How important are extra curricular activities for grad school applications?

[chrisscoff]

How important are extra curricular activities for grad school applications? Does the committee find them useless?

[largo]

chrisscoff, I guess it's one of the elements but it really depends on the school.For example I heard that faculty at Cornell really cares about extra curricular activities (but I was still rejected). I have a cv full of various extra curricular activities and it didn't get me far. I don't know if this is because they mean nothing to the committees or it's just because of the other things I lack.

Edited April 8, 2012 by largo

[chrisscoff]

chrisscoff, I guess it's one of the elements but it really depends on the school.For example I heard that faculty at Cornell really cares about extra curricular activities (but I was still rejected). I have a cv full of various extra curricular activities and it didn't get me far. I don't know if this is because they mean nothing to the committees or it's just because of the other things I lack.

Sorry to hear that largo! I'm sure you'll get in somewhere! By extra curricular activities I mean leadership positions within a club that's relevant to your major, volunteering hours, internships, research, etc.

[ThisSlumgullionIsSoVapid]

You aren't going to find a clear cut answer. The gist of it is different people look for different things. It's encouraged to include anything you think might be relevant to someone on your cv. I put all my leadership positions, research positions, and volunteer work on my cv.

[splitends]

The short answer: they don't.

You're applying for an academic research degree, so for the most part admissions committees will be looking at evidence that you can succeed as an academic. Extracurriculars can be icing on the cake, and they can maybe show indirect things about your ambition and leadership and etc that might put you in a positive light, but it's not like undergrad. Nobody cares if you did sports, etc. Volunteer and work experience is only really relevant if it has something to do with your academic/research interests.

[Karlito]

With regards to what largo said on Cornell: I got into Cornell with absolutely no extra-curriculars (save for editing the undergraduate sociology journal). In general, grad school commitees do not care about extra curriculars (unless they are extraordinary). Research, fit, and numbers are much, much more important.

Edited April 8, 2012 by Karlito

[ThisSlumgullionIsSoVapid]

The short answer: they don't.

You're applying for an academic research degree, so for the most part admissions committees will be looking at evidence that you can succeed as an academic. Extracurriculars can be icing on the cake, and they can maybe show indirect things about your ambition and leadership and etc that might put you in a positive light, but it's not like undergrad. Nobody cares if you did sports, etc. Volunteer and work experience is only really relevant if it has something to do with your academic/research interests.

This isn't true. One of my letter writers who is on the grad comm said she explicitly looks for those kind of things because she wants a well-rounded person. She wants someone who has worked before and shows they have had prior responsibilities so being a ta/ra isn't a slap in the face when there are duties and deadlines one has to meet.

Like I said, there isn't a clear cut answer to anything. You're better off including things that someone might just overlook than excluding things that might catch someones attention.

It's not to say it's a make or break on an application but it can certainly help you be remembered more or just give you a little bit of character to your application.

Edited April 8, 2012 by ThisSlumgullionIsSoVapid

[Darth.Vegan]

As I said to you over PM, EC's have to be extremely relevant to your discipline to really matter IMO.

For example, junior year I taught an intro soc course for an entire semester in a seminar style with 10 freshmen and under supervision from senior faculty. I would argue that is an EC that is relevant to my application and will probably help me.

I have also started two non-profits doing environmental/animal activism. I am going to frame my applications in such a way that these experiences give me a unique perspective on conducting social movement research.

If you can really make a case as to why your EC's are relevant to your application then I think it is worthwhile.

Edited April 8, 2012 by xdarthveganx

[tt503]

How important are extra curricular activities for grad school applications? Does the committee find them useless?

It depends on the extra curricular activities. Nobody is going to care if you're part of ____ club or fraternity/sorority (generally). Teaching, researching, and those types of activities are generally going to be a plus. I suppose you could make anything appealing if you were to tie it in convincingly to your application through your personal statement (community organization stuff could be strong for sociology, nonprofit internships and the like). It's really up to you to sell yourself and your qualifications regardless of how impressive or meager they may be. I think I have some pretty kick ass ECs, but there's no rubric or threshold or magic EC of what gets you "in."

Edited April 8, 2012 by tt503

[RefurbedScientist]

I agree with the claim that extra-curricular activities won't get you in, but they also won't hurt. If you're still an undergrad, and you're set on making your free time count toward grad school, then look out for opportunities that relate to academic work. Such activities might include editing a journal, doing research, tutoring in your department, or organizing a conference. Even advocacy or activism around an issue related to your research might count for something. Often these activities are not part of formal student clubs. You may want to inquire at academic departments or research centers. These places often love undergraduate volunteers.

That being said, there is something to be said for doing extra-curricular activities just because you want to... but that doesn't really answer your original question.

Remember also that the CV you submit to admissions committees can be a bit longer than the standard one-page resume common in the job market. An academic CV front loads publications and presentations (if any) and research experience, might include some relevant skills (e.g. STATA, programming, GIS, foreign language, etc.), and then can close out with non-related work experience and other activities. I would say that a 2 page CV is appropriate for your grad school application, so you'll probably have room to squeeze on the relevant activities.

