MBA Admissions Essay - Other Activities Questions

Business school admissions essay section will teach how to structure and write your essay. This section also contains a number of sample admissions essays to help guide you.

Business School Admissions Essay Questions Categories:

Why M.B.A.? Questions | Diversity Questions | Accomplishment Questions | Leadership Questions | Other Activities Questions | Role Model Questions | Failure Questions | Very Personal Questions

Other Activities Questions

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Outside of your professional persona, who are you? - Fuqua

People may be surprised to learn that I... - Marshall

In asking this question, admissions officers want to see another dimension to your personality. Some schools will ask you to describe one important activity, while others will simply ask how you spend your free time. Regardless of which question you're answering, try to achieve depth. Don't make the mistake of thinking that they just want to see well-rounded people and take the approach of listing everything that interests you. While it's important to show that you lead a balanced life, you should treat this question as you treat all the others-as a chance to make yourself stand out. That means focusing on what you're truly passionate about, instead of trying to say what you think they want to hear.

Many people choose to write about sports. If you choose to discuss a physical activity, you're immediately going to face the obstacle of writing about something your readers have seen many times. You will have a difficult time finding something unique to say, but as long as you focus on personal details, you can create a strong answer. On the other hand, you should resist the temptation to cite the cliched lessons about working hard and being a team player. Moreover, if you try to force connections back to your business skills, your entire essay will seem contrived.

Approach the essay as though you were trying to get someone else excited about your hobby through your own enthusiasm. Of course, it should still be a personal account rather than a sales pitch. So if your hobby is rare book collecting, don't try to tell the reader about how it demonstrates your organizational skills. Instead, describe your feelings when you make a serendipitous discovery or complete a set that you started many years ago.

Another tactic you can use to keep the essay grounded in personal details is to focus on a particular episode from your past involvement. If you're writing about your love for chess, focus on a particular match that epitomizes your passion.

SAMPLE ESSAY:

For the first 20 years of my life, my activities-and self-confidence-were circumscribed by the fact that I was a chronic allergic asthmatic. I was underweight, not as strong or as well as my peers, and unable to participate normally in sports. At night I was unable to sleep without an inhaler beside my bed. I was forced to ingest heavy medication on a daily basis.

At the age of 20 I started running (slowly at first), because I discovered that this exercise-although routinely precipitating a mild asthma attack-would later enable me to sleep through the night. Very gradually, my runs became longer. My strength improved, the severity and frequency of my attacks lessened, and soon I was able to discontinue all medication. More remarkably, after about seven years I was actually able to run 20 miles with no problem at all. This accomplishment was an enormous confidence booster, as it demonstrated that a normal, healthy life was possible for me and that I could achieve anything if I set my mind to it.

Eventually it was a logical step for me to progress into competition. I found myself running in marathons and, finally, competing in triathlons. In 1983, in fact, I successfully competed in the Hawaii Ironman triathlon, arguably the most arduous and certainly the most celebrated single-day athletic endurance event.

I have assiduously pursued aerobic exercise for the past 11 years, ever since I discovered that such endeavors were finally possible for me and were the means by which I could attain physical strength and well-being. It was a long and arduous road-from huffing and puffing (and wheezing) my way through tentative one-mile runs to involving myself in the rigors of the triathlon-but I was determined to become fit and to stay fit.

It has made all the difference.

COMMENTS:

This applicant does choose a physical activity, but he offers a twist: running posed a significant immediate challenge to him because he suffers from asthma. He does not need to cite cliched lessons to give his account meaning. Instead, we see from the specific progress he made-"from huffing and puffing (and wheezing) my way through tentative one-mile runs to involving myself in the rigors of the triathlon"-how committed and determined he was. Significantly, this essay subtly suggests that the applicant could bring a similar determination to his career in business.