It's spring, and many of you are turning your attention to fall applications. For those of you not burdened with test prep and boosting GPAs, take time to examine your community service. At most top programs, community service is virtually a requirement.

First let's discuss what "community service" is and isn't. I define it as:

"Active participation in and assumption of responsibility for your community."

That is an intentionally broad definition that includes taking an active role in sports teams, professional organizations, alumni groups, churches, literacy programs, political campaigns, environmental causes, fund raising for immigrant assistance groups ... whatever you define as your community. Community service almost always does and should reflect your values and priorities.

The operative phrases in the definition are "active" and "responsibility." Writing checks is not enough. And helping your elderly neighbor occasionally makes you a nice person, but doesn't mean you are taking responsibility for your community. Community service requires commitment.

So why is community service important?

1. It provides an opportunity for you to demonstrate attributes that young applicants frequently can't reveal in the classroom or in their jobs: leadership, initiative, interpersonal skills, and the ability to handle responsibility. It expresses your willingness to contribute.
2. To adcoms a history of activism and participation suggests you will be an active student and alum. That's the kind of impression you want to make.
   
3. It indicates breadth and well-roundedness.

At the most competitive schools, community service and extra-curricular activities frequently make the difference between who is accepted and rejected among otherwise competitive applicants. If you have been involved in community service, great. Keep up the good work. If you haven't, find an activity, cause, or organization that you would like to contribute to. And then be consistently and actively involved so that you will have a commitment to write about other than school and work. You may even find that you enjoy it.

Accepted is offering a 10% discount to early-bird medical school applicants through May 31, 2007. Yikes! That's tomorrow. If you want expert guidance as you write your AMCAS essay and you want to save money, then purchase Accepted's medical school admissions consulting and editing online today or tomorrow.

 A couple of noteworthy items:

• The Wall St. Journal has an insightful article in its MBA Track column on Stanford GSB's Leadership Program.
  
• Businessweek just published an article entitled online "A Booming Business in MBA Coaches" and in the magazine version "'It's Almost Like...Admitting an Impostor.'"  Stacy Blackman has published a thoughtful reaction to that article in "The 'Business' of MBA Admissions Consulting." The BW article, for all its negative sensationalism, highlights the value  consultants bring to their clients by helping the applicants highlight their talents and strengths. Admissions committees can then look beyond the numbers to the applicant. Are there coaches who cross the line? Unfortunately, yes. But there are also admission offices (check out the financial aid scandal), MBAs, and even directors of admission whose moral compasses are broken. Individuals who act without integrity neither negate the value of their service when ethically provided nor damn the entire profession. Stacy Blackman in her post looks to the Association of International Graduate Admissions Consultants ("AIGAC")  to differentiate between the bad apples and the top professionals in this young, rapidly growing field. To quote her:

Last week I received a call from a father inquiring about our services for applicants applying to medical school. I started to explain the different options and he interrupted me. Here is our dialogue:

Father: Wait. Before you continue. Can you explain to me why applicants who have GPA's in the high 3's and MCATs in the mid- to high-30's get rejected? A number of our friends' children with great stats were rejected. Why?

Me: Did they have clinical exposure?

Silence

Father: But they had great research! My daughter has done clinical research in a cardiology lab and in other research settings.

Me:  Did she interact with patients?

Father: She observed open-heart surgeries.

Me: Then she couldn't have interacted with patients. They were sedated. She needs to have clinical exposure.

And so do you if you are applying to medical school. The just posted SUNY Medical chat transcript with Jennifer Welch illustrates this point.  Here is an excerpt:

Linda Abraham (May 17, 2007 8:04:47 PM)
Is not having research experience fatal to one's application at SUNY Upstate?

JenniferWelchUpstate (May 17, 2007 8:05:22 PM)
Not having research experience is not fatal at Upstate - we want students to do research if they enjoy it, not because they think they have to

Linda Abraham (May 17, 2007 8:06:12 PM)

What about a lack of clinical volunteer work?

JenniferWelchUpstate (May 17, 2007 8:06:28 PM)
Lack of clinical volunteer work can kill an application - it is necessary.

 I can't say it any better. Lack of clinical exposure is a med school application killer. Make sure you have it.

A few items of interest:

• A degree for "suits and creatives." NYU’s Stern School of Business and Kanbar Institute of Film and Television at the Tisch School of the Arts will offer a joint MFA/MBA degree that students will be able to complete in three years. Students enrolling at NYU in Fall 2007 will be eligible to apply for the joint program,  as will Fall 2008 applicants. The key paragraph in the press release:

• Yale SOM's Admissions Office provides great tips to 2008 applicants in  this month's "From the Admissions Office." The advice should be familiar to readers of this blog, but it bears repeating, in summary form:

• "Think about why you want to pursue an MBA – During the admissions process we are looking for candidates with clearly defined goals and reasons for getting an MBA. Start by talking to people in fields that are of interest to you so your essays will be cohesive and clear.
  
• "Consider options for recommenders – When choosing a recommender, think of people who have worked with you in a professional capacity and can comment on your work. You’ll want to ask two people who know you very well and can talk about what you’ll bring to the Yale SOM community.
  
• "Plan a visit to campus.
  
• "Explore the Yale SOM website and make connections through our new web tools."
• Businesweek Online is hosting Harvard's Director of Admissions Deirdre Leopold on Thursday May 29 at 1:00 PM EDT in a live chat. If you plan to apply to HBS, you will soon have one more source of valuable information. Harvard also announced that it will re-launch its web site in July.