Today’s admissions tip focuses on extracurricular activities, community work and hobbies. While it is fairly obvious why academics (GMAT, GPA, etc) and work experience play a central role in the MBA admissions process, many applicants are puzzled when they discover that it may matter what they do in their free time as well.
Why it’s important to the adcom
One reason why extracurricular activities are a factor is the vital role that current students play in maintaining the MBA community at a school. Much like the structure of life at college, the clubs, conferences, sporting and social events, and other activities at business school rely on students to propose, plan, run, and attend them. As half to all of the student body is replaced each year, the health of a business school community depends on the new students’ enthusiasm to participate. Admissions committees therefore need a way to assess the extent to which applicants would become involved in their MBA community and, as prior behavior is the best predictor of future behavior, they use applicants’ former and current activities as a barometer to measure the probable extent and nature of their involvement in a business school’s culture.
This aspect of extracurricular activities is likely to have a greater significance for those applying to full-time programs than for applicants to part-time or executive programs. As this latter group is expected to spend only a limited time on campus each week, there tends to be much less emphasis on what takes place outside the classroom. At the same time, all applicants should express interest in building relationships and exchanging ideas with their future classmates as this is always an important aspect of the business school experience.
Another reason why admissions committees consider applicants’ outside interests and activities is as a judge of natural leadership ability and potential. Wharton business school used to explain this connection through the concept of the Renaissance leader: like the original Renaissance man, such a leader has a broad range of skills, interests, and talents. A true leader, this theory holds, is someone who can find something interesting to discuss with anyone, whether that person in interested in art, golf, economics or country music. While having diverse activities and interests by no means creates this type of conversational ability, it can be seen as an indication that an applicant might have the potential for such leadership.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, outside activities give the admissions committee a certain amount of access to your personality, such that they can determine whether you seem like an interesting person whom others would appreciate having around.
Room to stand out
Outside activities provide the one metric where it is still relatively unusual for an applicant to shine. There are plenty of applicants with outstanding professional experiences, academic records, or test scores, but relatively few people have found an extracurricular activity which reflects their passion and which they pursue with vigor. If you have such a pursuit, you will be able to stand out in an area where most applicants are unremarkable.
Even if your extracurricular involvements will not revolutionize your application, they may provide the material you need to fill in any gaps in your message left by your academics and work experience. Outside activities are often useful in this sense because they provide examples of leadership, teamwork, communication skills, or unique talents and interests for applicants who have difficulty locating such examples among their professional experiences. For example, an applicant who has had little opportunity to gain managerial experience at work could call upon his time coaching a lacrosse team to show that he has what it takes to be a leader.
Presentation and positioning
Assembling and presenting one’s activities is a vital aspect of the admissions process. For assistance in this area, contact Clear Admit to learn more about our counseling services.
