How important are LAMDA and other activities for Uni place?

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Hello,
If DS is targeting Maths or Engineering courses in top Universities, how important are LAMDA and extra curricular activities ?
He is still in Year 9 and shows no interest in anything except Violin lessons. He may end up doing ABRSM Grade 6 or 7 by end of school as he is already on Grade 4.
I tried to put him on LAMDA course but he doesn't show any interest in it and wants to quit.
Are Extra Curricular activities a deal breaker in Uni admissions?

Thanks

Not at all. I did very few and got into a decent uni. This was about 5 years ago.
People say the same about needing extra curricular at uni to get into a good postgrad course.
I did one society and nothing else, I managed to get onto an MA at a top 10 prestigious uni no issues.
They are more bothered about grades and aptitude for the course content rather than anything else.

They attract ucas points after about grade 6 but realistically most of the unis for traditional courses at least give A level/IB/Btec grade offers and ignore the points. Many do not even rely on the personal statement.

@Hurryup - Thanks for your reply. DS isn't interested in doing anything except Violin and studies. He is a good student, so I am not worried about his grades.

@Lizs - Hey Lizs, thanks for your reply. You have always been helpful to me in past. I was concerned about UCAS points , seems they are not big deal breaker in top traditional courses.

I used to do some admissions when I was a university lecturer, and would have said no. We looked at A levels and why they wanted to do the degree.

I have seen both my DC get onto really good university courses, and would have said no. (My DS in particular!)

However the general consensus online seems to be that yes, outside interests are paramount.

What my DS did have was relevant work experience in a very good lab, and the ability to dress that up on his personal statement. After all, the personal statements aren't very long. He also did a creative AS level in his own time, as a break from all the science. His choices. (He's not naggable.)

The exception to this is probably Medicine in the top ten of the table. But even then they're not expecting Renaissance Men and Women. They'd prefer a bit of voluntary of paid care work.

They are of no consequence whatsoever unless they demonstrate something else. E.g. Any drama training stands you in good stead for interviews/presentation. Participating in sport/music/dance atca high level can demonstrate a good work ethic & being committed/able to juggle demands or if you can demonstrate how they helped developed teamwork or leadership abilities but you'd need to have taken some initiative like directing a school play or volunteering at a children's class.

Even For my dd who is applying for musical theatre grades don't matter, it's the process, stamina & what she does on audition day that matters.

Not at all. Unless he is building the stage and demonstrates he using engineering principles it has no relevancy to his application.
If he wants to do drama he should. But not just to score points. If he enjoys violin and plays in county orchestra fabulous but it won't put him above someone who doesn't.
Dd has no extra curricular (largely due to illness) but had one unconditional four conditional offers from top unis for science.

Lamda might be good for job interviews though! And any uni interviews or presentations.

Not at all. My dad was an admissions tutor - he used to say that he didn’t care if you were grade 8 on the oboe, he didn’t want to be serenaded, he wanted bright academic people interested in his subject.

For maths or engineering a passion for the subject is vital demonstrated by grades and extra reading/ study. For engineering the ability to write reports etc is useful- and present to groups etc.

Lineyruff- I agree that general consensus online is that these things are important. That's why I was confused. Thanks for your reply

AlaxandarH and Kez - I understand that things like Drama will help in interviews and presentations, but DS hates it so much, that I don't see him gaining anything out of it

@Cestla...; @abetes , @thesandwich - Thanks. Your replies are huge relief .

Medicine is different- but do not be swayed by teachers who claim the extra benefits of gold d of e etc for admission to uni- worthy in their own right, but certainly top unis are looking for interest and passion in the subject. And grades😉😉. Extra maths- ukmt, uni summer schools and taster days, coding etc would all be more use.

He hates it.
So zero point to it.
Science camp . Uni summer school . More relevant.

Thanks, OP. Nice to meet you on here :)

Lots of science. And work experience. And maths!

With Engineering, some interest in Engineering is a good idea that can be demonstrated in the personal statement. As A level engineering isn’t what it used to be many years ago, students have little opportunity to apply maths and physics (or chemistry) to engineering solutions. So if he does want Engineering, decide which branch and try and get work experience or demonstrate he has a real interest in the subject.

