How much do extracurriculars matter?

[pirateyoho]

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May seem a bit silly, but I really am wondering how much it will matter if I don't have very many (...okay, any 😳 ) extracurricular activities going on in my life that aren't school or vet med related. I'm doing plenty of different things academically (research, lab animal care, etc.) and vet related (job at a clinic, volunteering at a wildlife center), but it basically leaves me no time to have any kind of interesting hobby/extracurricular to put on my app, like competitive fishing or being a member of a campus golf club, or whatever. So I'm wondering, how important are these more leisurely extracurriculars? Are they a crucial part of the "well-roundedness" vet schools are looking for?

 

[MysteryCat]

May seem a bit silly, but I really am wondering how much it will matter if I don't have very many (...okay, any 😳 ) extracurricular activities going on in my life that aren't school or vet med related. I'm doing plenty of different things academically (research, lab animal care, etc.) and vet related (job at a clinic, volunteering at a wildlife center), but it basically leaves me no time to have any kind of interesting hobby/extracurricular to put on my app, like competitive fishing or being a member of a campus golf club, or whatever. So I'm wondering, how important are these more leisurely extracurriculars? Are they a crucial part of the "well-roundedness" vet schools are looking for?

I don't think it would matter as much simply because you have a lot going on in the vet med community, but you can include things/clubs from high school... Like, I was the secretary of my 4H club for 5 years. I'm going to include that, almost certainly.

 

[orca2011]

I think having stuff activities outside of school and the vet field are important. I did two club sports to hang out with different people and stay in shape. I'm not sure how much emphasis schools place on extracurriculars like sports, etc, but I was frequently asked in interviews what I liked to do for fun, so I feel like they want to see something there. And I've always been told that it's good to be well rounded.

 

[LetItSnow]

May seem a bit silly, but I really am wondering how much it will matter if I don't have very many (...okay, any 😳 ) extracurricular activities going on in my life that aren't school or vet med related. I'm doing plenty of different things academically (research, lab animal care, etc.) and vet related (job at a clinic, volunteering at a wildlife center), but it basically leaves me no time to have any kind of interesting hobby/extracurricular to put on my app, like competitive fishing or being a member of a campus golf club, or whatever. So I'm wondering, how important are these more leisurely extracurriculars? Are they a crucial part of the "well-roundedness" vet schools are looking for?

I think they are more important than you might guess.

But, it's like any app - you make up for weakness by being strong elsewhere.

That said, your examples were kinda snarky - there are many extracurriculars that demonstrate some amazing character traits. Yeah, "competitive fishing" might not mean much. But finding time in a busy schedule to volunteer at a retirement home once a week for four years and missing your weekly shift rarely? That says something about someone.

Are they necessary? Of course not. But to the degree they exemplify characteristics the school will want to identify they are important.

 

[that redhead]

I think it's important to demonstrate that you have interests outside of school and vet med, as in vet school you will burn out in a hot second if you don't have anything else to help you manage yourself mentally. I doubt you'll be rejected outright because of it, but I'd imagine it could easily come up at interviews and you'll wish you'd been a competitive fisher 🙄

 

[pirateyoho]

That said, your examples were kinda snarky - there are many extracurriculars that demonstrate some amazing character traits. Yeah, "competitive fishing" might not mean much. But finding time in a busy schedule to volunteer at a retirement home once a week for four years and missing your weekly shift rarely? That says something about someone.

I apologize if my examples seemed snarky; that was not my intention at all. I genuinely was just trying to think of examples. I was a competitive figure skater in high school (but have since dropped it due to lack of time in college), and was trying to think of another unique competitive sport that I could use as my example for this thread. Not exactly a spot-on parallel, but that was my train of thought at the time. 😛

I think it's important to demonstrate that you have interests outside of school and vet med, as in vet school you will burn out in a hot second if you don't have anything else to help you manage yourself mentally. I doubt you'll be rejected outright because of it, but I'd imagine it could easily come up at interviews and you'll wish you'd been a competitive fisher 🙄

I mean, it's not like I never take time off for myself. I rock climb, hang out with friends, go to the movies, etc. What I was talking about was more like "official" extracurriculars, because I typically don't think to include informal personal hobbies on an application. I always thought being able to list it required you to be part of some sort of organization *for* that extracurricular (hence my examples of a competitive sport, where you are likely a member of a local/national organization, or a school club). With my own personal activities, I do them every once in a while when I have time to spare. I don't really think of that as an "extracurricular."

