Extracurriculars completely moot for PhD admission?

polarscribe
Fri, 03 Aug 2012 04:49:23 +0000

It’s completely true. Extracurriculars are irrelevant for graduate admissions to academic-oriented (research) programs.

You have to remember that graduate applications are reviewed by professors in the department you’re applying to. What they care about is your ability to succeed in the program. Secondarily, they care about your motivations in pursuing the program.

Peace Corps, humanitarian charities, etc. are nice and all, but they’re completely unrelated to either of those key factors. That you want to go into the Peace Corps has absolutely no bearing on how you might perform in the classroom and the laboratory.

What can matter are internships, work experience, etc. related to the field of interest. Those activities can point to your likelihood of success.