question on background checks

[yankexpat]

Do business schools' admissions committees verify the exact dates of participation for extracurricular activities during and after college? There are certain activities I plan on listing in my application that occurred 3+ years ago, so I may be off on exactly when I did them. I am aware that business schools do conduct background checks to confirm that you've attended university, worked for your employers, etc.

Thanks in advance for your response!

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear yankexpat,

While I can't say with certainty that the background checks will not get into the detail of the exact dates of your participation in clubs in college, I think it is unlikely. I think it would be tough for those activities to verify that information as most student clubs and organizations don't maintain membership records in that amount of detail. Most of the time, the background checks are verifying degrees and employment record. Nevertheless, you want to be as accurate as possible in the event a school does go to that level of detail. Perhaps you can stick to years of involvement and/or seasons (fall, spring, summer) instead of months? Schools are reasonable and understand that recalling exact dates can be difficult after 3 years.

Good luck,
Lisa