Extracurricular Activities - What You Can Do

Extracurricular Activities - What You Can Do

Why Are Extracurricular Activities Valuable?

• Relevant EC (even loosely tied to your long term goal) can demonstrate the commitment to your field/goals adcoms are looking for. E.g. if you said in your apps you were really passionate about the environment but have never done anything about it, then perhaps you just like to say things....
• On the other hand even irrelevant experience can show your personality
• Your extracurricular (non job related) experience can help you strengthen your leadership picture. Even if you were a troop leader for boy scouts or in charge of a local clean up effort - all of that counts not only on paper but also will speak loudly through your application. But please do not make stuff up - admissions team will see right through that
• Someone you have volunteered with or worked together on a project may end up being a good candidate for a Letter of Recommendation
• You can use extracurricular activities to explain a few things such as an employment gap or poor academic record during one of the semesters
• Extra curricular activities (whether volleyball or volunteering, or political work) can enrich your life, give you a new perspective, and contribute to your life in general
• Community work can be incredibly substantial, especially if you have a long term goal to work in the non profit. Make sure your EC is relevant to the non profit industry and even a small stint can come to be quite useful there.
• Even 2-3 months of community work can work pretty positively in your application. It makes you a human being, shows your passions and interests and gives an interesting take on your character by taking a necessary break from GPA figures, GMAT score and WE achievements.

I did not volunteer anywhere. But I do spend 10 hours a week helping with X/Y/Z. Is that EC?

• YES, they can be. These X/Y/Z can add a lot more to your profile and say much more about you than a couple of weeks of community service could ever do really.
• The goal of the AdCom is to admit individuals who will support a vibrant campus community and step into leadership positions. In other words, as admissions officers consider each applicant, they ask themselves “what’s in it for our school?”
• One misconception is that your extracurricular activities have to be altruistic. Admissions committee members and admissions consultants will tell you business schools are looking for applicants to participate in activities for which they are truly passionate. One of the successful applicants to Ross, was a really good DJ who was invited to may parties and made side income by being a DJ in some of the hippest parties in Madrid. As a matter of fact, Ross even advertised this on their website to encourage R2 2011 applicants. Another real applicant took care of exotic animals confiscated by the zoo and it worked out great for her too.

OMG. I have nothing. What can I do now?

• So the first step is to stop and think about things in those terms – and see if anything jumps out.
• If you are part of some extracurricular program and want to try to take on a more leadership oriented role, just ask. In fact, you might even be able to make the role related to your goals – I know one candidate who approached a
  local dog shelter and offered to help them revisit their financials and marketing materials. They had plenty of people willing to look after the pets, but no one with business acumen to help out.
• Assuming neither of those options worked – and the problem is purely a lack of activities completely… we need to get creative. Start with your alma mater and see if there are roles you can take on as an alumnus. (Many schools will have formal alumni recruiting efforts, even at the undergraduate level). If that fails to lead somewhere meaningful, try browsing https://meetup.com or https://www.craigslist.org for local interests groups. You can either start your own (which isn’t free, but it’s a small price to pay in the grand scheme), or you can join another group for free. Odds are, you’ll find something on meetup.com (everything from dumpster diving to xylophone fan clubs seem to exist). Either way, you can quickly become involved in something of consequence. Assuming neither of those ideas work out, start calling local charities and see how you can get involved. Admittedly, none of these strategies can fix a lack of extracurricular involvement in years past, but some involvement is still better than none.
• Sign up for Toastmasters. It is a public speaking club that almost immediately can provide you with a number of leadership opportunities during the weekly meetings and give you a role of a VP within 3 months. It will help you with public speaking and interviewing, as well as with leadership and EC experience. Many people in the club can probably recommend other interesting local opportunities - they tend to be in the know
• Do what you believe. You don't have to be a Mother Theresa. If you think the world needs more capitalists, find a local organization that teaches kids financial wisdom (google for one or search or see about starting it). Or if you want to save the world, you can probably do that as well in some way. AdComs love people with strong convictions (nobody likes a flip-flopper without a personality)
• You are welcome to get involved with GMAT Club. We welcome moderator applicants and frankly will consider any crazy idea. Just contact us.

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