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How important are extracurriculars to grad school?

In high school, extracurricular clubs and activities are a big part of college applications. When applying for grad school, is this the same way? Or do grad schools just look for consistently high grades?

#grades #extracurriculars #grad #graduate-school ##gradschool #graduateschool #undergraduate #student-clubs

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Kori’s Answer

Hi Mariam! Good question. Many graduate programs are moving away from admitting people exclusively from CV/resume/grades and are incorporating behavioral questions in the interview process. They want to get to know you as both a professional and a person. Some students collect extracurriculars just to add to their resume, but quantity is not necessarily better than quality. I have found that the real stand-out applicants in the interview process are the individuals who can explain why they chose the extracurriculars that they did and tie the lessons they learned from the extracurriculars to their future career plans.

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Stacy’s Answer

Hi Mariam,

Graduate admission committees will likely focus on your academic record, personal statement, recommendation letters, test scores, and resume/CV. Don't hesitate to include a few key extracurriculars on your resume/C.V. Know what's even better? Being able to connect these activities to your proposed graduate studies! For example, I have a colleague who earned a doctorate in marine ecology. As an undergraduate, she volunteered most weekends at a city aquarium where she amassed a wealth of information. This multi-year volunteer commitment demonstrated a serious interest in marine ecology. It also helped inform her proposed doctoral research. I hope you find this information helpful.


Best,

Stacy

Stacy recommends the following next steps:

Identify your 3 key extracurricular activities.
Add an extracurricular section to your resume/C.V. and include the activities from Step 1.
Draw connections between your activities and interest in a particular graduate program.
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Angelina’s Answer

It depends on what they are looking for. When I applied to graduate school there were prerequisites that I needed along with community service hours and a portion where they asked me to talk about extracurricular that I participated in. Therefore it was important to the program I was applying to. I would reach out to the admission office at the graduate schools you want to apply to and ask questions.
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