How relevant is political experience

Question

I have significant political experience during my college years. I was one of the founders of one of the political parties in my country (the party currently holds seats in the national parliament). I was also the first president of the party youth organization and one of the youngest candidates for the parliament on the national elections. However, after graduation I pursued finance instead of political career.

Now I am applying for an MBA and wondering how interested would AdComm be in this political experience. And should I put it forward in all the schools I apply to (eg.NYU and UCLA) or just those known for political interest such as Harvard and Stanford.

jumsumtak · Answer

By all means. The things you have stated here are not run of the mill. In fact these are  great  differentiators - and according to me, can increase your chances significantly, if put forward in the right way.

"right way" : your career goal is in the finance industry and therefore your focus should be towards those. but you should obviously mention all the good things you learned, the leadership experience you had (highlight how many people were you managing) etc. 
you can even dedicate an essay to it (the ones that ask for leadership exp., strengths/weaknesses, moments that defined you blabla). it looks like a pretty solid story..

Good luck.

greenwich · Answer

Hey,
I think you should definitely mention it. This shows leadership and b-schools love leadership, it can also help you get stories for your essays.

Admissionado · Answer

Schools LOVE politically involved candidates... after all these are the folks that become ministers and senators and the like. and who doesn't like to have a Senator in their graduating class?

AlanSmithee · Answer

I just want to thank all of you guys for the information and the opinions. I will definitely use great experiences I had being involved in Balkans politics for my essays.

ManhattanReview · Answer

Based on what you present, you have a story to tell and I think that admissions will be very interested in hearing it. People who show enough interest in their communities to invest the energy and time to start a political party demonstrate that they will committed to anything that they are passionate about. I cannot think of one school where this experience would be detrimental. While I do not know much about your background, i would recommend that you focus on those schools that are most politically focused including HBS, Wharton, Columbia or those schools that appreciate candidates who took risks including Stanford, Haas and Anderson.

Kimberly Plaga
Senior Admissions Consultant
Manhattan Review

Kimberly Plaga
Senior Admissions Consultant 
Manhattan Review

VeritasPrepMike · Answer

Sounds like really interesting experience that should definitely be included in an application essay. I think from an admissions committee stand point, anything that sets you apart from other applicants is interesting and should be included and highlighted. Don't be afraid to be different.

How relevant is political experience

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