Teach me about extracurricular activities (4 questions)

Hi gmatclub,

I understand that extracurricular activities (EA) can make up an important part of an application, especially in the case of a "standard" applicant (e.g. undergrad + so-so GPA + a handful of years in some industry position). These have been described, not by me but by others, as "one-dimensional" and EA is an easily accessible avenue through which such applicants can stand out from a sea of similarly accomplished applicants that adcoms must sift through each round. I have found many helpful and insightful guides and opinions regarding EA and EA options in the context of the standard applicant.

However, when it comes to non-traditional applicants my research has been unsuccessful. This is the gist of my application:

I am an internationally awarded bioinformatics (specifically, computational genetics) PhD, MSc from a world-leading biomedical research university in the US; I have business strategy, thought leadership and research lead roles in Big3 Pharma; I am working on vaccines, antibiotics, cancer therapy and other drug classes that haven't even emerged in the market yet; I am a published author and I am a patent holder. I just took my GMAT and got a 730 (q49;v41); I don't think I will retake the exam.

So now I'm turning my attention to the EA part of my application and I am lost:

1. I want to focus on the two things that will make the greatest impact on my application given my non-traditional background. Am I correct in identifying EA (e.g. volunteering/community service) as one area that will enhance my particular app? Perhaps the other is demonstrating rapid professional growth within my company (e.g. through rapid promotions or take on added responsibilities).

2. Will timing be held against me? Looking at the dates, anyone interested will see that I didn't start my more recent EA until after my GMAT, which may render my efforts superficial.

3. Are there EA that are generally frowned upon? For example, I work with prison inmates to develop their education and career planning. But is working with inmates seen as a risk?

4. What characteristics of EA "wow" adcoms? Stepping outside of my comfort zone? (e.g. given my science background, would organizing a county Science Fair be a good thing? or would that be too in-line with my training? Wouldn't adcom like to see something that requires me to have stepped completely out of my comfort zone?).

Thank you!