Mission Admission is a series of MBA admission tips; a new one is posted each Tuesday.
As we have previously discussed in this blog series, it is never too late to improve your business school candidacy by engaging in community activities. Today, we send a similar message with regard to personal leadership—you always have time to take steps to bolster your chances of admission.
Many candidates completely ignore the personal side of their candidacy. But if you have, for example, completed a triathlon, learned a language, published an article, or simply been an inordinately dedicated neighbor/sibling/mentor in an unofficial capacity, your story can provide an interesting point of differentiation. So, if you have an activity or adventure in mind that you would otherwise complete later anyway, go ahead and pursue it now. We are not suggesting that you start writing poetry tomorrow in hopes of getting something published—but if you are a dedicated poet and have poems that you have long intended to submit, do so now. If you can run 20 miles and have always planned to run a marathon, do it now. These kinds of personal stories can help set you apart from your fellow applicants.