Need Help on a Weird Hobby

Question

Hi,

This is kinda weird, but I am confused.
I got a deep interest in Astrology and have read more than 500 charts till now. Its just my hobby and not the profession.
It helps me connect with people on a a much personal level which is not possible normally.
I was thinking of writing about it in 'about myself' essay. But someone suggested to go light on it :evil:

as passaway things in 10-15 words. Now I am confused after this advice.
Help Help..

as passaway things in 10-15 words. Now I am confused after this advice. Help Help..

trunksli · Answer

My gut feeling is this is not ideal. It feels kind of weird, like I wouldn't want the CEO of a major company to be making decisions based on astrology charts. They want a diverse student body, but this sounds a little too creative?

Maybe the essay will be read by someone that is really into astrology though and be your champion.

Maybe the essay will be read by someone that is really into astrology though and be your champion.

ThomasD · Answer

I'd be careful with that as well - mentioning it is probably ok and may help you diversify your profile. Dwelling on it, however, I feel you may undermine your application as b-schools are about to teaching you the fundamentals of making rational, well educated business decisions. Telling them that you believe in the alignment of the stars to make your decisions goes against pretty much everything a b-school education stands for.....so I would be cautious.

LetsGoMets · Answer

The one thing I wouldn't do is go light on it. Either go full throttle ahead or don't mention it at all. People have weird hobbies at b-school. I.e. I wrote essays about poker and horse racing (stuff that many people are opposed to). I would err on the side of caution with talking about astrology because of exactly what was written above - you can't tell b-school admissions people that you make decisions because the stars looked good for a capricorn that day.

If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't mention it at all.

If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't mention it at all.

Pavle · Answer

I don't think it's good idea to write about astrology in your essay because it's kind of prejudice if you ask me

nravi4 · Answer

What if you project your strong analytical/decision making skills along with your Astrology hobby?

Cheers!
Ravi

osbornecox · Answer

At first I thought you'd come up with something really weird, like eating caterpillars or watching plastic burn.

I don't think MBA admissions committees ACTUALLY want to know who you are as a person; they don't want to read your own personal Heart of Darkness or what not (or read it all, I hated that thing). There is such a thing as "TMI" - in life and in job/school applications.

Whatever you tell them has to mean something; it has to cast light on a trait of yours that WILL BE USEFUL TO YOUR FUTURE CLASSMATES and to the b-school's brand.

You're the only who can really answer whether your astrology habit is something that will act to the betterment of the b-school experience. If it does, then show it. If it doesn't, then I think it's best to let it go... I don't know, what do the stars tell you?

ashu2020 · Answer

I am not sure whether Astrology is going to be helpful to my future class mates , but its going to help me make a lot of friends(as I did in undergraduate). Over the years Astrology has helped me know the people and their motivations and this is something which I think is a positive take home from Astrology. To be honest, I have been able to use astrology immensely to my advantage as a social networking tool. 
Now I need to think, how can I give back to the community..

gogetter08 · Answer

First gut reaction is to not overtly focus on it.

However, if you feel the need to mention because it is a big piece of your life and you are really out of activities to convey in your essay:

Make sure that you
- highlight it as how it has been a social networking tool for you in your undergrad as you mentioned
- allay fears of the adcom that you don't make decisions based on star alignment

Bottomline, you should make a meaningful connection to the skills they'd like a B-school student to've

Good luck!

adude · Answer

Astrology can be viewed as a form of religion, and for that reason I would tack it on the end of your resume as an interest or hobby and leave it out of your essays. Business school trends pragmatic over philosophical.

jb88 · Answer

At most, list it as an interest on your resume if you intend to list hobbies/interests. I think you want to stay as neutral as possible and show business leader skills, not things that have the potential to alienate your application readers. You never know what their personality may be.

shaselai · Answer

yeah i would put it as a hobby. If you can make some anecdotes with it it might be cool if the interviewer asks you. To be safe just put it in the hobby section and elaborate a bit if asked.

Need Help on a Weird Hobby

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