I graduated a few years ago with a finance degree (3.6GPA) from a mid tier university and I’ve been working since then. The problem is that this work has not been as exciting or interesting as I hoped it would be and I’m considering graduate school for something that I’m actually interested in things like international relations/political science/development. COVID19 has obviously put a bit of a damper on extracurricular activities but now that things are opening up again should I be considering trying to take on some external activities? I’m a car enthusiast but not in any official capacity, so I could try to join the leadership of some local chapter/club. I also used to sing in a choir and would not mind joining an adult choir or joining a local soccer/kickball club. Any thoughts about this? I’m also considering pursuing the CFA if licensure like that were to notably increase my chances at grad school. However, that’s just doing more studying around something I’m not interested in so I only want to do it if it’s worth it.
Granted, it was in the Stone Age…but when it applied to grad school, my work experience and LOR were what mattered. I don’t think there was even a space for ECs on the application, and that included the fellowship applications.
For my older kid, his grad school applications were solely dependent on his talent…ECs on’y mattered if they were things like winning music competitions.
For my younger kid, that kid took 5 years between undergrad and professional school. What she did during those five years mattered. Not ECs…I mean she had some, but I don’t think they were even mentioned on her applications (things like community orchestra).
It matters, but not in the way it mattered for college.
When my older daughter applied to grad school it helped that she had experience in the field she was applying to.
My younger daughter just finished grad school apps. She needed volunteer experiences, shadowing, advocacy work, etc. Her application would be considered incomplete without these experiences.
I think the answer to your question is dependent upon the degree you are seeking and what the programs require.
My wife, my older child, and I all had quite a bit of experience that was very closely related to our graduate school applications (younger daughter is gaining related experience now). No one seemed to care whether I had taken up bowling or ballroom dancing or sailboat racing. The fact that I had used relatively advanced mathematics and physics in a research position seemed to matter when applying for an applied math graduate program. Similarly for my older daughter the fact that she had thousands of hours of working with animals in a veterinary and/or emergency situation seemed to matter when applying to DVM programs (some of this was on the job, some of this was in a volunteer capacity).
Similarly, the work or research or volunteer or EC experience that you have that are related to your intended graduate program are likely to matter quite a bit.
Depends on the kind of graduate school.
For PhD programs, research experience and related recommendations matter. For medical school, there is an expected set of pre-med extracurriculars intended to ensure that applicants have an idea of what health care is like and are still interested in it. For MBA programs, work experience and achievements are a big deal.
But the common theme is that the extracurriculars that matter for graduate school are generally those related to the program subject matter.
The CFA is a real commitment so don’t do it unless you are really interested in it.
If you want to focus on poli sci or policy, why not see if you could change jobs now- before taking on the expense of grad school? Think tanks need finance people. Your state government, Department of Education, lobbying organizations, global relief organizations, International development funds need finance people.
Just launch a job search for something where the content is closer to what you want to be doing… if you love it, then terrific. But if you find the policy/development/international relations piece boring, you’ve saved yourself two years of grad school…
Grad schools are not looking to figure out from generic ECs which teenagers, who mostly have no clear vision of their future, are “well rounded”, engaged, seem to persist in their interests, and whatever other indicators they can’t derive by looking at HS GPA, that those teenagers likely fit into their (undergraduate) college vibe and culture, or fill a particular subset that balances-out their freshman class.
Once you’ve already succeeded in college, this is instead very much like applying to a job (indeed, it might be the equivalent of a full-time job for years).
Experiences specific to the program you are applying to will matter, whether by working, or volunteering in the field, assisting with/conducting research. Professors will invest years with you - so they’ll try to assemble a group of cohorts who have demonstrated commitment to the field. Someone realizing it’s “not for them” down the road would be a huge loss to the program.
I would visit university websites, and research programs that you’d consider applying to and then carefully read all the information from that department/program, as well as admissions, as to what their minimal application requirements are, and what experiences their ideal candidate should bring to the table.
Then see how you can build up your resume, by interning, volunteering, or otherwise engaging with organizations related to your field of interest.
My daughter had been fortunate to have landed a summer internship, a practicum at a practice, and a full-year research internship while in college - all approximately related to the graduate program she was eventually applying to. And, as an actively serving EMT since junior year of high school, and having been named a line officer, she had thousands of hours of immediate patient contact, as well as real-life leadership and training responsibilities.
Given the selectivity of some programs, and the high academic standing of all candidates, I have to assume that those other factors did play a role why she was able to directly land interviews at multiple grad schools, rather than retrying for a few years while working in the field.