Community Service

[thisguy123]

Hi everyone,

I recently scored well on the GMAT, and now I'm trying to spend time strengthening my MBA candidacy with community service and extra curricular activities.

Community service: I'm interested in two-three areas. Helping / feeding the homeless and tutoring children are two areas of interest. However, I recently discovered an opportunity that really appeals to me: being a "listener" for a suicide / crisis hotline (45 hours training required).

I feel like all are excellent causes and fields that I would pursue even if I were not trying to earn my MBA.

I don't like asking this question, but I have to consider this when planning out the rest of my life. Would either of the three be more appealing to an MBA admissions board? I am most interested in taking calls on the hotline, but I worry that it won't yield enough "leadership opportunities," which seems to be the most important aspect of work experience and outside activities. I believe that tutoring and helping the homeless might lead to more opportunities to organize and plan events. Also, I've found that when I tell people that I'm interested in the hotline and what it is, I notice that the idea of volunteering for a suicide hotline disturbs them, and I wouldn't want the same reaction coming from an MBA committee.

Taking calls on the hotline is something I seriously want to do. Please let me know if you think that featuring this activity on my application and in my essays would help / hurt my candidacy, or if I would be better off focusing my time on different causes.

I appreciate your help.

[rachel]

Hi! My view is that you should do what you feel most committed and strongly about. If being the listener for the suicide hotline is something that you feel is really important, then I think it's absolutely the way to go. Given the amount of training involved, and what it will involve, I actually think the AdCom will think very highly of this experience. And it also could illustrate some powerful skills including compassion, mentorship, initiative and the ability to think on your feet. It will also differentiate you from other applicants, because few others (if any) will share that experience.

Best of luck,

Rachel Beck
http://www.mbamission.com

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