MBA Admission Strategic Plan
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MBA Podcaster has posted its latest segment: "MBA Admission Strategic Plan: What You Can Do Now to Help Get Accepted Next Year." And I am interviewed in this podcast. 
MBA Podcaster's Janet Nakano also interviewed Scott Shrum and Omari Bouknight of MBA Game Plan. They seemed to waffle a little on the importance of community service in your application and the value of starting community service now if you are aiming for a Fall 2006 application.
I will let them clarify their views, but I want to make clear my view on this point: If you are planning to apply in Fall 2006, have your academic ducks lined up, and have not been involved in recent and regular community service, this is a great time from an admissions perspective to participate in your community. And I completely agree with Scott and Omari in the podcast, when they say that you should choose to serve in a way that reflects your passion.
I define community service as "active participation in and assumption of responsibility for your community." That is an intentionally broad definition because "community" can be any group that you identify strongly with and want to contribute to. But this definition requires activity and commitment on your part .
Would
it be better if you had a consistent community service track record
going back several years? Yes. But you can't turn the clock back. You
can ensure that going forward you demonstrate the qualities admissions
committees appreciate.
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(I also posted this on Linda's blog on Accepted.com...)
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First of all, I think Janet put together a nice piece. To clarify our comments, the real litmus test is whether or not the "community service" in your application fits with the rest of who you are. (I use the quotes there because Omari and I agree with you that this can actually represent a very broad range of things, not just scooping minestrone in a soup kitchen or pounding nails for Habitat for Humanity.) Is it something that you truly care about? Do I see these themes elsewhere in your application? If I'm an adcomm reading about your community service, can I readily believe that this is something that truly matters to you? Just joining Habitat for Humanity nine months before you apply, when it has nothing to do with the rest of who you are, is not going to help very much at all.
Of course, we always tell applicants that more community service is better than less. If an applicant has ZERO community service until now, getting involved now can help, but an applicant needs to be realistic about how much this will help him. It's not something that can be fixed just by "showing up" to a few events. In fact, I might even suggest that such an applicant wait another year to get more quality experience under his belt (the same goes for quality work experience), if it's that big of a hole in his application.
It didn't come through much in the interview, but that last comment above -- about "quality" -- is a key one. A lot of applicants seem to miss the idea that quality matters much more than quantity when it comes to community service. Just being there isn't nearly enough. Making things happen is what matters. I think the "responsibility" part of your community service definition reflects this pretty well.
Also, I loved your comments on a safety school not being a school that you'd never attend. It's funny how that always comes up around this time of year.
Scott Shrum
MBA Game Plan
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We are basically in agreement. Perhaps I encourage community service a little more than you and Omar, but I also completely agree that it has to reflect the applicant's values.
Thanks again for clarifying.
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