<p>Lots of extra curricular activities or struggling student from a dirt poor family getting through community college while working full time with experience of supporting family, raised by a single mother for several years after high school? </p>
<p>Grades and completion of requirements first and foremost. All else same, the latter because of work experience and disadvantaged background. However, its best to have a few extracurriculars even if its volunteering 1hr/wk, because UC admissions want to see students’ track record of contributing to their community to predict if and how they would contribute to the university’s community. That said, I believe only UCB and UCLA evaluate extracurriculars.</p>
<p>I’m a transfer currently at Cal. I didn’t have a lot of extra curriculars and was also working full time, non traditional, etc. However I did try to make time (a couple hours a week at heal the bay, working as stage crew for a show, doing an internship in the summer when school wasn’t interfering with work). Best to try to make time if you can at all. It’s only a little while. </p>