A comprehensive high school experience, one that prepares students for college and a well-rounded adulthood, has always extended beyond the walls of the classroom.
Extracurricular activities, defined by College Board as an activity that isn’t directly related to one’s coursework, have always been an essential aspect of the high school experience. From debate club and student government to sports and theatre, after-school and out-of-school involvement has been a key complement to academic curriculum, offering a safe space for personal growth, skill development, and the exploration of interests.
This perspective, however, is undergoing a significant transformation: students argue that extracurricular activities are evolving from optional pastimes to requirements for postsecondary success. College-bound teenagers attribute this change to holistic review.
“Many colleges and jobs want to see commitment and how you poured back into the community, rather than only having good grades,” Symphony Bolling, a 15-year-old student, pointed out.
A 2023 study conducted by the University of Michigan reveals that “95% of selective institutions use some form of holistic review.” This type of admissions process, one that de-centers grades and test scores to better consider an applicant’s character, has increased in recent years. Naturally, this has resulted in an intense focus on extracurriculars as a source of context for a student’s college application, sometimes even taking higher priority than GPA and course rigor.
The extracurricular craze is evident in Common Data Set statistics: during the 2024-25 admission cycle, elite universities such as Princeton, Stanford, and Yale reported that extracurricular activities were “very important” factors in the admissions process for first-year students. State schools have adopted this as well, with popular institutions like the University of Florida and the University of Alabama labeling extracurriculars as “very important” and “important” factors of their applications.
Universities seek strong extracurricular participation among their ideal applicants. But for students, this means a lengthy portfolio of extracurricular activities is required for consideration by high-performing schools.
“Overachieving is the new underachieving when it comes to clubs,” said Joshua Brown, 17, who is undergoing the college application process. “It feels like colleges want you to have a crazy resume of experience as a kid. And it’s not just the Ivies, it’s all of them.”
The expectation that students not only participate but excel in extracurriculars has not only transformed these optional pursuits into high-stakes competitions but also placed immense pressure on their schedules, consuming time once reserved for rest, family, or free time.
According to a National Library of Medicine article, adolescents spend an average of 7.9 hours per week in extracurricular activities. This alone may not seem like a significant amount of time, equating to about 1.5 hours per weekday, but paired with the additional 9 hours per week dedicated to homework, students often find themselves with less free time and more stress.
A study by University of Georgia researchers found that students are often so engaged in enrichment activities such as sports, tutoring, clubs, and homework that the “last hour” of these activities provides “little to zero academic benefit.” The excessive time commitment contributed negatively to non-cognitive skills, such as emotional regulation and well-being, resulting in higher levels of stress and anxiety.
Although prioritizing extracurriculars has its faults, the fix isn’t as simple as removing the holistic process altogether. Grade- and test-score-centric evaluations are also heavily criticized, most notably for disproportionately favoring students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds who have access to expensive tutoring and test-preparation services. Additionally, it is a proactive attempt at addressing grade inflation, which describes giving students higher grades than warranted, resulting in an “inflated” number on their grade reports. By spotlighting performance outside of school, colleges can measure character and impact beyond school hours rather than assessing individuals based on numerical metrics.
“It’s a weird situation because if colleges didn’t emphasize extracurriculars, they’d only be relying on GPA for admission,” Brown suggested. “That’s already competitive enough, not to mention grade inflation. It doesn’t do a perfect job at showing whether someone is a good fit either, so colleges will just keep trying to strike a balance that doesn’t exist.”
