TotalGadha GMAT

In my previous post on profile enhancement, I had mentioned that I would write two articles- one on Extracurricular activities and the other on Community Services- but as both the articles were on similar lines, I decided to combine both the topics and write one detailed article.

Let us start!

Q:1 What role do extracurricular activities play in a Business School Application?

A: To me, Extra Curriculars add cherries on the cake.  Alright! Let us count the cherries now.

1. They make your application stand out among the pool of hundreds of applications. Think about this: almost every candidate who must have applied to a Business School must have had a work experience. Extra curricular would give you an edge to demonstrate your managerial qualities more effectively and efficiently.
2. They help you bring out leadership, community involvement, strategic thinking, communication skills, initiation, and team worker kind of qualities in you.
3. They help bring forward the lighter side of your personality. ( I mean which school wants to admit boring 9-5 workers?) Business schools look forward to admit candidates who will add vibrancy to their campus community. Extra curriculars/Community work would show that you have a larger view of the world and you understand your role as a leader, who believes in giving back to the society.
4. They help you show that you are a multifaceted person and can manage more than one thing at the same time. Business Schools look for candidates who can show their passion and achievements in various areas and not only at their work place or studies. This would also show that although your work was demanding, you successfully pursued your passions and interests.
5. They help you prove the “fit” in a B School. For example, there are Squash and Sailing clubs at London Business School so if you are someone who has been following racquetball and sailing as their hobbies/passions you can demonstrate the same in the application. This will not only show your “fit” but will also help you demonstrate your contribution to the school.
6. Ex Cs in your application help you leave a strong impression and many a time also makes your application a memorable one. They would give you enough room to explain variety of experiences that you must have gained while pursuing your passions. Writing 4-5 essays explaining about your work and academics would only bore the admissions committee and finally make your application weak.

Q:2 When is the good time to pick up an activity?
A: It is advisable that the activity(s) mentioned by you in your application should be at least a year old. If you are trying to pick up an activity just months before your application and also because you want to add something “more” in your application, understand that admissions committee would easily figure this “trick” out. Getting involved in something is always appreciated but do not do it for the heck of getting an admission in a Business School, this you would never be able to demonstrate your passion in your essays or interviews. The fact that quality is always better than quantity holds true for extra curricular activities as well. Getting involved in 10 different things just before months of submitting your application would have less impact than picking up just one or two activities and taking challenges there would give extra weightage.

I have seen a lot of cases where students have picked up hobbies but they could not continue with their passions because of demanding work schedules, it is advisable that you reengage in the same activity rather than trying out something new. This would show your continuity of interest and your seriousness towards the activity. For example, if you used to paint while at college but could not continue doing it because of demanding college work etc. try to reengage in the painting. Also, if a school you are applying to has an arts/ painting club, you can grab the opportunity to show how you would contribute to the school.

Q:3 What kind of activity can one pick up?
A: There are hundreds of extra curricular activities that one can get involved in and can make an impact. To name a few categorically:

Sports:
• Baseball
• Basketball
• Badminton
• Cheerleading
• Football
• Hockey
• Horseback Riding
• Skiing (Alpine, Cross-country)
• Soccer
• Softball
• Tennis
• Trekking
• Volleyball

Writing and Communication
• Broadcasting
• Debate
• Foreign Language
• Taking part in spelling bee
• Copywriting
• Writing for a college magazine
• Writing for newspaper column
• Publishing short stories
• Taking part in writing contests.
• Joining a reading/writing/poetry club
• Working at local library
• Taking par/ Organizing quiz contests

Social Science and Community
• Joining an NGO
• Field trips
• Geography bowl
• Student Council/Student Government
• Raising fund for good cause
• Doing road shows for the cause.
• Teaching poor children

The Arts
• Drama
• Learning a musical instrument
• Needlework (cross-stitch, knitting)
• Painting
• Organizing exhibitions
• Dance
• Creating Sculptures
• Photography
• Film making- editing/ cinematography/ scripting/ audiography etc.
• Documentaries
• Being a part of the rock band

The above list is to give a rough idea about what you can pick up as an extra curricular activity. You should pick up something that you would be interested in so that you are able to demonstrate the same level of interest and passion while explaining in your essays and interviews. Good extracurriculars are those that involve leadership/teamwork/ strategic thinking/ cooperation etc., and can impact others. Most importantly, you should enjoy pursuing them. Working at a library for a month would not leave any impact on anyone; this would only suggest that you picked it up because you want to go to a Business School.

Q:4 How should one list one’s extracurricular activities?
A: List down all your extracurricular activities on a piece of paper. Big-small, long term- short term, weekend jobs- volunteer work, sporty-musical, significant- insignificant, and anything that you think can be included in the list.
Add the following in the list:

• Name and a short description of the company, club, activity, or programme.
• Any significant managerial role (leadership/team work) that you must have played while you were involved in it.
• Dates.
• Number of hours per week/month that you spent on the activity.

Once you are done with the list, try to get in touch with the people who must have also been a part of the activity. Discuss your list with them and this way you would get a different perspective for your essays. You might also get some important stuff to add which you might have forgotten to add.
Prioritize your list according to the activities where you have demonstrated your managerial qualities the most.

Q:5 How do extracurricular activities help me in clarifying my decision about career change?
A: If you fall in the list of people who are planning to change their careers post MBA, picking up a relevant extra curricular would make your prove your decision easier. For example, if someone from IT industry wants to move in the field of media, an extra curricular activity from the media field would help the candidate in proving his point.

Your extra curricular activities should reflect you as a person and showcase your skills and talents. Picking up activities just because you want to get into a Business School would not help much. GET INVOLVED is the key. Explore different aspects of your personality. You would be surprised to see the qualities each one of you would demonstrate while pursuing these activities. Remember that there is a difference between participation and accomplishment, anyone can participate, but not everyone can achieve or lead.

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