Extracurriculars

[bussy123]

I am writing with a general question. There have been tons of posts of how to overcome a low gmat or gpa but limited discussion about overcoming weak extracurriculars. My question is if you have a time horizon of about 10 months before you apply how can you best overcome having basically no extracurricular activities in college and limited activities post college.

You responded to my profile post with my stats (710 GMAT, 3.4 GPA, Solid 3+yrs work experience with managerial responsibilities in Real Estate private equity) while this is all great...the more I read the more I see the reoccurring theme of extracurricular activities being important. I have tried to compensate by joining a volunteer organization and I have been certified as a team leader through this organization. If I remain active in this organization and lead a few projects over the next 10 months how much can that mitigate my weak Extracurriculars? I am also a member of 2 professional organizations but there is limited involvement in those except going to lectures etc. I'm not shooting for Harvard-but definitely for a top 20 school and I would like to know how you recommend positioning oneself. Are there schools that notoriously care less about extracurricular activities and place more emphasis on the #'s/WE ?

I will also say that I transferred from Tulane post Katrina so my college years were basically broken up at 2 schools, with a semester abroad thrown in-so it was relatively hard to become involved. I am however assuming that schools would prefer to see action over making excuses... I did work each summer at 3 different real estate type internships which is directly connected to what I do now.

Any input would be helpful.

Thanks.

[Lisa Anderson]

Dear bussy123,

Work experience, GMAT and GPA are always going to be more important than extracurriculars as they are greater indicators of your ability to succeed in both business school and your future career. However, there are schools that like to see extracurricular involvement more than others for a variety of reasons, namely to see you as a mult-faceted individual not just a test score/GPA/job title. Extracurricular involvement can also be helpful for applicants, especially those with less than 3 years of work experience, as this is an opportunity to demonstrate leadership and teamwork skills that you might not have the opportunity to utilize in the professional environment. Based on your post, it sounds like you are addressing your extracurricular activity situation perfectly. You have found an organization, secured a leadership role, and committed to working with it until entering business school. You also have some professional organizations with lighter involvement you can note as well.

Keep in mind, it is also a positive to have hobbies to show you are a well-rounded individual with many interests, so don't be afraid to have the "other" or "interests" section at the bottom of your resume to note you like cooking, traveling, extreme sports or run marathons.

These outside interests are helpful for you, as the applicant, to distinguish yourself from the thousands of other applicants. It can be especially helpful if you are applying to the usual suspects (top 15 programs) where you need to stand out. Writing about your involvement with a nonprofit or a travel experience can make a compelling essay. Hope that helps and sheds some light on why these activities are of interest/importance.

Best of luck,
Lisa