. There’s a zillion things you can write about.
Apparently married filing separately is $5. I guess they don’t want people filing separately specifically to game income levels. Check if you need to file a tax return | Internal Revenue Service
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Guess OP above is not correct either way.
Wishing them well.
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Ok, so now you now your parent doesn’t meet the hurdle to not file taxes. I would not list a job for this parent on your common app (or talk about it in any essays.)
I don’t know the value of your family’s assets, which you don’t have to answer here (you reported they own a rental property on another thread) but as kelsmom said there is a chance you may be selected for FAFSA verification. That’s out of your control of course, but you are learning a lot by way of making these posts. You might share some of this info with your parents. Good luck.
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