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pat
 
 

question on volunteer activity for b-school application

by pat Thu Sep 04, 2008 1:27 pm

I have a good GPA (3.7) from an Ivy school
GMAT 750
solid work experience with career progression.

However, my volunteer experience is very very weak.

Which schools among top 20 care least about volunteeer activities? Please share.
Thank you very much.
Guest
 
 

answer

by Guest Thu Sep 04, 2008 2:17 pm

Schools may want you to do volunteer work, but by the same token some people work 80-90+ hours per week and have families. Volunteer work is difficult for this group. I think schools want to know what you do outside of the workplace.
MBAApply
 
 

by MBAApply Thu Sep 04, 2008 3:12 pm

It's not about "volunteer activities" or lack thereof.

It's about how well-rounded you are as an individual in terms of skillset.

For example, if you have a highly analytical background - you did engineering, sciences, accounting, etc. in undergrad, and then you worked in a highly analytical job -- the big concern is whether you have decent interpersonal skills because almost nothing in your academic or professional background alone can show that. That's where extracurriculars can come in -- the responsibilities and achievements you have here may complement and reveal certain aspects of you that may not be evident in your academic/professional history, particularly with respect to interpersonal skills and/or leadership potential.

So it's not essential for everyone. But since most applicants come from such analytical backgrounds, they do need something to show that they're not just human spreadsheets.

Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogspot.com