Maybe I'm just confused over the definition of an extracurricular activity?

 

[LetItSnow]

I apologize if my examples seemed snarky; that was not my intention at all. I genuinely was just trying to think of examples. I was a competitive figure skater in high school (but have since dropped it due to lack of time in college), [...]
Maybe I'm just confused over the definition of an extracurricular activity?

It's probably confusing because it's basically the catch-all for "everything else outside of your job, your academics, and your veterinary experience."

Don't underestimate something like competitive sports. It says a lot that someone invests their time and energy being disciplined and pursuing a goal. It might seem like "just" a sport, but think how much time you probably put into it. And, if figure skating is like any sport I'm familiar with, you have to bang your head against the wall time and time again just to make the smallest gains.

G'luck!!

 

[crazycatlady]

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[LetItSnow]

From threads like this, I get the impression that adcoms want to see that your hobbies are "official" and quantified in some manner. As a career-changer, I haven't been living in anticipation of needing to impress adcoms with documentation of everything I've done with my life. Anyone could claim they're "gardening enthusiasts," or "into Islamic art," which makes me think that such mentions in a personal statement are likely to be seen as "fluff" because they don't show up on my transcript.

What's the best way to present your hobbies on an application when you can't actually document them through coursework or official school club involvement?

Tough question. I think I might reframe it in your head; instead of worrying about them not giving you credit, ask yourself "will it hurt?" They're certainly not going to view your application negatively for including those things. I had a number of truthful-but-unsubstantiated things on there (a few hobbies... heck, even a long-time job (the company had since gone away and there's no way to really confirm I worked there that I can think of other than maybe old tax records)) and it didn't seem to hurt.

But as far as really getting ... I dunno ... credit so that they help you? I don't know. Just be forthright, hope for the best, and don't get too worried if they don't seem to care all that much about Islamic art? If they are super important maybe they can find their way into your personal statement. Otherwise, just leave them on the app as examples of being a well-rounded person with a variety of interests.

Also FWIW, even though I was applying as a .. ahem .. mature adult .. I still went alllll the way back to high school for things like awards and whatnot. For hobbies I stuck to things I currently do or have invested serious time in. But even my animal experience went back at least 30 years. (Much of it would be next to impossible to substantiate, too.)

 

[crazycatlady]

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[cocobean]

I don't think they ever ask for documentation of extracurriculars or awards. If they are suspicious about something I assume they would just ask in the interview.

 

[LetItSnow]

Thanks for the reply.

I did the minimum of liberal arts classes for my degree program, and then am going above degree requirements on sciences. I look "not well rounded," if one only takes into account my academic record.

I have jobs I can't prove, including at least one at a business that went under (that I know of). I was a state fair entrant when I was 10-ish, even though I didn't win anything and it wasn't in an animal-related category. As a teenager I volunteered at an aviary whose volunteer records don't go back that far, so I'm on the fence about whether to mention that since I can't document it. I'm not a big sentimentalist "saver," so while I won some contests when I was younger, I long ago threw away ribbons and certificates. (What adult thinks they'll ever need to prove that they were on their middle school's team at a regional science competition?) I worry about having too much stuff under "Community Activities" or "Awards" that I can't document, and if that looks like I'm padding my application or lying. I'm hoping adcoms take into account that career-changers don't always have documentation of or remember everything they did when they were younger.

I think you'll find they give you the benefit of the doubt. I know that was my experience.

With regards to things like the aviary, to me it's a no-brainer: you mention it. If it's truthful, why not? If they ask for some sort of proof (incredibly unlikely), then you just explain that it was a long time ago and you can't document it. There's no rule (at least, that I remember) that says you can only put things on there that you can prove.

I actually didn't have any of my high school or (first go-around) college awards and whatnot, either. It was purely by luck that I happen to mention to my retired mom that stuff like that was on the application and she, as it turned out, had a big box of things she had hung onto.

I wouldn't fret over whether to put something on the application or not. Unless it's <completely> spurious or trite, the worst that will happen is they see it and ignore it.
I suppose if the app was utterly filled with minor things it could sorta crowd out and bury the important things, so you'd want to avoid that, but .... in general, I'd lean toward including things rather than excluding.

 

[crazycatlady]

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