I am currently in an ops role at a F500 for the past two year, I went to a no name school and finished with a 3.4gpa. I played football and was in two clubs, and that is it for my extra curriculars.
I am looking to apply for MBA programs in two years and have come to the understanding that I need some outstanding Extra Curriculars to be competitive.
Besides curing cancer/starting and selling a start up/teaching inner city youth, what EC's can you recommend?
Do whatever you're interested in and passionate about.
Like Patch Kid said, Anything that you're passionate about. Showing leadership and initiative is very important
I would think crushing the GMAT would supersede the importance of ECs.
And to echo the comments above, the volunteer stuff I do is because I believe in the cause. Don't do it for a resume filler. Find something you are passionate about and it'll be incredibly rewarding.
Hi Cmoss, I do think you are wise to be thinking about extra-curricular activities, or at least non-work activities, as you apply to business school. It isn't necessary to cure cancer, but it is necessary to get a sense of what's going on in your world beyond going to work and coming home. My guess is that you are doing more than that, and you have some activities already, (sports, camping, traveling, trivial pursuit) but don't have any volunteer activities, right?
Given that you have two more years, it does make sense to add something to your repertoire, even if you are doing it to check the box. Reason? Because you will get some benefit beyond checking the box. It always works that way. And if you are getting benefit by going beyond your work/home world, then you will have a more interesting story to tell about who you are or what you add to the class.
So when other posters say "do what you feel passionate about" they are assuming that you feel passionate about working at the food bank. But you can just figure out any old thing and see where it takes you. I am certain that your company has some volunteer activities -- that's a no-brainer. Personally, I think it would be more interesting to go to Volunteermatch.com and see if there's anything that you think would be interesting or fun, or just different.
When I see students' extra-curriculars, they are all over the map, so there's no "wrong" way to do it, as long as you really do something.
What have you considered so far?
Betsy
Betsy,
That is a stellar reply! I have been involved with Junior Achievement through my work, unfortunately it's only a few times a year (and nothing that would warrant a solid ref letter). Thank you for the reference to VolunteerMatch.com, I will definately look into it.
Hi Cmoss, I didn't realize you were looking for a ref letter -- you know that most schools only need 2 letters, and if you've moved around in your job, or by the time you apply you are at a new company, the best letters of recommendation are probably from work supervisors. I think adcoms really want to know what you are like in the day-to-day, and that's why work people can offer better stories. Even if you need 3 recs, as you do from HBS, Dee Leopold, head of admissions, has said that it is perfectly fine to have 3 work recommendations; I think it's on her blog, if you want to check. Junior Achievement is actually a good one. I think you can learn a lot about yourself from such programs. But yes, if you are looking for something more, Volunteermatch.org is quite useful. I just checked for my zip code and got almost 2000 suggestions! Wow, it actually inspires me to get up and do something myself. Thanks!
To clarify I am hoping a third ref letter from my volunteer org would put me over the top. I didn't think volunteering a handful of times for JA would help me stand out (please feel free to fill me in if I am wrong), compared to volunteering a few hours a week at a hospital/foodbank would. Having spent my youth as a Boy Scout, I am no stranger to Service and I want to make sure the return on time invested is as high as possible (wow this makes me sound heartless)
Thank you for your continued guidence!
Ah, the more we go back and forth, the more it becomes clear. First, the fact that you spent your youth as a Boy Scout is actually a plus for applications. Reason? They are really looking for patterns, or habits, of leadership, and scouting is a known leadership builder (yep, I was a girl scout, and loved it). So I totally get where you are coming from -- your original post didn't make that clear. But yes, a few hours of a week at a hospital or foodbank would not only make a difference in for them, but make a difference in your world. I know one student, who is going to Booth, who ended up supervising hundred of volunteers (for several years) at a food bank, and had to learn a lot about inspiring others, getting groups to keep coming back, making sure that the young folks did the tasks they liked, and other groups, like the church ladies, did different tasks. He got to be very good at public speaking too, because he did all the orientations, and when the food bank moved from one location to another, he managed that whole process! He definitely got more than he bargained for, and he really got a lot out of it. He also got a very thoughtful and detailed rec out of it, but that was not the point until after the fact.
Keep us posted!
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