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Lack of Interest in Traditional Community Service

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Lack of Interest in Traditional Community Service [#permalink] New post   29 Dec 2009, 22:25
Does this make me a bad person? I notice that many applicants to top schools volunteered in something like Habitat for Humanity / Boys & Girls Club / Homeless Shelter / Building schools in Kenya / etc

However I don't have an interest to do any of this. I feel like if I were to do this, it would only be to position myself for b-school and I wouldn't enjoy it very much. What do these elite b-schools look for in terms of community service?

If I were to do anything extracurricular, I am very interested in becoming a little league baseball umpire / HS basketball referee / HS Track & Field official. I've participated in these sports when I was younger (had to stop in college due to medical issues) and would like to be involved in some way again. Would that help in the admission process? What skills would I need to emphasize? (I'm not sure if there's any leadership involved, other than telling a bunch of kids what they can and cannot do...)

Obviously I wouldn't be paid for any of this.
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Re: Lack of Interest in Traditional Community Service [#permalink] New post   30 Dec 2009, 10:44
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Hi NYCAnalyst,

If you're not passionate about something, by all means, don't do it! Extracurricular activities and community service are another way for you to demonstrate the four core dimensions that admissions officers look for in every applicant: leadership, maturity, innovation, and teamwork. If you can demonstrate these with other activities (not just pounding nails for Habitat for Humanity once a month), then that's great. Everything you described is fair game. If you're helping young people have a positive experience with sports and competition, I could think of all sorts of great things you could discuss in your essays, as long as it really matters to you.

Also, know that admissions officers will ask in the back of their minds, "How has this person made the community/organization around him better?" The obvious answer is with community service, but even just finding a solution for a problem at work that no one else has solved is another way to demonstrate this.

Scott
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Re: Lack of Interest in Traditional Community Service [#permalink] New post   23 Jan 2010, 19:30
Thank you for your response. Now I have another question:

I just got certified to become a ref and according to league rules, I have to get paid per game (even though I would gladly do it without the compensation). This is cash off the books, so it doesn't show up on my tax returns. How will this affect my application? Does this still count as extra-curricular activity, or would I have to list it as a 2nd job? Does this still count as community service? Volunteering?
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Re: Lack of Interest in Traditional Community Service [#permalink] New post   24 Jan 2010, 10:25
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I would bet that the compensation is relatively small, making the fact that you get paid pretty insignificant in the grand scheme of things. I would talk about your coaching experience through the lens of "this is something I really enjoy doing," rather than "this is a side job." No need to get caught up in the details of how much they pay, whether or not it's above the table, etc. Try to keep it in the "hobbies/extracurriculars" column! To that end, maybe you could forgo the pay?

Scott
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Re: Lack of Interest in Traditional Community Service [#permalink]
24 Jan 2010, 10:25

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