Extracurriculars completely moot for PhD admission?

ConnorR15
Fri, 03 Aug 2012 04:28:55 +0000

For admission to a PhD program in Physics, will extracurriculars have any bearing at all? I’ve read that grad adcoms don’t care about extracurricular activities for admission to PhD programs, and I wanted to ask in more detail: to what extent is that statement true?

I realize that something as mundane as athletics or joining a club won’t sway them, but what about significant involvement with humanitarian charities (more specifically for me, a single charity) or considering the Peace Corps after graduating from UG? (A high school teacher commented on how much his college friend’s stint in the Peace Corps impressed Med School adcoms – I realize that Med School is completely different than Grad School, but I wanted to see to how extreme of a degree it was true for admissions.)

I’m an UG pre-frosh at the moment, so nothing you say will seriously wound me. I’ve put myself in a good position as far as research is concerned (beginning during my pre-frosh summer) and I’m building strong relationships with professors, but I was just curious about how much bearing extracurriculars will have.

Please and thank you for the feedback.