ajluberto wrote:
Hi,
First of all, I'd like to thank everyone contributing to this forum. It has been a great help to me thus far.
I plan on applying to NYU Langone for Fall 2008, so I have until May of next year to beef up my extracurriculars/leadership. Could someone give me some suggestions as to what the adcoms really like to see in terms of leadership and extra-curricular involvement?
Some things I do currently:
-captain of a corporate league softball team
-5K races for charity, thinking of doing the NYC half-marathon
-lead a panel of volunteers into a hospital each week to assist and talk to patients.
ajluberto,
Schools have no preferred extracurriculars but they like to see involvement in activities that mean a lot to you personally, where you can express that importance in your essays. That said, some activities probably carry greater weight because (a) they benefit people and (b) they're unusual, off the beaten track of what most applicants do, and so interest the adcom and make you stand out more.
Your softball leadership is a plus but it's not unusual and it does not have the social impact dimension. 5K charity runs are also fairly common and require no long-term time commitment and don't allow you to benefit someone else personally (i.e., one on one). It's indirect social impact, one step up from writing a check. The last volunteer hospital panel activity sounds much more promising. If you can intensify for leadership, e.g., perhaps implement some new initiatives or express your leadership in new ways, then that could really help you when you apply.
Good luck,