{"id":35533,"date":"2017-01-15T10:06:46","date_gmt":"2017-01-15T17:06:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/?p=35533"},"modified":"2017-03-09T14:14:53","modified_gmt":"2017-03-09T21:14:53","slug":"4-tips-for-writing-about-last-minute-extracurricular-activities-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/4-tips-for-writing-about-last-minute-extracurricular-activities-2\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Tips for Writing about Last Minute Extracurricular Activities"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Get<\/a><\/p>\n

You want to write about all your fantastic non-school and non-work endeavors so that you really\u00a0stand out from your competition<\/a>, but when you start to think about it\u2026you draw a blank. There must be SOMETHING you can show for how you use your free time, but what?<\/p>\n

Have you found yourself in a last minute lurch looking for extracurricular activities? Note the following:<\/p>\n

1. Better Late than Never<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you don\u2019t have any extracurricular activities to speak of, then I suggest you find something interesting to do and start NOW. You may ask: \u201cIsn\u2019t it better to try and bypass the subject of extracurriculars entirely rather than highlight the fact that I\u2019ve only gotten involved in an activity for the sake of my application? Won\u2019t that seem phony?\u201d While involvement in an extracurricular activity for just a few months is less impressive than long-term participation, it\u2019s still better than presenting no participation at all. You can keep kicking yourself, over and over again, wishing that you had thought of this earlier and gotten involved in some activity years ago, but now\u2019s not the time to harp on regrets; now is the time to act. Get out there and\u00a0do something<\/em>.<\/p>\n

2. Even Short-Term Involvement Can Transform You<\/strong><\/p>\n

Participation in a non-school and non-work activities, even if just for a limited period of time, will elevate your flat, one-dimensional admissions profile into something more vibrant, colorful, and\u00a0interesting<\/em>. Now\u2019s your chance to transform yourself from a pile of grades and scores into a real, live human being \u2013 one who pursues his or her interests and\u00a0passions<\/a>\u00a0outside of the work and school arenas.<\/p>\n

3. Your Application Efforts May be Delayed or Extended<\/strong><\/p>\n

Another reason why you should jump right into an extracurricular activity, even though you may feel like it\u2019s too last minute, is because you don\u2019t know for certain the outcome of your application effort. You may, for one reason or another, decide to push off applying until the next year. You may get waitlisted<\/a> or you may get dinged from all your top choice schools and decide to reapply next year \u2013 whatever the case may be, this could be the beginning of what turns out to be an entire year of extracurricular involvement.<\/p>\n

4. Hobbies are Good for YOU<\/strong><\/p>\n

Forget for a minute that you\u2019re applying to school (if that\u2019s possible) and think about what\u2019s actually good for you. It\u2019s not healthy to sit at work for 18+ hours a day only to go home and crash on the couch because you\u2019re too tired to make it to bed. Forget the application process \u2013 you should find something to do non-work (and non-school and non-other-obligations) related because it will enrich your life and make you a happier person.<\/p>\n

Mining Your Experiences to Find Extracurriculars<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s possible that you\u2019ve been involved in extracurricular activities without even realizing it. Mine your experiences to uncover unique experiences that could be considered \u201cextracurricular.\u201d You don\u2019t need clear-cut activities like \u201cActed as president of the chess club\u201d or \u201cVolunteered in local soup kitchen\u201d; consider non-traditional or non-altruistic activities, like singing in a choir, participating in a weekly fiction writing circle with friends, helping your hyperactive triplet cousins do homework catch-up once a week since forever ago.<\/p>\n

These are all completely valid ways of breaking from work, and it won\u2019t be hard to illustrate your passions and interests in these activities, not to mention the\u00a0leadership skills\u00a0you've developed<\/a> and the other ways in which you grew and learned from them.<\/p>\n

Take home message: It\u2019s NEVER too late to get involved in some meaningful, interesting, and fun extracurricular activity!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Accepted<\/a><\/p>\n

Related Resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022\u00a0From Example to Exemplary<\/a>, a free guide
\n\u2022\u00a0How to Give Your Application as Much Weight as Possible<\/a>
\n\u2022\u00a0Add Detail to Your Social Enterprise\/Community Service Goals<\/a><\/p>\n

This article<\/a> originally appeared on\u00a0<\/em>blog.accepted.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Applying to a top b-school? The talented folks at Accepted have helped hundreds of applicants get accepted to their dream programs. Whether you are figuring out where to apply, writing your application essays, or prepping for your interviews, we are just a call (or click) away.<\/p>\n

Contact us, and get matched up with the consultant who will help\u00a0you\u00a0<\/em>get accepted<\/a>!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You want to write about all your fantastic non-school and non-work endeavors so that you really\u00a0stand out from your competition, but when you start to think about it\u2026you draw a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,113],"tags":[223,74],"class_list":["post-35533","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mba","category-applications","tag-extra-curricular-activities","tag-extracurriculars","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35533","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35533"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36303,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35533\/revisions\/36303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gmatclub.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}