[RefurbedScientist]

And as a counterpoint to the argument that adcomms only care about numbers and research fit, I would contend that oftentimes unique life experiences can be influential. If you served in the military, worked as a paralegal for a public defender's office, community organized, raised children, or have some other non-traditional (for a grad school applicant) life experience, this may really resonate. At every accepted students' day I've attended, there have been a few students who fell into this category. Often they were a little older than the rest of the group. I don't think that any of these qualities would supplant academic potential as the primary metric, but if you can relate your unique life experience to your research, then I think this could help an application stand out.

Of course, these aren't "extra curricular activities," so they hardly apply to the OP's question. I just wanted to complicate the over-simplification that adcomms only care about a narrow set of metrics.

[SocHope]

The only thing I have to add is that whenever I talked with potential faculty, they would talk about my research interests and research background from my SoP but none have yet to mention my extracurriculars, even in casual conversation. But of course that's not going to be a universal experience.

[ThisSlumgullionIsSoVapid]

lawl, I was downvoted for forwarding information my university's grad comm told me? The hivemind is strong with this one.

[splitends]

First off, I have to admit that I don't totally get the upvote and downvote system and don't use it.

But I do think that the information you shared doesn't really jive with the rest of our experiences. Of course, most if not all of the people here are people who have recently been through the admissions process and are sharing information based on advice we received along the way. That being said, I'll repeat that all of the advice I've gotten from professors, advisors, and grad students at several top universities (I spoke to several grad students from other universities who had served on admissions committees before applying) is that if it doesn't have anything to do with your academic life or research, it's not really relevant. Yes, it might be interesting to have a musician or a painter or an athlete or a swing dancing enthusiast around the department, but taking part in any of those activities as an undergraduate will not help you get into a PhD program in sociology.

That doesn't mean that applications are done strictly by the numbers. There are lots of activities that you could participate in that strengthen your application, particularly anything to do with teaching/tutoring and involvement in activities directly related to your research interests. Interested in housing issues in the U.S. and spent two years volunteering for Habitat for Humanity? Probably makes sense to discuss that one. Interested in housing issues in the U.S. and spent two years in a modern dance performance group? Maybe a little less helpful.

Anyway, I'm not saying that there are no outliers in this process, and it's totally possible that some professors here and there might like to see "well-rounded" applicants. I am saying that it's counterproductive to get in the mindset of someone applying for undergrad and start thinking "If only I become the president of every club, then they will definitely let me in!" If you're interested in making yourself more competitive to an admissions committee, focus on getting research experience, presenting at conferences, and doing well in your courses. And don't sweat it if you weren't president of any clubs in college-- no one will care.

[chrisscoff]

Thanks for the responses guys! I'm changing my game plan based on the responses - I will focus more on academics and trying to get research. The main problem with my department, is that all the independent research programs are for graduate students, hardly anyone wants to spend the time and resources providing research opportunities for undergraduates. Even though I offer my services free of charge, no one wants to take my offer.

[RefurbedScientist]

I was the captain of a varsity athletic team in college. I spent four hours a day at practice and in the gym for all three seasons of the year. Every saturday for 6 months of the year I was at a competition for about 8 hours (track meets, if you hadn't guessed by now).

All that work didn't count for s&%# in the grad application process. I don't even think it was even on my CV. However, most of us don't know we want to become academics at 18 or 20 years old.

For one online form application, though, that had spaces to discuss extra-curriculars, I did talk about my athletic career briefly and even cited Chambliss (1989) "The Mundanity of Excellence", which is an ethnography of elite swimmers. It's all a matter of spin

Personal anecdotes aside, you have a lot of free time in college (unless you're working to support yourself). Spend at least some of it doing something you love. That may in the end help you in your career. It may not, directly. In a very circuitous way, learning about myself through my student activism led me to studying social movements. It also helped me market myself, express ideas to poplar and expert audiences, convey arguments to a hostile audience, work in a group, be confident in the face of important persons, etc. All of these skills not only helped me get into grad school, it will continue to help me in my career. Never underestimate the importance of mundane life experience in your development.

At the same time, it can only behoove you if doing something fun coincides with doing something that will help your career. So keep an eye out. Maybe you could volunteer some data analysis services to a local non-profit? It's a good opportunity to hone your l33t excel skillz and it's a line on your CV.

Rambling...

April 15th looms.

[msafiri]

lawl, I was downvoted for forwarding information my university's grad comm told me? The hivemind is strong with this one.

I feel your pain. One of my posts got downvoted repeatedly because I guess people don't like my graduate experience or think that it's valid in some way. Amazing, really.

Anyway, I'd say that extracurriculars really depend on what they are and what they do for you. If your aim is to study college athletes and their experiences, then having been a college athlete will provide you with a good understanding of why that is interesting. In that case, mentioning your extracurriculars in your SOP could be a boon to your application.

But, if you're trying to focus on doing things that will get you in, increase your methods training and get research experience wherever possible. Maybe you take a class in a related field (psychology, anthropology, religion, etc.) where you get to do some independent research. Maybe you take another stats course or a qualitative methods course or a historiography course. Those kinds of things will prepare you well for grad school.