<p>I am a nontraditional student currently in my second year of college. My school is a midsized school with not much to offer except Greek life, which I am not interested in. I am taking 19 credits so I am quite busy with just academics alone. I plan on applying, and hopefully attending graduate school, so how important will extracurricular activities be when applying as a nontraditional grad student? Should I go out of my way to join something or will they look past them and take my age into consideration when evaluating me? The grad school's I am looking into are: University of Denver, University of Seattle, and University of Michigan at Ann Arbor with a few more to come in the future.</p>
<p>Generally nobody cares what your ECs are for grad applications; admissions committees focus very closely on your ability in the particular field in which you’re applying. The only exception might be job-related ECs but even then they would rarely be a decisive factor. Concentrate on getting excellent grades in rigorous classes in your major, on getting some research experience (in a lab if you’re a scientist, by writing an honors thesis if you’re in the humanities), and on doing well on your GREs.</p>
<p>Thanks I appreciate your input. I have been busting my butt in my political science and thus far I carry a 3.8 in my major. I am going to do some internships in my field, and I have started networking for anything in research (my passion), so at least I know I am on the right track.</p>
<p>jeez why do you work that hard in undergrad?
Why don’t you have fun? Did you work hard in high school? Aren’t you tired of doing so in college?</p>
<p>I am one of these people who actually likes school. I have the luxury of no husband, no kids, and have the time to devote to school. I want to get out in 4 years so I have to have my credit hours high in order to do that. The city in which my college is located is very small and not much to do, so I spend a lot of time on my studies with the hope that it will pay off in the near future.</p>