Extracurricular activities

Hey there,

Everything cheetarah said is spot on. They are absolutely critical if you lack significant differentiation elsewhere (e.g. your job).

If you had no involvement in undergrad and none until now, then 4 months of activity between now and when you have to finalize essay topics for R2 apps will really do you more harm than good.

I don't know more about your profile so this isn't set in stone but I would honestly say if you aren't in a rush to apply this year, don't. Get involved and gain leadership experiences. You need a track record and a trajectory. If you do it just as a stop gap it's going to be incredibly transparent and we don't suggest any of clients engage in "resume padding". And in your case, it's not padding, it's absolute creation because you have nothing here to date.

Let me know if you have any questions,

Bhavik

Hi SeekingAdvice

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USALC is a national volunteer consulting group that assists nonprofits and small business. Specifically, we structure part-time volunteer strategy internships for MBA-level professionals who desire to assist local entrepreneurial organizations.

Our volunteer projects can enhance your resume so that you can better maximize your upcoming educational and career opportunities. Further, our projects span 3 months and require just 3 hours per week to complete. Thus, you can receive tremendous long-term professional benefits with little interruption to your existing work and personal responsibilities.

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Thank you & good luck,
Maxwell Roper
Outreach Director
USA Leadership Corps

AdComs typically look at 2 aspects when assessing the extracurricular activities candidates cite in their application:
1. Sustainability
2. Scale

Sustainability: Donating a sum to charity once a year is a blip in the graph. But being a part of a non-profit group or a band or a special interest group for many years, and making meaningful contributions to these is a sustainable involvement.

Scale: If you are part of any group or society, what have you done to make a difference to what they do? Anything that has caused an impact? You have to do something of significance, or at least attempt doing something significant (in the process, you will learn many things) for it to really give you brownie points in your application.

Keep these points in mind when you take up any activity - and never make the mistake of engaging in any activity just to 'build your profile'. Ask yourself, "If I never get into a B-school, would I regret spending precious hours doing this stuff?" If the answer is yes, don't do it!

Cheers.

Hi ,

I have a question regarding extra curriculars.

I had done some social volunteering work few years back along with some like minded people ( educating slum children in India , cleaning roads of in accessible villages and distributing medicines among the poor ). But unfortunately I dont have any certificate to prove it.
Would it be worthwhile to mention the same in MBA applications ???

Saran,
You would not really need certificates to prove your contribution - however, if the contribution isn't significant or recent enough, then mentioning it might not add much value to your candidature.

Gowri N Kishore
Admissions Mentor & Verbal Faculty

Hi Gowri,

Thanks for your reply. I have a quick question ? I have not worked with any NGO per se. But I have been doing the social work in a different manner

1. I have been routinely distributing food/money/old clothes collected from both family and friends to the poor people we find sitting near temples, traffic signals etc. This is something that I grew up watching my grandmother do routinely and I also decided to pursue this . This is something that I have been doing regularly for the past 6-7 years. Hence, I did not end up joining an NGO. I have participated in a few NGO run activities once in a while but that has not been regular.

Can I write an essay around the same for my B School applications ?
The fact that I have not worked formally at an NGO place me at any kind of a disadvantage ?

Regards
Siddhartha

Siddhartha,
Far from placing you at a disadvantage, this experience can make a very genuine and warm story for one of your essays (depending on the question of course).

There are only two things that matter here:
(i) a demonstration of your social consciousness and sensitivity
(ii) conveying other aspects of your character that become evident through your activities

And as long as your essays are able to do this well, you should be good.

Warm regards
Gowri

Gowri N Kishore
Admissions Mentor & Verbal Faculty

Hi Siddhartha,

My only feedback would be to exercise caution in using this example. Unless you're donating enough clothing and charity to have a significant scope, it MIGHT seem like you're stretching if you can't substantiate this with other examples.

Bhavik

Hi Gowri,

I need some advice regarding the Supplemental Essays at Cornell/Haas.

1. Is it mandatory to answer the Supplemental essays ?

My question essentially centers around the essay(s) 3 and 4 at Cornell and Essay 2 at Haas.

I have not been involved with community or professional organizations and hence cannot answer the supplemental essays 2 in the case of Haas and 3 in the case of Cornell. The social work that I have done has been largely informal and self driven. I haven't been associated with any NGO per se.

Keeping this in mind. Is it okay if I skip the supplemental essays ?

Regards
Siddhartha

No - definitely not.

A supplementary essay should be answered only if you have something really significant and interesting to tell the AdCom. It should not be a place for you to club together everything you couldn't say in the other parts of the application; nor should it be a repeat or rehash of stuff you've already told them. So, decide what it is about you that is super important for the school to know but has not been captured yet - if there is something like that, then use the supplemental essay. Whatever you write should create an 'Aha' effect.

Some schools spell out their expectations from the supplemental essays - for e.g. explaining a gap or low point in your profile. If this is mentioned, then use the essay only to do this. If you have nothing to explain, then don't write the essay.



Since both these essay questions mention 'activity' apart from 'organization', you can go ahead and list down the social activities you have undertaken. However, try to give a very clear and quantifiable picture of this engagement: what exactly have been your activities, how long have you been doing this, approx. number of hours of service every month and so on. All that should be missing is the name of the organization you've been associated with - because you haven't been associated with any.

When you try to do this, don't give in to the temptation to exaggerate. It may come across very badly.
If, after you write this down, you feel that it doesn't look significant or relevant enough, then it probably is not. You can always choose to not write it n such a case.

But give it a shot anyway.

Regards
Gowri

Gowri N Kishore
Admissions Mentor & Verbal Faculty

Hi All,

I was planning to launch a startup that would organize events online. Would you be interested in participating in those events if we provide certificates (of repute) to the winners?
This can be something to add on in the extra curricular activities section of your MBA application as well as your resume.

Will you people participate in those events (with a little participation fee)?

Come on friends

Any MBA applicant should have extracurricular activities on their resume/CV. “ECs” demonstrate a well-rounded candidate that is passionate and active in all of their endeavors. There isn’t a “right” or a “wrong” extracurricular activity or organization. Instead, select charities and activities that are genuinely interesting to you, or those that align with your goals. Admissions committees want to see that you are using your education and experience to contribute not only to your employer, but to society. Extracurricular activities like volunteerism and hobbies can help you to stand out from other applicants, by demonstrating both passion for various mediums and skills like leadership and teamwork beyond the cubicle.

For more info on how ECs can contribute to your MBA candidacy, please visit: https://www.aringo.com/extracurricular- ... plication/