Positioning Extracurriculars On Your MBA Application

You like to run and cook and travel? Great! You’re just like many others applying to business school. If you really want to stand out from the sea of applicants in the MBA pool, your resume extracurricular activities really matter.

My savvy Fortuna Admissions colleagues have a wealth of insights about showcasing your extracurriculars and how best to frame them. In this blog, I’ve rounded up their best practices for highlighting your extracurricular and volunteer experience on your MBA application and resume in a compelling and memorable way.

What do MBA programs want to see in your extracurriculars?

Business schools seek more than just academic excellence; they value students who will contribute actively to the community. That’s why when the admissions committee reviews a candidate’s application, they often zero in on the ‘Other Info/Extracurricular’ section of the resume. The way you spend your free time — however limited it might be —speaks to your character and what is important to you. It is as significant to the admissions committee as your professional activities

“You are not going to compete for a place at the top schools if your MBA application only talks about deals or client work,” says former Harvard Business School Assistant Director Karla Cohen. “A meaningful volunteer experience can say so much more about you than preparing a slide deck for a client presentation or negotiating another deal. Your extracurriculars should help express your core identity and reinforce your life’s ambitions and the motivations behind them.”

Extracurricular activities send schools a signal about what kind of student and alum you’ll be, so it’s important to showcase them effectively,” says Fortuna Expert Coach Jessica Chung, former Associate Director of Admissions at UCLA Anderson. “Students are the drivers behind many programs and events in business school. Schools want students who demonstrate that they will be actively involved in clubs and organizations. They look for evidence that candidates will successfully collaborate in ways that enrich the MBA experience for everyone.”

8 Top Tips For Positioning Extracurriculars On Your MBA Application:

1. Quantify.

When you list an activity, be sure to quantify the impact. “If you say you helped organize volunteers, say how many. If you support a yearly fundraising event, report how many people attend and how much the event raises annually,” advises Fortuna Expert Coach Catherine Tuttle, former Associate Director at Duke Fuqua.

Don’t just say, “Assist with planning the annual gala.” A concise yet specific description like “Serve on the gala planning committee; driving the concept and execution of an annual event drawing 400-plus guests and raising $300K+ each year,” is more powerful.

Another reason to quantify your engagement: some application reviewers may lack context for what an activity really entails. Don’t assume that the person reading your application knows how many hours you’ve committed to your passion or the critical leadership or teamwork skills you’ve gained as a result.

2. Qualify.

The key is to succinctly describe your unique contribution, impact and what you learned from that experience —especially if you are describing a more common extracurricular like being a Big Brother. Choose clear, powerful language that shows how you contributed to this activity and why you are committed to it.

“As long as you can show added value and prolonged engagement, then I don’t think it matters whether you’re volunteering for Habitat for Humanity, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, or a smaller, homegrown non-profit initiative,” Tuttle explains.

Be sure to spotlight the skills you developed and deployed in these activities. That’s what . business schools are looking for. Your extracurriculars resume section is an opportunity to display leadership, collaboration, initiative, and passion for a cause.

This is especially true for candidates from common career tracks such as consulting and finance. The admissions committee understands that as an analyst at a top consulting firm, you’re not often given the opportunity to lead projects. However, if you have served on the board of your local SPCA for years, or if you lead the firm’s annual charity drive (which raised the most money ever when you were in charge), you can stand out from the pack by showcasing your leadership experience accrued through extracurricular activities.

3. Demonstrate impact.

There’s no doubt that some activities carry more weight than others, but often it’s about the positioning. Explain to the admissions committee why what you did is important. For example, consider the person who lists their interests as, “hiking, soccer, volleyball, backpacking, poker, USC football,” compared to the applicant who, “as Vice President of Women in Business, secured over $25K corporate sponsorship for funding events, scholarships and investments for the largest student organization at the university.” Another good example is the person who identifies as a self-taught coder who was “First-place winner at three hackathons, totaling $15,000 in prizes.”

4. Be specific.

Everything in your application needs to be working toward setting you apart, so details are important. “Claim your own angle by getting really specific about what you do in these organizations or hobbies,” says Judith Silverman Hodara, Fortuna Cofounder and Director and former head of MBA Admissions at Wharton. “Is there a specific mentee that you have who had meant a lot to you? Do you have a favorite marathon that you have run? What is it about hiking that motivates you to carve out time to hit the trail? Be prepared to share details.”

As with the rest of your MBA application, the devil is in the details. You might think that your activities or interests are mundane, but even the most ordinary of activities can be presented with detail and nuance that will help the admissions committee get insight into the kind of person and leader you are.

View this 6-minute strategy session with Fortuna’s MBA resume expert Jody Keating

5. Connect to your career goals.

“Extracurriculars that illustrate experiences and specific skills linked to your career goals help strengthen your story and show your commitment and passion to this particular goal,” says Malvina Miller Complainville, former Harvard Business School Assistant Director of Career Services.

“This can be especially helpful to fill gaps in your professional experience. For example, if team management is crucial in your long-term goal but you haven’t had the opportunity at work to lead teams, this is the ideal opportunity to highlight the team management experience you’ve had as head of your regional club.”