Lamda won’t be for everyone but being a rounded person with outside interests never hurts an individual. It can be a very good release from study! Lamda and especially school drama really helps with confidence.

Former Admissions administrator here. Don't worry, it's not important. Lamda and music grades are worth a small number of UCAS points at high levels, so they can help someone who is a few points short on an offer, but other than that they are only valuable to people who actually enjoy them!

Actually apart from Oxbridge and Imperial for engineering, all the other universities are in a recruitment drive and are in a ‘bums on seats’ mode. At our secondary school, our pupils are getting excellent offers including some unconditional offers from very good unis with quite average grades and personal statements. It has really changed in the last 5 years.

What this says about getting jobs later on, I can only imagine.

Not at all, unless as a pp said they are directly related to the course e.g. violin for music, or conservation volunteering for Geography etc.

LAMDA/ABRSM seem to love talking about how their grades count for UCAS points, but in reality they are hardly ever used - especially for top universities.
DS1 has just been through the UCAS process, and when it came down to the personal statement he only had about 3-4 lines of extra curricular.

That's not to say that extra-curricular isn't useful and important in terms of the skills developed - teamwork, confidence, independence etc, but my advice would be to let him do something he loves.

i'm surprised at the statement about an online consensus, not my impression at all.

The outside interests that matter are the ones that show interest in the subject. So I had to google LAMDA and what relevance does that have to an interest in maths? The Maths Olympiad would be relevant. You are targeting the wrong sort of activity.

Universities like to know students have something that will help them deal with stress but what it is doesnt matter, unless it enables you to strike up a rapport with your interviewer and therefore do a more relaxed interview. Having 26 different activities would make you sound like someone who wont spend enough time on maths.

Yes, please don't fall for that. Dd was targeted constantly to do DOE, get high grades in her musical instruments etc all in the name of UCAS.

In the end, her personal statement was all about her love of maths, the things she's done in it and there was space for a short paragraph only of other interests. She didn't even bother to put her music grades down as they seemed irrelevant. Top universities don't use UCAS points, they want to see very high grades in relevant subjects.

He should do things because he loves them and then see what path that takes him down.

I do think a lot of very bright and intelligent people do extra activities for pleasure. They are the people that employers like because they can juggle their time successfully, often are good team members, and work hard. They are used to doing a lot (but not toomuch!) and full on courses hold no fear for them. However, joining relevant clubs at school and deciding what branch of engineering he might be interested in (if at all) are the first steps. In Y9, he should have some idea about what interests him regarding engineering. Does he make things, repair things or want to build things?

They are generally irrelevant for UK university applications.

Can be important for US university applications.

They can look good on a CV if employers are trying to distinguish between applicants with equally good grades.

They are really valuable for developing interests and aptitudes that can last a lifetime.

In the very top universities, where all applicants will be expecting AAA or more, and where it's grade not point-based, I think some (not loads of) extra curricular activities can help to differentiate between otherwise identical students. However I think anything showing a real interest in the chosen subject is most useful, such as attending summer schools, exhibitions, work experience.

Best extra curricular activities to list, aside from course-specific, are those that demonstrate commitment, team work, leadership etc. Also useful when it comes to writing CVs and getting jobs in 4 years time.

Once you look at less competitive (but still RG) universities, I'm not sure extra-curricular is quite so important. Once you go below RG then they are actively looking for people, so if you have the grades/points then you are in.

Been looking into this a lot recently as I volunteer mentor students through UCAS. I went to 2 highly competitive RB universities and my peers and I were almost without exception AAA + DoE, continuing a sport at a reasonable level + frequently music. Didn't need to be at top level for hobbies, though some people were county players etc. The range of activities is probably also a reflection of the kind of backgrounds most of my peers came from, rather than a marker of superiority.

However I think anything showing a real interest in the chosen subject is most useful, such as attending summer schools, exhibitions, work experience.

You have to be careful that the DC don't look like they are simply the privileged end-product of their parents spending power! Demonstrate a bit of self-motivation.

The socially disadvantaged teenagers I've been mentoring don't have any of the typical middle class sports, music, DoE extra-curricular, but I think a PT job, and attending subsidised summer schools etc are just as, if not more useful.

Internships can often be down to parental connections unfortunately.

Sutton trust supports low income students to attend summer schools.
May not be relevant for op but for others
summerschools.suttontrust.com