How important is extra-curricular activities among the exhaustive list of personal information being sought by business schools in the MBA admission form?
The schools expect their students to have ‘a well-rounded personality’ among other qualifications. The column on extra-curricular activities is expected to reveal traits other than academic that would be of some value during the program as well as future career prospects .
However, the candidates often get confused and worried about what exactly is being sought. Also some may never had an opportunity to do anything outside academics.
The schools expect their students to have ‘a well-rounded personality’ among other qualifications. The column on extra-curricular activities is expected to reveal traits other than academic that would be of some value during the program as well as future career prospects .
Business schools are looking for candidates who would be future business leaders with a personality to match. They should be able to handle multiple roles with ease, possess leadership qualities, be a team player, have the ability to move out of the comfort zone and also entrepreneurial skills.
Volunteering Makes a Difference
Thus, it would be great if you have done some volunteering activity that could also be related to your MBA goals. It could be as simple as having looked after the accounts of a small welfare organisation or promoting education among slum children.
Under such circumstances, you would be able to provide examples of how your leadership or being a team player made a difference.
It could also be that you have been participating in an activity with people different from you in terms of nationality, income level or educational background.
However, volunteering may not be everybody’s cup of tea. You may be an accomplished singer, dancer or actor or DJ. You could be a writer with published works. These qualifications can also be put down in the extra-curricular activities column.
Event Organiser, Sportsperson
Involvement in organising events at work, college or alumni association also qualify to be an extra-curricular activity. Regular practice and participation in sports activities like football, cricket, basketball, tennis, golf require discipline and focus, values favored by the schools.
However, do not fill in anything which does not have your full involvement. Admission officers are more than adept at detecting false claims.
Never too late to Start
Now, what happens to all those who have never participated in any extra-curricular activities? It is never too late to search and join in anything that catches your interest and then make it a long term commitment.
Volunteering activities are aplenty if you know where to look. In some organisations like a dog shelter, you could offer to take up the entire account management work. There could be quite a lot of people willing to adopt a dog, but very few to spare time for positions of responsibility.
Alumni associations are also perpetually in need of volunteers. But remember that your involvement needs to be spread over a period of time, say about a year.
While extra-curricular activities are not the most important factor, they do carry enough weight at the time of admissions. (Image Courtesy: pixabay.com)
