When applying for higher education, students are often told they should be involved in extracurricular activities — academic groups, sports or clubs.  In fact, many schools profess that students will have difficulty getting into college without extensive extracurricular involvement.

Students are not, however, informed why they should be involved — and how they can find the time.

Today, students have the opportunity to join a wide range of activities that interest them, while also allowing them to develop skills and a passion for what they do. Having choices, however, does not always mean having enough time to explore those choices.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, high school seniors involved in extracurricular activities have greater academic success. When compared to non-participants, participants were more likely to have no unexcused absences or skipped classes, have a 3.0 or higher GPA, and more likely seek and complete a bachelor’s degree or higher.     

While colleges place importance on extracurricular activities and the NCES points to some benefits, negatives also exist. Because of the demands of homework and jobs, sometimes students are not able to participate in all the activities they are interested in.

In many cases, interest in activities tends to fall off as the school year progresses. Due to the amount of homework, involvement in athletics, and lack of sleep, I have been forced to drop extracurricular activities and have been unable to participate in other activities that interest me.

Despite having many clubs, Trinity student involvement tends to dwindle by the second semester, according to literary magazine The Axiom adviser Ms. Debbie Walling.

Walling said, “At the beginning, perhaps 15 students will come to the first meeting, but later only the really dedicated ones remain — perhaps seven to 10.”

To further explain why student involvement begins to decline as the year progresses, Walling said, “Exploring various interests is great, but trying to do too many can be very stressful, and something usually suffers. A student’s grades might slip, or he can’t keep up with all of his commitments. To be honest, I don’t know how kids today do everything required of them and still have time just to be kids.”

Trinity senior Henry Snyder said student involvement may increase at the beginning of the year due to students seeking a strong college resume.

Snyder said, “The (college) application process has become so competitive that students will often over commit themselves simply to appear ‘desirable’ to college admission counselors. Decreases will come as students realize the importance of quality over quantity.”

Senior Antonio Clements has observed the growth of one club and the decline of another.

Clements said, “For the speech team, in particular, this is probably the largest group we’ve had. I do think that Ski Club has lost some interest, though we still have a large group.”

Due to time constraints, workloads and conflicts with other extracurricular activities, both Snyder and Clements have had to drop a few extracurricular activities.

Clements said, “Between school, activities, work, and family life, you can only do so much.”

In addition to time constraints and other factors, Snyder believes that involvement in several extracurricular activities may impact the amount of sleep some students receive. He said he gets six and a half to seven hours a night.

Snyder said, “Students struggle to cope with all the things they have going on in their lives. More often than not, students make time for more activities by sleeping less; however, by planning ahead, students can manage their schedules effectively and maybe even get ‘enough’ sleep.”

Although student involvement in extracurricular activities may decrease as the school year progresses, even short-term involvement can be positive, allowing students to explore their interests while continuing their education “outside” the classroom.

Snyder said, “Engaged students are more likely to build meaningful relationships. This is a major benefit for the Trinity community since Trinity is all about brotherhood. On top of relationships, students gain valuable life experience from actively engaging in extracurricular activities.”

As students decide how much time they can devote to extracurricular activities, the quality of involvement will continue to trump quantity.