terp26 wrote:
How important is leadership and community service experience? I know "very" but what if you do not have much experience? Would it be beneficial to put off applying for a year and get involved in let's say a leadership position doing community service? or would that be too little too late? This would be for a top 10-20 school NYU, Columbia
granted GPA and GMAT are on par
terp26,
Very important. The answer partly depends on your age and high how your GPA and GMAT are, but if you are aiming top 10-20 then you need leadership stories and community involvement, period. If the form of community work you find enables you to show significant impact, demonstrate leadership, and is a little unusual (i.e., not Habitat for Humanity or tutoring) then the schools will value it. Better late than never ...
Good luck,