Hi all. I am new to CC so please forgive me if this post belongs in another thread., but I was wondering what extracurricular activities I should get involved in in order to stand out when applying for business colleges? I am a junior in high school and I’m starting the college application process now. I am looking into schools with good undergraduate business programs that are moderately competitive - competitive such as NYU, Binghamton, Fordham, etc. (with NYU being my dream school). I know that extracurriculars are extremely important when applying for college, however I don’t know how I should balance them out. My school is an extremely small one, so our clubs and electives are very limited. I heard that being well-rounded is overrated and your ECs should back up your area of interest, however I also heard that it is important to make sure you are not one-sided and you show uniqueness. I also don’t know what extracurriculars would pertain to accounting and how I should frame my essay? My grades are already on track, with my GPA being a 3.8 and a 1220 on my 2015 PSATs (planning to improve on real SATs). Frankly, I am a little bit lost. It would be a great help if someone would guide me. Thank you!
Some ECs that you could do for business would be DECA/FBLA if your school offers one, getting a part time job (it’s the only EC that makes YOU money!) applying for the MIT REACH program for your school, Mathletes (possibly, on the more accounting side). Maybe you could intern at a bank or something, just make a few phone calls to HR offices and they could get you a shadowing opportunity that could open doors for you:)
IMO you don’t need any particular business activities to apply to b-schools. My S’s main activities were teaching swimming to disabled youth, community service, and working on his HS TV station and he had no issues getting into b-school programs. If you do want to get a look into the business world I agree that you can see about job, shadowing, etc. opportunities or maybe try to take on a treasurer role in a HS club.
I’m planning on taking an internship over the summer or maybe even a part time job. However, my school doesn’t offer FBLA which looks great on applications to business schools! Is it possible for me to be the founder of FBLA in my school if I consult my guidance counselor about it? I want something that will stand out if I am applying to competitive colleges.
Before NYU becomes your dream school, make sure your parents can pay for it…they are not known for merit scholarships.
As with any major, if you can get some experience in the area it will help you know if you like the topic.
Founding a club shows leadership, so if you could start an FBLA club that would be great. Likewise being a treasurer, volunteering in business aspects of your church/temple/favorite charity, and other ideas in previous posts.