EssaySnark

  • about
  • contact
  • help
  • sign up
  • login
CLICK FOR MORE!
  • Essay Questions
    • Harvard
    • Stanford
    • Wharton
    • Chicago Booth
    • Kellogg
    • MIT Sloan
    • Tuck
    • NYU Stern
    • Columbia
    • Yale SOM
    • Berkeley Haas
    • UVA Darden
    • Duke Fuqua
    • Michigan Ross
    • UCLA Anderson
    • Cornell
  • Strategy Guides
    • MBA Career Goals in Entrepreneurship
    • School-Specific MBA Application Guides
      • Harvard 2020 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Stanford 2020 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Wharton 2020 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Kellogg 2020 MBA Strategy Guide
      • MIT Sloan 2020 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Columbia 2020 MBA Strategy Guide
      • Chicago Booth 2020 MBA Strategy Guide
      • *MORE SCHOOL-SPECIFIC GUIDES HERE*
  • MBA Consulting
    • Free essay reviews
    • What stage are you in?
    • Military MBA
    • BIPOC Program
    • Testimonials & Reviews
    • Guest Posts
  • My SnarkCenter
    • My Strategy Guides
    • My Favorite Posts
    • Discounts & Offers

($) “What can I do to improve my chances?” Volunteering edition

March 7, 2019 by EssaySnark Leave a Comment

We started this blahg series on “What can I do to improve my chances?” by answering with “Not much.”

And then we proceeded to talk about things you could do! All on the GMAT front, but still, that stuff was “something”, not “nothing.”

So in the mode of that “something” answer, we’ll continue:

What can you do to improve your chances if you’re sitting here in March with plans to apply to bschool for Round 1 in the Fall?

The answer still remains, “Not much,” but today we’ll explore more of the possibilities under the “much” category.

One common source of anxiety among plan-to-be-applicants is the whole issue of volunteering and community service. There’s this long-standing myth that you need to have extensive volunteer work on your profile in order to be admitted to school. And maybe you haven’t really done a lick of volunteering from the day you graduated college.

While there may a smidgen of truth to the idea that a volunteer profile is useful in your MBA application, it’s nowhere near as important as most BSers seem to think.

If you have literally zero recent volunteer experience on your profile right now, then sure, you can start volunteering today, in advance of your plans to apply for bschool this fall.

But guess what?

Your adcom reader will instantly spot the start date of that volunteer experience, and they’ll know why you started it: To buff up your profile.

That undermines the value of the volunteer experience in the first place.

If the only reason you’re volunteering is so that you can say you volunteer, well….. that’s just not all that impressive. It totally negates the signalling value of volunteer experience.

When you volunteer for an organization, you do it because that organization inspires you, and you want to contribute. Whatever its mission, you feel that it’s worthwhile, and you want to add to their efforts and make a difference.

If you’ve been meaning to get involved in the community for years — no really, you have!! — but you just never got around to it till now, well okay, but still. The motives are suspect.

This is what some adcoms call “Just In Time Volunteering.” It’s a transparent attempt to pad the profile.

Does that mean it’s not worth doing it?

No, not at all.

Volunteering is always worth doing. The world needs your help! Please don’t ditch out when you haven’t even gotten started.

Who knows, maybe your volunteer activities will open up new vistas for you. You’ll learn something, or be exposed to new people, or new ways of thinking about stuff. You’ll learn a new skill, or bare-minimum, you’ll have the satisfaction of giving back for the great gift it is to be alive on this planet, to have a life that affords you such opportunities to be even considering going to graduate school for an MBA.

Maybe you’ll find your calling in the halls of the non-profit charity that you get involved with.

You never know where life will take you!

But please don’t think that putting in 2 hours a week in a shelter serving meals to folks less well-off than you is going to tip the scales when it comes to your MBA admissions chances.

Sure, it’ll be nice to have something to fill in on those fields in the app where the schools ask about extracurriculars.

But if you’re only doing it to tick a box on a requirement you imagine the adcoms have, you’re kinda missing the point.

We say, do it anyway! Any service is worthwhile, even when it’s inherently selfishly motivated. It’s still giving back.

Just have perspective, and understand that that’s not how it works in the admissions offices. That would be the opposite of the “authenticity” thing that many schools value the most.

 
 
You may also be interested in:

  • What REALLY matters in MBA admissions?
  • So you want to be a volunteer?

 

Filed Under: volunteering Tagged With: authenticity

« Previous: ($) “What can I do to improve my chances?” GMAT edition
Next: ($) Got a glitch with your grades? TAKE ACTION NOW! »

So who the heck is EssaySnark, anyway?!

We're the snarky experts in MBA admissions!

Sometimes amused and often appalled by what candidates write in their MBA applications to top bschools, EssaySnark created this little blahg to share common mistakes. Learn from them and avoid making admissions directors laugh (or want to hurl) when they read your essays. If you are hoping to have your essay reviewed anonymously on the blahg for free, submit it for consideration.

Want EssaySnark's personal assistance with your MBA applications? Start with our menu of consulting services and please read the Help FAQ to learn how we operate. Still have questions after doing all that? Email Team EssaySnark at gethelpnow at essaysnark dot com.