6. Demonstrate shared values with your program.

Are you someone who wants to make a difference in the lives of others? Are you connected to your community? “If the motivations driving your participation in extracurricular activity can be tied to the core values of the school, then you’re establishing fit from a more personal perspective,” says Tuttle.

Adds Miller Complainville, “The first trait HBS lists under its ‘What Are We Looking For’ online statement is a habit of leadership, so it would be shrewd to highlight leadership experiences within your extracurriculars. You might do this by reflecting on the leadership skills you developed while starting a new undergrad club, building a start-up outside of work or coaching a soccer team.”

7. Underscore specific skills you’ve acquired.

“Leadership is a key (and obvious) skill to share. Others could include your ability to adapt in different cultural situations where conditions were challenging, or your capacity to mobilize support and communicate persuasively demonstrated by managing charitable events or fundraising drives,” says top-ranked MBA consultant Emma Bond. “Perhaps your charitable involvement has honed your skills in making decisions in a fast-paced, challenging environment of the type that might arise after a natural disaster.”

8. Connect activities to character traits.

“Your athletic involvement can convey determination, grit, teamwork and perseverance,” says Melissa Jones, former Assistant Director of INSEAD’s MBA Program. “It’s worth mentioning if you were vice president of a specific club or a team captain of an undergraduate sports team, or that you were part of the drama club and performed in several plays. These all speak to your character and show a track record of participation at school.”

Your MBA Extracurriculars: Mistakes To Avoid

1. The laundry list.

“Admissions committees are not impressed by a lengthy list of activities when it’s clear there’s no substance or true commitment to the cause, club or organization. They’d rather see a consistent relationship and understand the passion and dedication behind a few select causes,” says Fortuna Senior Expert Coach Sharon Joyce, former Berkeley Haas Associate Director of Admissions.

2. Poor positioning.

As we point out above, if you run and cook and travel, you are much like many other applicants. If these common activities are truly your passions, reframe them in a more compelling way: “Traveled to 23 countries on three continents; ran the New York Marathon (2021); volunteer twice a month making meals at a local soup kitchen.” (Notice how this quantifies impact with specific details?)

As you choose which activities to mention, be able to answer: How has a particular extracurricular contributed to my personal growth, to the development of skills essential to my career goals and to the impact I wish to have on my community?

3. Lack of uniqueness.

Like poor positioning, listing the vague or too-typical activities will sink you. For example, “Reading is important, but it is quite common and uninteresting to list as an extracurricular, because most people, you know, read,” says Jones. “But if this truly is your passion and you spend most of your time reading, then you could tie it to how it has shaped you or affected you in some way,”

“For example, one of my clients told me he read approximately 10 books a month — which alone is quite impressive — but he particularly liked to read textbooks to learn new things. He would teach himself new things such as how to create staffing optimization models, which he then used successfully at work. In this case, this would be great to mention in your application as it showcases both personality and aptitude.”

4. Omission.

“One mistake that candidates often make is failing to mention activities they were involved with when they were young, as well as when they were in college, assuming it was too long ago,” says Jones.

For example, one very accomplished Fortuna client worked with his coach for weeks on his application before asking if he should mention that he was an Eagle Scout — an achievement that had, until then, come up nowhere in conversation or his materials. Earning Eagle Scout status remains a well-recognized accomplishment that speaks to traits like initiative, perseverance and service to others.

Likewise, if you were a child actor or a competitive athlete at a young age, these experiences shaped you and show your character. Don’t omit them, especially if you can show a meaningful influence of those activities on your life over time.

Applicants sometimes worry about how listing religious or political activities may be perceived by admissions committees. There is no need to omit these. Again, it’s about positioning: “As long as you don’t use the description of the activity to proselytize, but rather demonstrate skills gained, such as organizing and leading others, I think it’s fine to share,” says Silverman Hodara. “If you are concerned then you do not have to put it in but be assured that there is no bias.”

5. Ticking the box.

“Don’t start volunteering two months before the application deadline and expect to impress anyone,” says Silverman Hodara, “I would start as soon as possible. If you are thinking that you would like to apply for the next MBA admissions cycle, NOW is the time to start to reach out to organizations and get involved.”

The admissions committee will notice if all of your engagement occurred in the year prior to applying to b-school, or only during college. Although there is no minimum timeframe that’s required, “Ideally, your commitments should go back a few years, prior to applying, or it will look like the candidate is clearly “ticking a box” to be more aligned with what top-flight b-schools look for in competitive applicants: Engaged, dynamic, dedicated & sincere citizens,” Joyce concludes.

Want more advice?

View related articles by the Fortuna team on crafting your MBA resume and honing your application materials:

Book a free consultation now to discuss how Fortuna’s Dream Team of former MBA Admissions insiders can help your strengths, skills, and true self shine in an application that stands out from the crowd.

Heidi Hillis is an expert coach at MBA consulting firm Fortuna Admissions, as well as a Stanford GSB alum & former MBA admissions interviewer. For more free advice from Fortuna Admissions in partnership with Poets&Quants, check out these videos and articles. For a candid assessment of your chances of admission success at a top MBA program, sign up for a free consultation.