Addressing hours spent at Extra-curriculars?

Question

On the applications, how do you address the hours spent at a particular EC? Most apps ask for hours per week. Suppose you help out one Saturday a month or on a quarterly basis, are you suppose to translate that into 0.25 hrs per week over the course of the year or what? Seems like it would look stupid. As a person that travels a lot for my job there is nothing I'm doing on a consistent basis to address this despite being highly involved. Thoughts?

asimov · Answer

If your involvement is that low, I would not list the club, because it may look like you are trying to buff your application.

Personally, I don't think extra curricular involvement is that big part of the application. It helps the AdCom understand the person you are, and may serve to tip the balance, unless you are very accomplished in your hobby.

jb88 · Answer

I think ECs are very important. I have a few things I'm involved in, but only when I have the time. There is no activity I could do on a weekly basis, I'm lucky enough to get there monthly, but its still significant. Not that I do these, but a couple of examples would be something like Habitat for Humanity, if you did that one Saturday a month for say 5 months out of the year, it's important...you can't go out and build a house every weekend. Another example would be after-school tutoring, that's only for a small portion of the year. I just don't know what ECs involve a significant commitment week end and week out and then what professional could balance that time. In the past I've put "varies" but Wharton app wants a number entered per week, which is a little ridiculous in my opinion.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Jerz · Answer

If they need a number, I'd try and estimate it best you can even if it's 0.25/week. I'm not familiar with Wharton's application, but there may be other places - maybe even on your resume - where you can elaborate on your involvement so it makes more sense.

jb88 · Answer

Wharton gives you the opportunity to list 5 EC's and then a box to say why a particular one is most important to you.

Addressing hours spent at Extra-curriculars?

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