Good luck on your apps, Brave Supplicant!

Tell us what you think. Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sign up for the 'Snark via email

Enter your address to get weekday blahg posts by email.

UPCOMING MBA APP DEADLINES

  • INSEAD Round 4
    in 1 month, 0 weeks, 2 days, 0 hours
  • INSEAD Jan '22 intake Rd 1
    in 1 month, 1 week, 5 days, 0 hours
  • INSEAD Jan '22 Intake Rd 2
    in 2 months, 4 weeks, 2 days, 0 hours
  • (expected) HBS Class of 2024 app requirements released
    in 3 months, 1 week, 6 days, 1 hour
  • (expected) Columbia J-Term/ED app to open
    in 4 months, 1 week, 4 days, 1 hour
   
From a BSer January 2020:
"love the guide books!"


CLASS OF 2023 MBA APPLICATION STRATEGY GUIDES

     
    The 2020 Berkeley-Haas MBA Application Guide - updated for the Class of 2023 application!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Berkeley Haas - refreshed and updated, with brainstorming exercises and structured maps to help you focus your stories!
   
    The 2020-2021 NYU Stern MBA Application Guide that covers the main essay, the EQ Endorsement and Pick Six!
SnarkStrategies Guide for NYU - discusses your requirements for the Class of 2023 essays!
   
    The 2020-2021 Columbia MBA Application Guide
SnarkStrategies Guide for Columbia Business School for 2020-2021 applications
   
    The 2020 Harvard MBA Application Guide - completely overhauled and updated for the coronavirus era!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Harvard Business School!
   
    The 2020-2021 Duke Essay Guide - covers the 25 Random Things essay and all the rest too!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Duke Fuqua - up to date for the current season!
   
    The 2020-2021 MIT Essay Guide covers the org chart, the contacts for two references, and additional tips for the cover letter and 'introduce yourself' video -- and everything else you need to know!
SnarkStrategies Guide for MIT Sloan MBA - totally revised for the Class of 2023!
   
    The 2020-2021 Tuck Essay Guide has been refreshed with latest insights and advice for your essays about "investing generously" and "why Tuck"!
SnarkStrategies Guide for the Dartmouth Tuck MBA - completely overhauled for 2020, to help you demonstrate how you are nice, aware, etc stuff!
   
    The Yale SOM MBA Application Guide for Class of 2023 candidates!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Yale SOM - updated for 2020-2021
   
    The 2020-2021 Chicago Booth MBA Application Guide - ready to go to support your Class of 2023 essay strategy!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Chicago Booth for this year's MBA app!
   
    The 2020 Wharton MBA Application Guide - even more advice on how to get to a win with those essays!
SnarkStrategies Guide for The Wharton School - with new tips for 2020!
   
    The 2020 Kellogg Essay Guide - with a full methodology to identify your 'lasting impact' and your 'values' -- plus tips on 2020 world events and applicability to your essays!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Kellogg MBA - updated and revised for the new realities of 2020!    
      The 2020 Stanford MBA Application Guide - for "what matters most" in your MBA application!
SnarkStrategies Guide for Stanford GSB for the Class of 2023
   
    The 2020-2021 UCLA Anderson MBA Application Guide - updated for Class of 2023 on "impact"!
SnarkStrategies Guide for 
UCLA
   
   

Brave Supplicants' latest reviews on The 'Snark


Apr 10, 2020
by George on EssaySnark
Great Starting Point

I thought getting over the GRE/GMAT hurdle was fairly straightforward--disciplined study then test execution... Read more

Apr 10, 2020
by George on Single Shot Express MBA Essay Review
Worth Every Penny

I used the Single Shot Express to decimate essay #1 at my first-choice school. Paired with the school... Read more

Feb 9, 2020
by KA on Waitlist Assist
Committed

You continue to blow me away with your commitment to us BSers! Thanks again for everything. It's been... Read more






Not sure where to begin with EssaySnark?
Our Snark Selector
will tell you!



What were we snarking about at this time in past years?

  • 2020: Becoming your future self
  • 2019: What's going on with Fuqua?
  • 2019: ($) What we've seen with a few "bad MBA interview" situations
  • 2018: Good luck today if you're hoping for Harvard!
  • 2018: Just a reminder...
  • 2017: Just in case you are growing impatient....
  • 2017: What matters most is integrity.
  • 2016: Preparing for bschool (and interviews, and sorta life in general)
  • 2014: Now that your apps are in: Who had the best essay questions?
  • 2013: And the award for Worst MBA Essays goes to...
My Tweets

See the Top U.S. Business Schools on a Map!


EssaySnark is currently available! We're accepting new clients! Standard turnarounds apply. If you're in a hurry, Speedy Review is available!

EssaySnark® is a registered trademark. All content copyright © 2010–2021 Snarkolicious Press · Privacy Policy

Where should you start with EssaySnark?

Which EssaySnark service is right for you? Answer a few questions to find out!

This field must be set to Everyone - then in the Settings -> HTML -> After Fields screen there's JavaScript to hide it.
Sending